In 2018, Lahore will become the first safe city of Pakistan and South Asia. Some experts may raise eyebrows on this statement but before going forward let us examine what is a smart city and how it is different than a safe city.

The UN Habitat launched a safe cities programme in 1996 on the request of African Mayors to tackle crime in urban areas as a starting point. There are 77 cities from 24 nations that are part of this programme. The programme started with crime and violence prevention strategies and developing community policing and problem oriented policing by involvement of local governments.

The safe cities concept of the United Nations has evolved over time. Gradually it included good governance, criminal justice system and community participation as element of developing safer cities. Among the Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations, 11^th goal is to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

The United Nations targets for 2030 underscore that in cities "common urban challenges include congestion, lack of funds to provide basic services, a shortage of adequate housing and declining infrastructure…. The future we want includes cities of opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more". In this scenario, the SDGs focus upon developing environment and infrastructure linked to larger issues of urbanisation included but not limited to crime and justice.

A safe and smart city, therefore, should be the one where urban challenges of the 21^st century are addressed with or without technology. From the UN perspective and developmental aims, it is more related to socio-economic indicators whereas commercial world is marketing the concept of safe cities to sell their equipment and products to earn more profits and that, in itself, is not an objection to their aims.

With technological development, private sector has also jumped in and has issued a safe cities index in the famous weekly The Economist. According to this index, Tokyo is on top of the safe cities index and Karachi is at number 60 in this relative assessment of safety as per their standards and parameters. Here the nomenclature is same but safety is defined with different parameters related to digital standards e.g. how many computers in a city are infected with viruses or what is the percentage of identity theft by hackers. It shows that there is a variety of perspective when someone tries to understand the definition of a safe city.

The appetite of users for more efficiency in urban environment is insatiable. They like, by using electronic sensors and technology, such an environment in which more output through data utilisation is possible with less physical effort. Many services like water, energy, security, transportation, e-commerce and payments of utilities are made possible with smart applications for one purpose or the other. There are multinational companies who are advancing their technology-based businesses in developing countries in the name of safe and smart cities. Where their mercantile interests are undeniable, their narrative is based upon human development through technological advancement. From their perspective, increased number of gadgets and technology-based systems shall be the success criteria for a safe and smart city.

In Pakistan, in 2009, first attempt was made in Islamabad to make it a safe city through surveillance cameras with a central command and control centre. Eventually, it started in 2015 and is still under way. In all fairness, Lahore is house of first carefully designed safe city project where a comprehensive approach is adopted to address the full spectrum of public safety and security in May 2016. It includes first ever in Pakistan a citywide intelligent traffic management system, counter terrorism surveillance network, integrated emergency response enveloped in a state of the art communication system. From technical perspective, it is equipped with state-of-the-art software like facial recognition, automated number plate recognition, gunshot detectors and public address system installed in a central command centre as well as in a mobile command centre. From management point of view, it is the largest change management programme in police department at all levels.

From hiring of front line Police Communication Officers who are all IT graduates with average age of 23 years to the engagement of experts in legal, financial and technical domain, it is the first project of its kind. The project is not completed yet but dividend has started coming in the shape of huge data which is preserved and shared with the experts of various universities who are making best use of it as per their own research objectives.

Other departments of the Punjab government including transport, environment, solid waste management, Traffic Engineering and railway police are also joining hands with Safe Cities Authority to install smart sensors for collection of data which will help transform Lahore from safe to a smart city.

Industry gurus are of the view that implementation of any innovative idea requires resources -- human, financial and political. It is the political support from highest level in the Punjab that helped youth to play a dominant role in its operationalisation. There are 600 young people from all over the Punjab, including 25 per cent women, and representation of minorities and people with special needs.

Lahore will become a safe and smart city because through technology infrastructure and sensors it will enable policy makers and operational commanders to base their decisions on evidence. Presently, police response time is improved considerably and meeting international standards of less than 15 minutes. It is also expected to bring down crime rates in the metropolitan. The expected improvement in security profile of Lahore will not only reduce the cost of doing business but shall also create an enabling environment for foreign direct investment which has direct correlation with security.

Presence of many foreign business firms in Punjab is evidence that European, American and Asian firms are willing to work and invest in Pakistan. In addition, it has opened up a market for safe and smart cities projects in the country and has huge potential in the developing countries. Technology firms in this business are also investing in research and development funds to find economical solutions for developing countries through projects like Lahore safe cities project. It can be fairly expected that Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar shall follow suit in coming days.

Safe and smart cities are where people benefit from technology and have better services through use of modern technology and where people’s quality of life is improved by timely information and decision-making. The system is in place in Lahore, however, still more work has to be done. There is need to redefine archaic police work practices and transform their everyday business at police station level.