Latin America. Constantly large cities have faced great changes, these transformations translate into new needs for citizens. So the challenge is focused on knowing what today could help improve the living conditions of citizens?
Sustainability has become an immediate response to this question, because constituting more sustainable spaces is possible through the development and implementation of video surveillance solutions for the needs of the present without having to compromise the future, that is, technologies such as surveillance cameras to maintain a safe city, IP audio interconnected to a robust security system and analytics that provide us with the collection of reliable and concise data, they are the first step in maintaining order and ensuring the safety of the inhabitants.
In this sense, video surveillance solutions are of great support for the development of more sustainable cities, since energy consumption decreases, in addition to the fact that the life cycle in its implementation is long-lasting, which provides less pollution in the environment, as well as the protection of natural resources and ecosystems, through adaptation schemes that mitigate the impact on urban spaces.
Today, the world is more urbanized, living more and more in cities and leaving behind rural areas, this results in a growing number of inhabitants in urban areas, with poor quality infrastructure and services, as well as increased insecurity. Therefore, video surveillance is one of the responses to these changes, that is, it is a technology capable of helping the development of cities, since processes can become more efficient by obtaining accurate data, either to maintain the security of the population, the distribution of patrols, identify stolen vehicles; these aspects become key to the security of public spaces, as well as to the reduction of crime.
Vicente López: an example for Latin America
An example of this situation was experienced in the city of Vicente López, a municipality located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which has a population of 300,000 inhabitants in an area of 33 square km. This territory became a wake-up call due to the number of inhabitants and the lack of security of the common spaces.
The need of citizens to have safer spaces for their development, caused Vicente López to create a project that consisted of installing more than 800 high-tech Axis cameras in government buildings, along public roads, in transport and patrols, making this city one of the most sustainable and technological references in South America.
One of the conflicts that existed for the inhabitants who traveled every day from one city to another by public and private transport was insecurity, vehicle thefts, assaults and conflicts that came out of the jurisdiction of the municipality. Therefore, through the implementation of a network video surveillance solution, a considerable reduction of these events was achieved, taking a new direction with the permanent monitoring of citizens providing a safer environment. The construction of smarter cities allows to respond to the needs of the present and the future, empowering the authorities to place the citizen as the axis to improve the quality of life and achieve greater development.
"Video surveillance solutions improve management time in critical situations and shorten response times. In this city, as in many others, there was a constant increase in crime so the change was urgent and important, so not only responds to immediate demands, but to a whole long-term security strategy to generate a true sense of security, "said Mariano Vega, Regional Sales Manager at Axis Communications.
Throughout this implementation, which launched the video surveillance project with advanced technology, supervision was carried out by certified engineers in network surveillance systems, allowing the renewal in a city that used to have analog equipment which have evolved to technology of the highest quality to be able to have a reliable surveillance, this type of facility provides coverage to all buildings, streets and transport.
What does it mean to bring a more advanced video surveillance technology in cities?
It provides public officials with high-definition images, helps to have the ability to render fine details without losing sight of the total scene. The joint work of cameras and audio network can bring great value in the search for the improvement of the quality of life of the residents and visitors of the city, since access to effective surveillance of suspicious situations, providing instructions on traffic incidents, or deterring crime is available, actions that allow the reduction of crimes and an increase in the quality of the service that the authorities can provide to citizens.
"The adoption of high-resolution IP cameras has saved time and improved communication between patrol agents and control center personnel. This represents a great leap forward in terms of security for Vicente López," says Santiago Espeleta, Vicente López's Secretary of Security.
When the world faces changes such as those that have happened in recent years, and the increase in insecurity rates, it is impossible not to want to live in a safe place and adapted to a new transformation.
Therefore, to have video surveillance solutions with technologies such as: cameras for urban surveillance, network audio, video analytics that improve information flows and body solutions, for use by security agents that allow them to capture valuable evidence, deter bad behavior and positively influence the actions of both camera users and the public, they take cities to a new level of development.
In this regard, Mariano Vega comments that, "for Vicente López, the implementation of network cameras and an anti-vandalism camera with Lightfinder technology, have allowed searches to be carried out more quickly and accurately because specific parameters such as the direction of a trip can be defined in order to limit new searches and improve accuracy, as well as maintaining better rates in the quality of life in safer and more sustainable spaces for this municipality."
Smart cities seek to scale development to improve the quality of life, however, for cities to adopt this approach it is necessary to accelerate the processes of learning, construction and accumulation of technological capabilities which implies streamlining the processes of adaptation to these new innovations. Achieving a smart city is now possible thanks to the set of tools, technologies and solutions applied in the efficient use of resources.
The Municipality of Vicente López decided to install a video surveillance solution on the main roads of the city, which has improved the mobility and safety of residents and tourists.
