As a successful recipient of IBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge, the City of Makati was recently visited by a team of IBM executives who worked with local government officials to study and formulate recommendations to help address growing traffic management issues.
This initiative is part of the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge (SCC) – a program developed specifically to work with cities around the world to provide long-term solutions to complex urbanization issues.
With increased urbanization, national road improvements and booming property developments, the City of Makati faces increased traffic congestion and delays that impact citizens, which prompts local government to expand their sustainable approaches to managing these challenges.
After a successful application, the City of Makati earned an IBM grant to have a global IBM team spend three weeks with local officials in order to craft strategic recommendations to establish and operationalize a smarter traffic management system.
The SCC recommendations aligned with the city government’s vision to build a smarter city – a more functional, livable and socially vibrant Makati City — include:
· Enhance existing traffic management infrastructure through expanded adoption of technology, integrating data and analytics capabilities.
· Improve public transportation by shifting from small occupancy vehicles to alternate transportation.
· Establish a comprehensive and multidimensional transportation communication strategy embedded in the city’s communication campaigns and education programs.
· Review and strengthen traffic and transportation policies.
“Makati has long been proof of technology’s power in socially responsive governance and we were privileged to work with IBM to see how we can use the razor’s edge of technology to more quickly realize our vision for the city,” said Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay, Jr. “IBM’s recommendations mesh seamlessly with our objectives, and we are working to incorporate these points quickly into our plans and programs. We are confident that the product of this public-private partnership will only bolster Makati’s standing as the Philippines’ eminent smarter city.”
“IBM is championing innovative programs and solutions to help address the complex challenges our world face today through initiatives like the Smarter Cities Challenge. By integrating smarter technologies with diverse perspectives and ways of thinking, IBM is enabling new approaches to urban development by harnessing technology to co-create sustainable traffic management solutions which will help manage the flow of vehicles in and around Makati City,” said Mariels Almeda Winhoffer, President and Country General Manager, IBM Philippines.
Since 2010, IBM has been sending teams of senior executives to collaborate with municipal governments in addressing unique challenges facing global cities. By the end of this year, 100 cities around the world will be better equipped to address critical issues related to urban planning, the environment, energy and water, transportation, education, health care, social programs, public safety and government administration.
The IBM team assigned to deliver the SCC grant to Makati City is composed of six IBM executives who worked with various key groups within the local government of Makati to help identify ways to improve vehicular traffic management in the country’s financial capital and center of commerce.