The pace of revolution is gaining speed. Technology is the engine but Smart Ideas are controlling the direction. These Smart Ideas are shaped by the demands of the future coupled by the growing realization that what the future brings requires us to build the future smarter and more sustainable.
One of the many Smart Ideas gaining speed is the concept called Smart Cities. I recently spoke to one of the thought leaders of the concept called “Smart Cities.” Larisa Miller is CEO of Phoenix Consulting and Managing Member for AKON Global.
Her work has been to foresee the future and energize how we plan to get there. One of the many outputs of her work is the idea that we must “understand behaviors of citizens, residents, workforce and travelers by computing data, integrating IoT, e-Government and enhanced connectivity to drive innovation.”
Connecting all these dots is the key to creating greater efficiencies across all aspects of day to day life with a heightened focus on sustainability.
Pushing forward the Smart Cities of the future will incorporate things we cannot even begin to imagine today. Artificial Intelligence, robotics and automation will play a big role in helping us to do many things smarter and prioritizing sustainability will help us keep the biosphere we live in today healthier, safer and happier.
Larisa Miller has projected that “60% of the population will move to the cities by 2050.” This will create housing shortages, crowded roads and increased competition for services. The rules of the supply & demand curve typically push prices up and often times beyond the reach of everyone. She warns us that Smarter Cities have to address “energy, building efficiency, waste management, transportation and social cohesiveness.” These are serious challenges.
The early signs of the emerging Smart Cities are already happening. Modular housing using shipping containers are the rage. Gentrification of dilapidated inner cities is gaining ground. Self-driving vehicles. IoT connecting everything to enhance efficiencies and reduce waste which ultimately reduces the footprint humans have on the planet. This evolution leading us to the future has to be different than all the changes we have seen before.
The Industrial Revolution was fantastic but if we could do it over how would it change? The Technology Revolution was equally amazing but what if we had started thinking about sustainability at the same time? Those developing and living in the Smart Cities have to be smarter. They have to create with just as much focus on sustainability as speed or cost.
One of my passions is the emphasis on STEM. STEM will be an important part of the journey to the Smart Cities. My challenge to those that will soon create or live in these Smart Cities is to get smarter now and become part of shaping the world you will be given to hand to the next generation.
About the Author: Gretchen Philyaw is President of Magenta Technologies LLC, an Atlanta-based industrial automation company and founder 0f USA Loves Manufacturing, an organization promoting and advocating USA manufacturing and technology.
Gretchen envisioned an organization that would support the manufacturing & technology arena and lift up the people that make it happen everyday. #PinkistheNewBlack
