Egbert van Keulen

In the 1990s, as the digital revolution began to gather pace, some social commentators speculated that it would lead to the death of the city. People’s geographical location would become less important, the argument went, as they came to interact mostly in cyberspace. Two decades on, the opposite has happened: human beings continue to live very much in the physical realm, and early this century passing the turning point of more people living in urban than rural areas.

The UN predicts that by 2050 the world’s urban population will be as big as the world’s total population in 2002. But what will the cities of tomorrow be like? People continue to be drawn to cities by the economic, social and creative opportunities they offer; large cities are more productive than rural areas, producing more patents and yielding higher returns on capital.

McKinsey estimates that the world’s top 100 cities will account for 35 percent of global GDP growth between now and 2025. However, urbanization also presents major challenges. The world’s fastest growing cities have seen problems adjusting to growth and industrialization, choking under the burden of pollution, congestion and urban poverty.

Read more in the article below.

We would like to share with you a copy of the new World Economic Forum report ‘Harnessing Public-Private Cooperation to Deliver the New Urban Agenda’, which was released recently.

The report emphasizes that the future of cities largely depends on the way urbanization is managed and public-private collaboration is leveraged to implement the Habitat III New Urban Agenda and advance sustainable urban development.

The report also offers best practices for smart cities in detail.

Read more in the article below.

Yes, Asia, not USA. That is the conclusion of a white paper called “Evolution of Smart Cities and Connected Communities.” Asia, has more government support for smart city initiatives, their cities are more tech-ready, and most of all, Asia needs smart cities more than anywhere else because of its growing urban populations.

The study was conducted by Government Technology and co-sponsored by the Consumer Technology Association and the United Parcel Service (UPS).

Of course, smart cities are emerging all over the world, as by 2050, 70 percent of the world population will live in cities. Smart technology is not just something we want, it is something we need. We need it all over the world but in Asia we need it even more. That is why Asian government investments in smart city technology push Asia in the leadership position, the white paper says.

Citing a BMI Research report from 2016, the report noted urbanization in China and India rose to 65 percent and 37 percent respectively last year, up from 56 percent and 33 percent respectively in 2015. Singapore, meanwhile, aims to be the world’s first smart nation — leveraging one of the world’s highest mobile and broadband penetration rates.

Read more in this article.

'Trends in Smart City Development’ is a report from the National League of Cities featuring case studies about how five cities – Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, Charlotte, N.C., and New Delhi, India – are using different approaches to implement smart city projects. The report also provides recommendations to help local governments consider and plan smart city projects.

Read more below.

We all know them, traffic jams, also in Amsterdam. Cause for stress, loss of money and time, and extra carbon dioxide emissions. This is an area where smart technology really can make our lives easier. The city of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania (USA) is pioneering with smart traffic technology in combination with Artificial Intelligence.

Pittsburgh cuts down travel time by a quarter and traffic jams by 40 percent using radar sensors and cameras at every light to recognize traffic activity. The data coming from the sensors is used by Artificial Intelligence to streamline the traffic in the most intelligent and optimal way by reacting to the traffic conditions in real time.

The system used is called Surtrac, a startup founded by Carnegie Mellon professor of robotics Stephen Smith. As of 2016, Surtrac is installed at 50 intersections in Pittsburgh, with additional expansions currently in planning.

For more details, read the article below.

China has big plans, plans to build Xiongan. A complete new megacity, twice the size of New York City, about 100 kilometres south of Beijing. Goal is to take the pressure of the congested capital Beijing and to replicate the remarkable successes of Shenzhen and Pudong.

The name of the city will be Xiongan, and it will be built completely from scratch in a district that currently mostly consists of farmland and villages. Since the government announced the plans, earlier this month, Xiongan immediately became a hype, and a goldrush started for property in the new economic zone. The government had to stop these property sales as would-be real estate moguls descended immediately on the region after the announcement.

Read all about it in the article below.