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Internet of Things - The City of Chico

 Chico of the Future - IoT

The Internet of Things has become more and more prominent as time goes on, and it seems as though now, you can find a version of almost anything you can think of that has internet access. In a lot of ways, I think this can be helpful, but it can also feel a bit useless at times. As far as Chico becoming a smart city, I don't think it is an amazing idea due to the smaller scale of the city, but there are a lot of aspects that could be helpful, especially while college is in session. 

One of the biggest examples of a positive impact for the Chico area would be the idea of smart parking. Parking is a constant issue almost anywhere near the CSU - Chico campus, and having smart parking in garages as well as on the street would make the daily lives of many Chico residents much easier. The amount of time and headaches saved would be a huge positive, and after learning about this being a possibility, it seems almost assuredly worth the time and money it would cost to implement. 

The other major positive I could see for Chico becoming a smart city is the monitoring of crime. Chico is not the safest city, far from it actually, and being able to warn people about areas that are known for consistent crimes with a notification on their phone or a constantly-updating crime map can help residents stay safe when walking or biking, especially at night. This would help a lot to lower crime rates and keep the residents at least a bit safer and more aware of where they are. On a similar note, there are sensors that can be used to detect flooding early, which can be crucial to Chico residents keeping themselves and their homes safe. Chico is known for flooding pretty badly when there are harsh rains due to the creek running through town, and while there are now runoffs specifically to stop flooding, it is still possible, given enough rainfall. Having these sensors could help residents to protect their belongings before flooding occurs, and could help them get out of the area before the flood reaches them.

The final piece that I think would be helpful would specifically be for the Chico campus, but I believe smart buildings would be very helpful for the upkeep of the campus. Having sensors to tell staff when a certain part of the building needs repairs could help prevent closings of the buildings, and would make everything run a lot smoother. 

Now, with all of this in mind, I still don't think that Chico should become a fully smart city. All of these things I mentioned above would be helpful, and I do think that they should be implemented, but other things, like traffic guidance, auto-dimming streetlights, or other large-scale changes, feel like they would go to waste. Chico is a relatively small town, even with the college being at the heart of it, and these huge scale changes would make a lot more sense in massive urban cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco, rather than in the suburbs. Aside from that, Chico is known for being, for lack of a better word, cute. I think Chico's rustic look would clash hard with too many technological advancements, and I doubt most of the residents would want these changes. So in the end, I think a few of these smart city additions would change Chico in a great way, but this old, small town doesn't need too many new, big changes.

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