In line with the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, to evolve Dubai as the world's Smartest City by 2017, Dubai Design District (d3), a member of Tecom Group, has introduced 21 smart initiatives to develop an innovative business community and contribute to the realization of the emirate's economic aspirations. Built around Smart Dubai's four pillars – efficient, seamless, safe and impactful – and six dimensions covering Smart Economy, Smart Living, Smart Environment, Smart Governance, Smart People and Smart Mobility, d3's initiatives are wide ranging and intelligently leverage technology to help drive an unparalleled quality of experience for its creative tenants and visitors. Through collaborations with DEWA, RTA and Empower, d3 has designed a number of bespoke initiatives that are now being implemented across the site. Dr. Aisha Bin Bashr, the Director General at Smart Dubai Office, said: "Our vision for the smart city is about making Dubai the happiest city in the world. There isn't any one city in the world that claims to have checked all the boxes of being smart, nor emphasized the importance for people's happiness. Dubai Design District, d3, aims to improve the quality of life of its residents and visitors. Built in close collaboration with several government entities, d3 is a greenfield benchmark for districts around the world, showcasing smart initiatives designed to improve the experiences of its visitors, tenants and business partners." Chosen as the ultimate venue to inaugurate the Internet of Things World forum, d3 offered the 300 visiting delegates an opportunity to witness the smart initiatives planned for the emirate by entities across Dubai. As a greenfield project in Dubai, d3 will play host to a number of different, life enhancing initiatives that will benefit both business partners and visitors alike. An array of smart service initiatives including Smart Parking Meters, Smart Energy Meters, and Smart Waste Management combine to truly bring a new degree of sustainability, resource management and energy efficiency to life at d3. With additional security through Smart Access Control and more innovative ways of utilizing data through data virtualization, d3 stays ahead of customer and market trends and therefore enhances the experience of its commercial and retail business partners and better serves d3 as a community. Speaking about Internet of Things (IoT) and the developments that will be made at d3, Michael Byron, Resident Director of SSH Design, one of d3's business partners, commented: "We at SSH Design were very impressed by the real-time Smart initiatives that were showcased at d3 during the Internet of Things World Forum. It is clear that we are seeing a whole new wave of innovations in IoT and digitization that are already transforming business and society today, and we are proud to be part of this exciting transformation here at d3." Dr. Amina Al Rustamani, Group Chief Executive Officer of TECOM Group, said: "We believe Dubai is ideally placed to provide the Smart City benchmark for the rest of the world's emerging economies to follow. Through the 21 Smart initiatives introduced at d3, we are seeking to change the way business is conducted across sectors, and to deliver a greater quality of life and experience for millions of people. Encouraging innovation and leveraging technology and data lie at the heart of this."
