Planning for the future  |  2 Mar 2021

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An innovative Christchurch-specific web app, SmartView, needs your vote.

Created by the Christchurch City Council’s Smart City programme, SmartView is a finalist in the IDC 2021 Smart City Asia Pacific Awards (SCAPA), recognising the best Smart City initiatives in the region.

People can show their support for the essential digital destination for Christchurch residents and visitors by voting for the local app project, boosting the chances of securing the overall award in the Civic Engagement section.

Smart Christchurch Programme Manager Michael Healy says that “for the final award, 25 per cent of the judging criteria is based on the public vote, with the remainder coming from a benchmark assessment and an advisory council rating”.

SmartView provides access to a range of real-time information about the city – from where to find car park availability, environmental information, street art, and even the location of public fruit trees that you can harvest in your neighbourhood.

Users can also get weather updates or find out what is happening in the city or discover street art, while checking on the current air quality and discovering how best to get to places, among the many other options.

“An award in the international arena will help highlight the city’s steps to boost environmental, financial and social outcomes,” Mr Healy says.

“We really want to get the message out that Christchurch is a city of innovation, brimming with new concepts and skills to benefit the wider world in the future,” he says.

“With support from our SmartView users, we can continue to champion the technological advances that make our cities safer and more connected while promoting the benefits of making data available to all.”

To cast your vote and learn about other leading projects in the Asia-Pacific region, go to idc.com/ap/smartcities.

The voting period closes on Wednesday, 17 March, with the category winners announced in April.

You can also check out SmartView.