Blockchain and Trust in a Smart City

Trust in a smart city is fundamental to its transparency, the participation of its people in governance, entrepreneurial initiatives, trade, commerce and hence the growth of its economy. A city gets smart by transforming itself to a digital city, and a digital city runs on data, analytics, internet of things, artificial intelligence and machine learning. This inevitable transformation creates the fundamental need for trust. How does data remain sacrosanct and verifiable? How do people trust institutions? How do institutions trust each other? How do devices trust each other? This article explores blockchain as an essential layer of trust in a smart city. It explains the technology by drawing real-life examples to the 'memory game' that operates in an ecosystem of 'trust and consensus.' The article provides further insight into institutions that can be governed on blockchain through 'smart contracts' in a sovereign and human independent manner. The use cases of blockchain have been corroborated with examples of successful blockchain implementation. The value for blockchain, in general, and smart cities, in particular, has been presented across four categories: (a) the network effect on trust on society, governments and industries; (b) empowering the individual and strengthening the economy; (c) the liquid economy and (d) the shareable economy. Given the current topology of technology innovations, there is no solution better than blockchain that embodies trust. It is a hope and expectation that this article will help smart city planners, developers, architects and thinkers implement blockchain as the embodiment of trust in smart cities that are increasingly becoming digital.