Head of Digital Policy at Poder Ejecutivo del Estado de Querétaro

Without a doubt, the concept of a smart city is an important issue, which, over time, has gained more strength, especially in urban planning and development, as well as in sustainable development. Although it is true that there are many sources that provide you with a definition, I believe that one of the sources that gather most of the fundamental elements is the one developed by the OECD, in which they define a smart city as a city that uses technology and data to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants, optimize the efficiency of public services, reduce their environmental impact and promote economic development.

In this sense, Querétaro is an exemplary case of transformation towards a smart city in Mexico since it has a strategic program called Querétaro Digital, whose objective is to reduce the digital divide and thereby reduce the disparities of the gaps in the educational field. , labor, social, and economic.

It has four strategic axes focused on developing:

● Digital Government: Achieve the efficiency and transparency of the public administration through the use and adoption of digital technologies, bringing the state ever closer to the citizenry to improve their quality of life.

● Digital Society: Develop the necessary skills in the Queretaro population, ensuring an inclusive approach that allows them to efficiently use and adopt digital technologies and train the human talent required for sustainable economic and social development.

● Digital Economy: Raise the levels of competitiveness and productivity of the economy of the State of Querétaro through the development and incorporation of digital technologies in production processes with an inclusive approach.

● Connectivity and ICT: Guarantee the growth of Internet access and Information Technology throughout the state."

For this reason, Querétaro has incorporated the use of state-of-the-art technologies in government procedures related to citizenship and currently has a chatbot called QROBOT through which citizens can learn about the main topics of interest, such as the status of one of his largest works on Paseo 5 de Febrero, public transportation, drinking water services, procedures related to basic education, vehicle procedures, and the public property registry. In general, in QROBOT, there are more than 45 automated services and more than ten dependencies included.

“It is necessary to say that Querétaro is the state that has positioned itself as the data center hub, in which technological giants such as Microsoft and KIO Networks have installed, and others are about to install their data center.”

As far as connectivity is concerned, today, for the first time, all public basic education schools have internet in their facilities, which will allow children to have access to better and higher quality educational services.

Thus, in addition to having a strategic geographical location, which makes it a core point for regional and national connectivity, it is the access point to various transportation routes and is conducive to the development of intelligent transportation and logistics infrastructure.

Additionally, its economy has had exponential growth, positioning itself as a leading state in technological development, manufacturing, and the aerospace industry.

Also, it is important to highlight that it has joint work and links between academia, industry, and government and currently houses various highly prestigious educational institutions, as well as research centers that encourage technological development and innovation in the state and the use of technologies in the various production processes.

It is necessary to say that Querétaro is the state that has positioned itself as the data center hub, in which technological giants such as Microsoft and KIO Networks have installed and others are about to install their data centers.

It is clear that there are still many challenges to face and resolve, but today, Querétaro has a great opportunity to use technologies and create intelligent solutions to improve the quality of life of Querétaro residents. With adequate planning and the will of everyone, more efficient services, greater security, and fluid urban mobility can be provided, and, of course, the use of public and natural resources can be optimized, contributing to environmental sustainability and economic savings.

The above will attract more and better investments to the state, creating high-value added jobs, strengthening knowledge workers, increasing their competitiveness, and serving as a model and inspiration for the country and the world.

Finally, it is important to highlight the progress that the state has made, particularly in relation to the development and implementation of regulatory instruments that allow it to move towards an efficient digital government centered on the citizen and that responds to the current needs of the environment, such as they are: the law of digital government which aims to establish the general provisions for the use and consolidation of information and communication technologies by its subjects in their interaction with individuals, as well as the advanced electronic signature law which its purpose is to regulate and promote in the state the use of digital media, electronic documents and advanced electronic signature.