Optimizing our Urban settings: Future of Cities
Urbanization and the 2030 Agenda:
Cities play a very important role in our society. More than 80% of the global GDP is generated in cities. Right now, more than half of the world population lives in urban cities which are estimated to be two-thirds by 2050.
As urbanization continues to be a major trend, cities need to be more inclusive, sustainable, and accommodating. People are striving to live a high standards lifestyle. But with exponential population growth, but the same amount of land (and resources)- the earth cannot simply entertain us all.
As we move closer to the 2030 Agenda deadline, our hopes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals depend entirely on innovation solving the world’s biggest problems or accelerating existing solutions through technology. Cities are a center to adopt the 2030 Agenda because of the interconnected nature of all the SDGs. Most of the goals apply to the city’s infrastructure like Gender Equality, Clean Water and Sanitation, Industry Innovation, and Infrastructure to name a few.
Problems within our Urban cities
People moving into the cities are stressing the ability to provide basic services to all.
883 million people all over the globe are in city slums with every 1 in 3 urban dwellers live in slum households. Almost 94% of accidents on US roads occur due to human error. A report determined that an average American commuter wastes 54 extra hours a year in traffic delays. Average crime rates are higher in urban areas. Approximately 70% of global energy use and greenhouse gas emissions are contributed by cities but they only occupy 5% of the earth’s landmass.
To ensure quality urban life for all, we need to address these problems smartly. Urban planning and development will play a key factor in designing a city’s landscape to use its utmost potential.
The Future: Smart Cities
To cater to the growing population and build sustainable urban environments, we have to be smart with what we have and optimize it. That’s where the concept of ‘Smart cities’ comes in the future of cities.
A smart city is simply one that uses technology to improve outcomes across every aspect of city operations and enhance the services it offers to its residents.
Source: Deloitte
Smart cities essentially revolve around the idea of driving effective and most efficient solutions to our urban problems with technological solutions.
Right now, we are living in one of the most exciting times. With the current pace of digital usage and adoption, data generation is not slowing down. All this data is the lifeblood of smart cities.
Smart Cities
With the rise of machine learning, data processing is far more efficient, fast, and accurate. Real-time CCTV footage can be analyzed by algorithms to suspect any suspicious activity in the city. As autonomous vehicles hit the main road, Internet of Things technology can build an integrated and synchronized system of all vehicles and traffic signals that can communicate between themselves to prevent accidents and traffic congestion. Sensors put around the cities can help control and detect unwanted changes which can alert city officials of the need for their attention.
Cities like Eindhoven in Netherlands and Stavanger in Norway are creating smart city programs to cope with population changes through sustainable lifestyles. In Eindhoven, lamposts were fitted with wi-fi trackers, cameras, and microphones to detect safety issues. The city aims to build smart blocks implementing a hybrid energy system and promote smart mobility by smart traffic management.
Smart Homes
With these technologies, we can also have ‘smart homes’ which optimizes our resources and makes everything personalized to our lifestyle. Robotic furniture is an example of that which can expand and fold according to our needs. Rather than having many static furniture pieces, one multi-dimensional unit that holds all aspects of our lives saves up space and money.
The future of homes includes having built-in systems that control the light intensity of the entire house based on time of the day, sensors that switch off lights when there is no one in the room, to having mattresses that give out the right amount of heat to give you a good night sleep.
As we continue to learn more about ourselves, the world, and our capabilities, we will continue to improve our standards of living- increasing comfort and luxury and reducing lag and wastefulness. Though not sure if I am on board with the idea of increased comfort, I do know that with automation, so many mundane routine tasks will be replaced with productive ones increasing human potential. After all, cities are built so that we can thrive.
