Glasgow given £24m smart city investment

Glasgow has be given a £24m funding pot from the government as part of the Future Cities programme, beating off competition from 30 rivals.

The funding, awarded by the Technology Strategy Board, is designed to help the city's authorities improve health, transport, energy and safety systems to improve the economy and the living quality of its residents.

The decision means Glasgow has been designated the ‘demonstrator' for the Future Cities programme. Projects it will develop include developing real time apps for bus and train times and a "MyGlasgow" public website for citizens.

"We are in a global race and Glasgow can keep the UK at the forefront of innovative technology ideas," said minister for universities and science David Willetts.

"From transport systems to energy use and health, this demonstrator will play a key part in the government's industrial strategy and give real insight into how our cities can be shaped in the future."

Councillor Gordon Matheson, leader of Glasgow City Council, said the funding was a boost for the city as it continues to evolve.

"Winning this money will put us years ahead of other UK cities in terms of integrating our technological systems to make them work for and talk to each other," he said.

"This will help us to create a more efficient and a more sustainable city which can adapt and move ahead of the technology of the day and make it work for everyone who lives or works in Glasgow."

The funding underlines the growing move to create "smart cities" with London also undergoing a similar project spearheaded by Intel to gather more data on the city itself through technology infrastructure integrated on public furniture.