Chile is going smart, and Santiago is at the center of it. As a matter of fact, Santiago is ranked as the smartest city in Latin America by Fast Company, and rightfully so. The city authorities are employing multiple tech innovations to make the Chile capital city efficient and functional, both for its habitats and visitors. The tech innovations combine in a unique, creative, and interactive way and are bringing on board everyone including ordinary citizens. The whole project has been branded SmartCity Santiago. Now, How is Santiago becoming a Smart City?

 

Santiago is ranked as the smartest city in Latin America / Photo: Desa Rome

 

SmartCity Santiago will achieve, among other things, 100% transition to clean and renewable energy, technologically-literate population, and more efficient communication. The main agenda of the program, however, is to enable energy regulation authorities to manage electrical energy from remote locations using smart technology. That will mean fewer power outage cases and less business downtime.

Once this program roles out fully, Chile will be ready for a global takeover. Almost half of all Chileans live in Santiago, about 45% of the remaining population is distributed around Chile’s urban areas, and only over 15% of Chileans live in rural areas. With that in mind, you can imagine how efficient the country will run once all its cities and towns go smart.

Another factor that is favoring Chile as a smart nation is its geographical shape. The country stretches for about 5000 kilometers from north to south, but is only about 180 kilometers wide, translating to almost equal access to the coast from the center and from the center to the Andes Mountain. That means that all its East-West resources converge at the center of the country, precisely Santiago.

 

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Smart City Santiago will primarily affect Chile in the following 4 fronts:

 

1. An efficient Transport System

Traditionally, Santiago is known to be an extremely congested city, particularly due to its high population. The city’s metro system hasn’t done much to save the situation. With the introduction of a convenient central card payment platform, however, commuters can breathe a sigh of relief as they will now be able to book tickets and commute more efficiently. Commuters are even alerted on different updates via the recently introduced NFC (near-field communication) docks. 

 

Santiago is known for being an extremely congested city, but now has an efficient transportation system / Photo: Desa Rome

 

As for the bus commutes, competing companies now operate under a modernized, more efficient as parks, with travelers able to book and communicate with their preferred buses via digital devices such as smartphones. All these efforts will also help the government to collect more revenue efficiently.

Authorities are also encouraging the implementation of bike sharing programs by creating multiple, large public bike racks around the city. Car-sharing programs are also underway. And perhaps the most notable improvement especially for tourists, Santiago is already implementing a ban on cars from entering the city center on Sundays to allow people to walk and run freely in the city. If you are planning a Chile walking tour, this must be great news to hear.

 

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2. Energy

Chile ranks among the countries with the highest costs of energy, particularly because it imports almost 100% of its fossil fuel. However, this trend will change soon with the adoption of clean green power. Other electricity options such as wind, solar, and small hydro will soon be producing most, if not all, of Santiago’s energy.

 

Wind, solar and small hydro will soon produce most of Santiago's energy / Photo: Desa Rome

 

And although the country will still be relying on non-conventional renewables that it imports from Argentina, the bigger percentage of energy will be coming from smart hydroelectric dams. There is too much-untapped energy potential in the northern deserts and southern forests that Chile will leverage optimally once it goes smart.

 

3. Business

 

Chile will soon achieve its dreams of becoming the definitive innovation hub and the most entrepreneurial nation in the whole of Latin America  /  Photo: Desa Rome

 

When energy costs reduce, the cost of doing business will also reduce. Also, efficient transport will improve the business environment in Chile in a big way. As a matter of fact, business and innovation industries will benefit the most from tech advancements.

And speaking of innovation, the country already incepted the Start-Up Chile program back in 2010. Thousands of young innovators have benefited greatly from this program and, going by recent trends, Chile will soon achieve its dreams of becoming the definitive innovation hub and the most entrepreneurial nation in the whole of Latin America.

 

4. Stronger Culture

 

 So far, the Chilean capital has set up several environmental, mobility and safety control centres / Photo: Desa Rome

 

Creativity and innovation will definitely impact the culture of the next generation of Chileans. There are many community centers coming up, all geared at changing people’s mindsets and financial statuses for the better. In the end, the country will be booming with strong cultures and communities.

 

Without a doubt, Santiago de Chile is doing its homework to be the first truly Smart city in Latin America. The prototypes of intelligent cities correspond only to an exclusive worldwide group, which are deployed as an integral proposal to ensure the sustainable energy development of the cities of the future. These are inclusive and demonstrative projects on a smaller scale, which require the joint participation of electricity companies, national and local governments, universities, technology providers and the users themselves.

 

Travel Tip: We have the best travel itineraries in Chile for you to enjoy this wonderful destination!

 

 

By: Desa Rome, a traveler albanian that loves to explore everything that inspires her by expressing her experiences through her writings.