Page 88 - Reference framework for integrated management of an SSC - A U4SSC deliverable on city platforms

platforms' use in regions where the legislation on data protection and management does not have
the same scope.

Currently, cities have different applications to solve operational needs, normally linked to defined
areas of action such as mobility, security, public lighting or waste management, which, in most
cases, correspond to municipal organizational structures. There are also heterogeneous external
systems such as transport services, systems linked, for example, to buildings, tourism, hotels and
social networks managed by third parties.

With these premises, municipal managers must build new operating models that allow them to
meet citizens' demands while incorporating all these new technologies, many of them innovative,
to be more agile and efficient. This change in the organizational and cultural model described in
previous sections is complex to implement because it generates uncertainties, new risks, and a
political impact due to the limited, short-term visibility that these paradigm shifts provide.

This architecture has allowed the development of a flexible layer of services and applications based
on Web environments and Apps such as the electronic headquarters for carrying out administrative
procedures, specialized portals, social networks, communication with external actors, and the
incorporation of geospatial information for asset management that connect internally with legacy
systems to offer the necessary functionalities.

In addition to this already consolidated reality, the emergence of new paradigms such as those
mentioned in previous sections: Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, Big Data, Edge
computing, augmented reality, and many more have led to the introduction of the “Urban City
Platforms” that group these new functionalities into a common frame of reference. Although there
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are a significant number of so-called City Platforms on the market, recommendations ITU-T Y.4201
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and Y.4200 include the high-level requirements, reference architecture, and interoperability
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requirements to guarantee investment and compatibility with other market solutions. In later
chapters, the basic functionalities provided by these platforms will be described in greater detail.

With this complex and constantly evolving scenario, the ICT ecosystem as a data infrastructure
for the services of a Smart and Sustainable city would be composed of architecture such as the
one described in Chapter 1, based on microservices together with an integration bus to facilitate
the exchange of information between different systems, as well as administration tools, security
mechanisms and protection against failures. In large blocks, this ecosystem would be composed of:

• Applications of value for citizens and the municipal officials themselves.

• The systems that host the applications of municipal administrative procedures, financial
management, collection, etc.

• Vertical application servers: mobility systems, waste management, environmental management,
lighting, etc.

• Communications infrastructure for people, buildings, IoT, and citizens.

74 Reference framework for integrated management of an SSC | June 2023