Topic: future-cities

The smart cities agenda focuses on improving citizens quality of life by enhancing a city's infrastructure using new technologies. Furthermore, we can think of sustainability as a long-term goal in which environmental, societal, and economic fields are balanced in the journey for life improvement. Therefore, smart sustainable cities are the way forward to not only improve the quality of life of a city’s inhabitants but also to confront a persistent problem of this era: climate change.

Do cities always have to have cars, streets, and carbon emissions? Do they even need to have a roughly circular layout? Saudi Arabia’s future city “The Line” suggests a different approach.

Bob Bennett, the former Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) of Kansas City talked in our Smart City Leader Interview Series - while he still was the CIO of Kansas City - about the importance of smart cities and smart citizens. He emphasized the role of technology and the benefits for citizens.

Rob van Gijzel, the former Mayor of Eindhoven and current Chairman of the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) Foundation in New York and National Ambassador for the Blockchain Cities Coalition speaks about the importance of smart cities and smart citizens.

There was a time when bells in town squares warned citizens of impending danger. Today, the bells ring again in the form of studies and media reports with warnings about urban problems that plague modern cities and resist solutions. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of people move to cities in pursuit of a higher quality of life. This is the story of cities: Citizens with big expectations versus the endurance of big city problems. It is a still-unfolding story with numerous villains: social inequality, traffic congestion, pollution, crime, unemployment, lack of affordable housing, aging infrastructure, public service shortfalls.

The importance of smart cities & smart citizens: In our new interview series, smart city leaders comment on the future of smart cities, the role of technology, and the benefits for citizens. In our first interview of the series, we have asked Jonathan Reichental, CIO of Palo Alto, California to share his expertise, thoughts and insights with us on a number of important smart city topics.