Impact of ICT on Urban Plannning and Development Management - The case of Water Resources Sector

Abstract

Water is one of the vital resources of human life. With many changes in climate and population growth, water resources have become inadequate compared to demand. Water management has become a major challenge for both government and the private sector to provide quantities of water with high quality at reasonable cost and rational rate of energy consumption. Water is a critical component of the urban system, that affects environmental and human health, and nurtures local economic development. Sustainable development revolves around how to harmonize the indicators of high water demand and good water management to ensure integrated and sustainable development. Through the use of ICT systems, cities seek to achieve a number of additional benefits in the management of the water sector, such as: Accuracy and speed in identifying problems and priorities related to the sector, ensuring that decisions and solutions are taken quickly and accurately, thus achieving continuity and sustainability in water management. The research aims to achieve the principles of smart cities by measuring some quantitative indicators on the cities of Dakahlia governorate to classify them into three levels that reflect the application of ICT in water resource management and its impact on urban development using various technological capabilities, and then propose some smart water management technologies to achieve the principles of smart cities.