Smart Cities: Communities Of The Future

Air Date:
Heard On The Morning Show
Downtown Madison
Mark Buehler (CC-BY-NC)

Cities are smartening up. Leaders are intentionally integrating technology into the everyday experience in communities across the country. Our guest is part of a network of companies helping cities use tech to become more sustainable, livable and workable. Learn what a smart city looks like and what how technology could change America’s landscape.

Featured in this Show

  • Wisconsin Cities Look To Smarten Up

    The term “smart city” might bring to mind something out of “The Jetsons,” all flying cars and jet packs.

    Even Foxconn’s Director of U.S. Strategic Initiatives Alan Yeung played into that picture earlier this month, as the company announced a $1 million “Smart City, Smart Future” competition for Wisconsin college students and faculty.

    “We’re talking about flying drones, and soon, I can guarantee you, we won’t be just talking. We’ll be riding those flying cars,” he told a crowd earlier this month at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. “Imagine that. It will not be centuries away, it will not be decades away. It could be as close as five years away.”

    But the phrase isn’t a definition as much as it is a philosophy, say smart city proponents like Jason Nelson.

    Nelson is executive director for partnership engagement at the Smart Cities Council, a network of companies dedicated to helping cities become more sustainable, livable and workable.

    He cites a growing world population — estimated to reach 9.8 billion by 2050 — as an impetus for the cause.

    “Technology is gonna be the way that we relieve the burden on our resources,” Nelson said. “It’s gonna be the way that we create more efficient government and we really fundamentally transform the relationship between the civic government and the relationship with its citizens.”

    What that looks like depends on the city.

    In Boston, which jumped on the trend back in 2010, smartphone app Bos:311 allows residents to take pictures of nuisances like potholes and graffiti and report them directly to the city.

    But Boston is also using cameras and sensors at intersections throughout the city to gather more information about how people travel and use it to make safer roads.

    Much of the discussion around smart cities has to do with transportation.

    In April, Madison was one of 22 cities selected for the 2018 Smart Cities Collaborative, a forum bringing together cities to discuss transportation problems and solutions.

    A “smart city” approach to transportation could look like flying cars, Nelson said. But it’s more likely to involve autonomous vehicles and smarter use of data to ease traffic congestion and improve safety.

    Though Boston is a giant compared to Madison, population-wise, smaller cities have seen successes with new technologies, Nelson said.

    For example, Cary, North Carolina — the state’s seventh-largest city — is building out a city-wide data platform, combining city data from all departments into one easily accessible, usable place. That’s what being a smart city is all about, Nelson said — taking full advantage of pre-existing resources.

    “The danger in collecting data from different applications, say transportation data, is that it can live inside of a data center that’s only accessible by the transportation department,” he said. “… So by bringing all of that data together you’re gonna be able to create real actionable intelligence for the city, so that they can make better decisions and hopefully provide better service to the residents.”

    Nelson said competitions for businesses like Amazon’s HQ2 have made community leaders realize the need to think smart.

Episode Credits

  • Kate Archer Kent Host
  • Michael Dieringer Producer