Rio de Janeiro’s Operations Centre (Rio de Janeiro - Brazil)

The city of Rio de Janeiro is regularly hit by natural disasters caused by bad weather conditions such as torrential rains, floods, and landslides. In the “favelas”, the poor and steep neighbourhoods of the city, this can often lead to a deadly outcome. That is why the government of the city and IBM signed an agreement in 2010 to build Rio de Janeiro’s Operations Centre, a holistic and integrated approach to municipal management in large urban settlements.

Comprising staff, data, and functions of about 30 municipal departments and state agencies (including the police department, central fire department, and health department, among many others), the centre aims to optimise the city’s efficiency in delivering a wide range of public services and provide a rapid response to emergency situations, be it a natural disaster or a security threat.

Rio’s Operations Centre has over 400 employees working in shifts 24/7 to perform all types of essential daily operations, such as optimising trash collection through monitoring garbage trucks equipped with GPS, improving waste management, and controlling traffic conditions in real-time to reduce congestions. The centre is equipped with a large wall of TV monitors to display all the relevant data collected across various urban systems, as well as a crisis room to allow decision-making for proper crisis management.

The Operations Centre also has a website where citizens can obtain data regarding weather conditions and traffic advice, for instance. There is also a Facebook and Twitter account that send notifications and alerts whenever necessary.

Sources:

http://www.centrodeoperacoes.rio/

http://www.c40.org/case_studies/rio-operations-center

http://smartcityhub.com/technology-innnovation/nine-examples-smart-city-innovations-minimal-costs/

http://www.museumofthecity.org/project/rio-de-janeiro-and-ibms-smarter-cities-project/