Who needs flying DeLoreans, hoverboards or self-lacing Nikes when around the globe cities large and small are embarking on journey of discovery and perhaps even a new era of data-driven enlightenment?
From our corner of the world at FutureStructure, 2014 bears the hallmarks of a year that in hindsight may prove to be one of great historical significance. More than ever before, city and regional leaders have begun to understand and embrace the “city-as-a-system” concept. The idea that all of a city’s component parts are interconnected and made more powerful by technologies like the Internet of Everything is resonating in more places. In a city where everything is connected, the possibilities are tantalizing.
Consider just one aspect of the city – the transportation system. In 2014 there were hundreds of stories (many on our site) about the coming age of the connected – and even driverless – vehicle. If no other aspect of the so-called “smart city” ever materializes other than an intelligent transportation system of autonomous, connected cars it will still be a miraculous revolution in human civilization. Consider the deeply intertwined nature of the average American city and its respective network of roads and highways. Imagine how freeing and transformative it would be to take human indecision, distraction and intoxication out of the equation. Tens of thousands of lives would be spared as our cars communicate with each other to avoid collisions while billions in future infrastructure expansion would be saved as our cars are able to fully optimize roadway utilization.
Off the road and in our homes and workplaces, the movement toward zero-net energy took several big strides in 2014. Office buildings, corporate campuses, and even individual homes can now be built to produce as much energy as they consume. While it’s true such structures are more expensive than their traditional counterparts that price disparity is getting smaller. Earlier this year, in El Dorado Hills, Calif., KB Homes showed off a zero-net energy home priced only 8 percent more than one built to present standards. Soon, neighborhoods, subdivisions, and even entire cities could be feeding energy to the grid instead of always feeding off it.
Cities also continue to pursue other noble goals such as transforming waste into a source of renewable energy; building intelligence into utility systems to protect our water and energy resources while predicting and correcting problems before they occur; and reorienting suburbs onto a path of urbanization to create civic cores that stimulate the economy, preserve open spaces, improve safety and bring neighbors closer together.
While no single city as yet can claim to have adopted all of these innovations, many cities are hard at work laying the foundation and building the framework required to do so. It all starts with what we at FutureStructure call the “soft infrastructure” – the policies, regulations (or lack thereof), laws and ideas that will enable the evolution of the smart city.
It’s no secret the world is getting more crowded and that most of the crowds will be in cities. We’ve set ourselves on a path away from the agrarian lifestyle that has dominated the entirety of human civilization and toward an age where the vast majority of humanity resides in a city. This is arguably the most fundamental change we’ve ever embarked upon as a society. And it’s a change that demands leaders in the public and private sector rethink and reimagine what defines a city.
Looking back at 2014 we see encouraging signs of such rethinking and reimaging everywhere – not just in the megalopolises of the world but in midsize cities and small towns too. And if 2014 is indeed a leading indicator of what’s to come, then no amount of hoverboards or DeLoreans will hold a candle to what’s yet to come.
