Smart cities stall while spaces designed from scratch thrive

FUTUREWORLD 8 March 2038

In the early 2020s, “smart city” was the darling buzzword of progressive urban planners. Catchphrases like “We are transforming into a smart city!” echoed across the globe and money poured into IT systems as well as dazzling concept presentations and study tours to shining examples like Singapore and London. The aim of the game was connectivity, internet of things, digitisation and “smart everything”.

All was set up for a revolution in how a city works and how it is managed, and the efficiency and transparency of government were held up as beacons ... and that’s where it all stumbled, in some cases even ground to a standstill.

Many countries that touted smart cities weren’t that interested in being transparent about how funds were distributed. Data privacy laws that had been imposed on corporates now backfired. Citizens wouldn’t accept that the government had access to and shared their private data. When they realised to what extent their personal data was being collected — like when and where they went after work, how fast they drove and how many times they flushed the toilet — they rebelled.

But further afield, in the rich oil economies of the Middle East, a new city concept started to take form. The design was based on interconnected smart systems, resulting in hi-tech, mixed-use buildings powered by green energy. Designing from scratch rather than rejigging a medieval city minimised the personal and private data points needed, and people could focus on enjoying a fulfilling life in spaces designed for humans and business, and not for cars and bureaucracy.

Saudi Arabia, with its flagship futuristic concept Neom, started with four cities. The 170km-long The Line, the island city of Sindalah, the mountain hideaway Trojena and the industrial port of Oxagon all pushed the technical envelope way into the future.

And now, 17 years later, Saudi Arabia is reaping the fruits of the investments. The cities are true objects of art and attract visitors and residents from all over the world.

But the real gain is in the cities’ technological spin-offs. Mustafa Abdullah, the current CEO of Neom, likens it to how America’s space programme in the 1960s fed a revolution of cutting-edge tech advancements in computers, materials and astrophysics.

Saudi Arabia is now the worldwide authority and hub for innovative future city design, technology, mobility and energy systems. /First published on Mindbullets March 7 2024

FROM SMART CITIES TO DESIGNER GHETTOS 21 January 2027

The evolution of society from villages, towns and cities to cities, suburbs and slums was well under way when two powerful forces shaping the future clashed headon: rampant tech innovation and the impending climate crisis. Only a spark was needed to ignite the revolution.

The coronavirus pandemic provided the catalyst for people to re-examine their work and leisure lifestyles, and put the spotlight on the ridiculous habit of a daily commute in a world where technology made video meetings easier than a phone call, and global team collaboration was becoming simple and normal.

Networked infrastructure and mobility services meant that you didn’t need a private car, and, anyway, cars are bad for the environment. Even electric cars need batteries, which means more mining. Planned communities that could be smart by design and eco-friendly were the answer. The 15-minute city was born, as “a real step towards the future”.

By 2022, projects like The Point in Utah and Culdesac in Arizona were under way, while Paris was also implementing 15minute city principles in suitable neighbourhoods. As part of the “Great Reset” it made perfect sense. Enclaves and residential estates sprang up, with their own schools, clinics, restaurants, clubs, co-working spaces, and, of course, solar power and internet service. Together with crypto-based community levies and service fees, they became hyperlocal governments.

It was inevitable that successful enclaves and desirable neighbourhood schemes thrived and flourished, while underresourced and disadvantaged communities became rundown, neglected and dependent on city authorities whose tax base had shrunk. It’s beginning to dawn on the sociocrats that you can’t fix deep inequality or the climate by building mini utopias for the middle classes.

Now those who can afford to are seeking sovereignty in the countryside, while it’s back to the drawing board for urban planners, wrestling with their increasingly dystopian suburbia. Will cities smarten up? /First published on Mindbullets January 20 2022

DESIGNING FROM SCRATCH RATHER THAN REJIGGING A MEDIEVAL CITY MINIMISED THE DATA POINTS NEEDED