Today, all cities in the world are faced with various difficulties, be it physical or virtual infrastructure. The obligations and solutions brought by today's technological developments force city planning to constantly renew itself. Home to some of the most innovative smart cities in the world, the European continent has also received its share of these innovations. European countries, which dominate the list every year in the human development index of the United Nations, do not avoid any expense, especially when it comes to better living conditions for their citizens. Smart cities, perhaps the largest way of constantly integrating the blessings of technology into daily life, have an important place in improving people's quality of life.
Transportation, one of the most important elements of a city, becomes more and more effective as the city gets smarter. Smart transportation systems working in integration with smart cities and the systems of these cities greatly increase the efficiency of areas such as health and industry where transportation plays a critical role. Intelligent transportation systems, which paves the way for the establishment and supervision of systems that enable the police, firefighters and paramedics to arrive at the scene as quickly as possible, can also significantly reduce the time spent in the car by adjusting the traffic density according to the hours. Smart parking systems, which are an integral part of smart transportation, minimize the time to find and park a car park and prevent the traffic that occurs when searching for a parking space. When you combine all these features with smart city planning, a city model that people can reach their needs by spending the minimum possible time emerges.
Fundamentals of Smart Transportation
Smart transportation is an innovation that is one of the building blocks of smart urbanization that emerges by integrating the internet of things technology into the vehicles and infrastructure used by drivers. Thanks to this integration, the data flow provided from vehicle to vehicle and from infrastructure to vehicle aims to provide users with an optimal driving experience with a high safety and efficiency standards. Innovations brought by smart transportation can make transportation safer, more efficient and more sustainable by applying various technologies to all types of passenger and freight transportation. In addition, the integration of existing technologies such as this in the transportation area can open new lines of business in the area where this application is used and stimulate the regional economy. This situation shows that smart cities and smart transportation are inevitable, especially in a geography where urbanization is intense, such as Europe.
Concepts such as smart cities, smart transportation and smart parking actually do not mean anything by themselves. Just as it is used in humans, the word smart is actually an indicator of relative sophistication. So there is no potential limit to getting smarter. The higher the technology and integration level, the higher the upper limit of getting smarter. In the past, simple but useful devices such as parking sensors can be shown as examples of smartization, but now they have become a technology that is not talked about and ignored much in today's conditions. This shows that technologies we are talking about that seem far away to us now have the potential to become an integral part of our lives much faster than we think. The possibilities of smart transportation technologies, which will control the lifeblood of the cities of the future, are limitless.
Intelligent transportation is a system that is superior in every respect to the transportation system we use today. It is certain that this technology, which minimizes the damage to nature, saves fuel and time, and prioritizes driver safety, will be fully implemented sooner or later. The ultimate benefits of a transformed transport system are varied and powerful. They will be felt by each of us, providing more livability to our communities and daily lives. Every investment made to strengthen smart transportation will provide a great return in the long run. The cost of these investments to be made should not prevent the investment from being made. In a settlement where smart transportation and parking systems are fully integrated, both the quality of life of people increases and the investment made gains value in the long term. In this period when we are approaching to overthrow the first quarter of the twenty-first century, we should not forget that we are planting the seeds of the twenty-second century with every decision we make. We see many European countries among the countries that are taking firm steps forward in this regard.
Europe and Innovative Solutions
The European continent, which is home to countless nations and ethnic origins, is one of the regions with the highest human development index in the world. We cannot say that the only reason for this is the investments made in smart cities and smart transportation, but we can say that these investments are the guarantee that Europeans will rank high in the human development index in the future. The European Commission, which has been aware of the importance of interconnected vehicles and infrastructure for safety, economy, health and the environment for many years, plans to turn driving into a fully autonomous occupation over time. These preparations of the European Commission and the European Union on smart transportation herald a stronger Europe in every aspect in the future. A smart transport project that has fully realized its potential and encompasses the whole union will economically create an incredible financial burden, but at the same time, in the long run, it will instill an unprecedented sense of development and unity in the regional economy. A smart transportation system that fully covers the city and the outside becomes the guarantor of the welfare of each country that is a member of the European Union in terms of security and economy.
Especially the investments made to meet the educated workforce needs of European countries, which cannot achieve a stable natural population growth, and the fact that regions with high humanitarian index receive more brain drain than other regions play a critical role in the smartening of cities and transportation. Investing in being smarter and innovation brings more income and investment to the region. This situation brings with it an urbanism policy that constantly feeds and develops itself. Especially metropolises such as Berlin, Rome, Paris and Madrid are constantly appearing as incubation and testing grounds for new smart transportation technologies. These initiatives, which both smarten up their city and create value, will have a say in the future of the continent's transportation.
It is clear that Europe is already grasping the value of concepts such as smart transportation, smart cities and the internet of things. In this continent, which is home to many well-established automotive brands, every step taken in smart transportation will affect us sooner or later. If we want to have a say in the transportation of the future instead of being dragged by these effects, we must create initiatives that can compete and create value before it is too late. Because it is not possible to build smart cities without smart transportation.