CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF

TOMMOROW

A REPORT

Submitted
in the partial fulfilment of the requirements for
the subject

TECHNICAL REPORT WRITING

& RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

By

NAMAN SHARMA
[Sch. No. 2211002104]

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING,

MAULANA AZAD NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,
BHOPAL (M.P.) – 462003

FEBURARY,2023
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
According to the United Nations (U.N.), 68% of the world’s population will live in urban
areas by 2050, compared with 2% at the beginning of the 19th century, 30% in 1950 and
55% in 2018. Given this trend, what can be done to ensure cities stay pleasant, unpolluted
places to live, with low greenhouse gas emissions so as not to make worse?

The UN estimates that 55% of the global population lives in urban areas – a figure that is
projected to rise to 68% by 2050. With few exceptions, cities are expected to become
bigger and more numerous.

What’s the challenge?

Humans are rapidly becoming an urban species, with millions of people migrating to
cities each year. Over half of the world’s population live in urban areas and this is likely
to reach 70% of the population by 2050. How will urban centres across the world keep
pace with predicted continuing growth? What are the visions of tomorrow’s cities?

Cities now are experiencing the strongest pressure of growing cultural diversity and
social heterogeneity of the population. The population of cities consists of
representatives of different nationalities, languages, religions and social levels and it will
be more and more evident in the future cities. Cities fulfill the socio-cultural function,
proving to be places of custody of the cultural heritage of the peoples living in them. In the
cities traditions, attitudes, norms of behavior that regulate the behavior of social subjects
are formed. Through this function, the creative activity of individuals is realized, as well as
their identification.

Global changes in the development of cities are a distinctive feature of the modern world
and definitely of the future. Today, the city faces completely new problems that require
new, unusual solutions. The time has come to take a fresh look at the city, rethink the
priorities of its development, prepare to solve the problems of tomorrow, and not
yesterday's world.
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

Table of Contents Pg. No.

1. Intoduction 4

1.1 Current Scenario of Cities 4

1.2 How the cities are growing today 5

1.3 Way towards the future 6

2. Challenges and Issues faced by cities 7

2.1 Economic Challenges 7

2.2 Technological Challenges 8

2.3 Population as an issue 9

2.4 Social and Cultural Issues 11

2.4.1 Culture 12

2.4.2 Social life 13

3. Opportunities for Cities 14

3.1 Technology as an opportunity 14

3.2 Infrastructure - a key factor for future 16

3.2.1 Renewing outdated infrastructure 17

3.3 Development of Cities using modern skills 18

3.3.1 The role of robotics 19

3.3.2 Artificial Intelligence to boost efficiency of municipal services 19

3.3.3 3D printing and city planning 20

3.3.4 Automated logistics in Smart Cities 20

3.3.5 Blockchain’s role in developing Smart Cities 20

4. Conclusion- The gist of this topic 21

5. References 23

3
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

1. Abstract

Ties are expected to improve the quality of daily life, promote sustainable development
and improve the functionality of urban systems. Now that many smart systems have been
implemented,
Security and privacy issues have become a major challenge that requires effective
countermeasures. How-

Ever, traditional cybersecurity protection strategies cannot be applied directly to these

intelligent applications

Because of the heterogeneity, scalability, and dynamic characteristics of smart cities.

Furthermore, it is

Necessary to be aware of security and privacy threats when designing and implementing
new mechanisms or

Systems. Motivated by these factors, we survey the current situations of smart cities with
respect to security

And privacy to provide an overview of both the academic and industrial fields and to pave
the way for further

Exploration. Specifically, this survey begins with an overview of smart cities to provide
an integrated context

For readers. Then, we discuss the privacy and security issues in current smart applications
along with the

Corresponding requirements for building a stable and secure smart city. In the next step,
we summarize

The existing protection technologies. Finally, we present open research challenges and
identify some future
Research directions.

2. Introduction
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

The majority of the global population currently live in urban areas, and this is expected
to increase in the future. The importance and role of cities is increasing recognised - the
future of cities will greatly impact all of our futures. Our report "The future of cities -
opportunities, challenges and the way forward" highlights the main challenges faced by
cities and the people living within them currently and towards the future. It also
discusses some of the tools cities can use to face those challenges.

2.1. Current Scenario of Cities

Today, some 56% of the world’s population – 4.4 billion inhabitants – live in cities.
This trend is expected to continue, with the urban population more than doubling its
current size by 2050, at which point nearly 7 of 10 people will live in cities.

However, the speed and scale of urbanization brings challenges, such as meeting
accelerated demand for affordable housing, viable infrastructure including transport
systems, basic services, and jobs, particularly for the nearly 1 billion urban poor who
live in informal settlements to be near opportunities. Rising conflicts contribute to
pressure on cities as 50% of forcibly displaced people live in urban areas.

Once a city is built, its physical form and land use patterns can be locked in for
generations, leading to unsustainable sprawl. The expansion of urban land consumption
outpaces population growth by as much as 50%, which is expected to add 1.2 million
km² of new urban built-up area to the world by 2030. Such sprawl puts pressure on land
and natural resources, resulting in undesirable outcomes; cities represent two-thirds of
global energy consumption and account for more than 70% of greenhouse gas
emissions.

Cities play an increasingly important role in tackling climate change, because their
exposure to climate and disaster risk increases as they grow. Since 1985, about 76,400
km2 of newly urbanized land was added in locations with inundation depths of over 0.5
meters during severe floods – this corresponds to about 50 times the area of Greater
London. Globally, 1.81 billion people (that is 1 in 4 people) live in high-risk floodzones.
Exposure is especially high in the densely populated and rapidly urbanizing river plains
and coastlines in developing countries, where 89% of the world’s flood-exposed people
liv
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

2.2. How the cities are growing today

There are several impacts of staying in the city central to the human life. First and
foremost, the crowding of people would lead to the overpopulation in the city, which
create the unsafe environment, since, the area is filled with unknown people. By looking
at this condition, it could increase the number of crimes that markedly dangerous for
most individuals to live there. Furthermore, it is also affecting a traffic congestion that
distracts the running activities of society, and another thing such as pollution could be
polluted the fresh and clear air. Thus, this will be a serious problem, if it relates to the
healthy environment for the inhabitants.

To tackle these issues, the right solutions should come from the wise policy from the
government. Firstly, the policy maker has to decide a basic regulation of their society,
that is about making a tight decision for newcomers to get permission for living there.
As a result, it will automatically reduce the percentage of vehicle users that causes an
air contamination. The head of the region could also provide the comfortable public
transportations to avoid them from using private cars, for instance. Moreover, the
standards of safety should be improved around the living complex or public area. The
strict guard from the security department will be effective to secure the big city from
criminal actions.

2.3. Way towards the future

In casting an eye on the future, we must also establish crucial links with the past.
That imperative compels us to embrace the overarching role of multilateralism,
Especially the interrelationship between the various development agendas adopted in
the
last decade, in the quest to find long-term solutions to global challenges such as the
Ongoing pandemic, climate change, inequality and rising poverty. Since 2020, armed
Conflict has also taken centre stage among pressing challenges that impede sustainable
urban development
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

in

Cities worldwide are embracing the power of modern technology and pursuing a critical
new role for their leaders to combat the vast environmental and systemic challenges that
the global pandemic has brought sharply into focus. The traditional one-size-fits-all
approach to urban policy and planning is becoming increasingly obsolete. And the
pandemic’s impact has unmistakably accelerated the pace of emerging changes that
now hold clear implications for the decline of the traditional ‘centralized-city’ model.
Intentional adoption of smart, digital, experience-centric solutions have become
indispensable in overcoming today’s challenges and aligning city services to the future
needs and well-being of the public. The strategic, informed, outcome-based use of
digital technology will be a key to successfully shaping cities and services for a new
era.

Cities are the drivers of productivity and prosperity: over 80 percent of all economic
activity is concentrated in them. But they are also on the frontlines of multiple crises –
feeling the impacts of COVID-19, of conflict and fleeing populations, and of climate
change - that can exacerbate risks and widen inequalities.

Tackling these challenges and better managing urbanization – and its positive and
negative impacts – will be at the heart of conversations by representatives of national
and local governments, urban planners, international organizations.

. Years old conflict has persisted in Syria and Yemen, while new conflicts have flared
up in Ethiopia, Myanmar and Ukraine. The seizure of power in Afghanistan
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

by the Taliban in 2021 was also tumultuous for human settlements across the urban-
rural continuum. These conflicts are reminders that the spectre of war remains an
enduring threat even in the twenty-first century. Ultimately, however, the lessons from
the pandemic offer an opportunity to reflect on the role of local governments in driving
the direction of city diplomacy amid global systemic disruptions. The world must
maintain its focus on delivering the global development agendas and local governments
are key players at the forefront of that effort. Local governments have not only
embraced these agendas, but they were actively involved in their negotiation.

The United Nations gave us a glimpse into the future in 2014 when it collated 202
contributions from scientists in response to the question “What do you think the world
will be like in 2050?” These responses were synthesized to 95 ideas and the scientists
were invited to vote on their ideas. Table 1.1 shows the top 15 ideas that were voted as
the likely futures if the world continues in the business-as-usual historical path of
incremental improvements in reaction to perceived crises, instead of a shift towards a
long-term perspective anticipating the troubles ahead.The standout ideas are
accelerating climate change, inequality, poverty and unsustainable consumption of
natural resources. Many of these issues are unfolding in urban areas (as indicated in the
shaded areas of Table. 1.1), which account for 56 per cent of the world’s population. In
just six years, many of these anticipated future outcomes have been accelerated by the
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

s
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

 fines and infractions (parking and traffic violations, public health, and public parks
for example),
 rental of municipal assets (land and building for instance), and,
 transfers from other governments.

In addition to tight budgets, many municipalities are constantly criticized for being
inefficient and effectively overcharging for services. Service demands continue to grow
while revenue sources are difficult to increase. For cities to expand services, they either
need to generate greater revenues from existing sources or to adopt user fees for new
services. Municipalities are also constantly under competitive pressure to attract
business and skilled labor. Successfully attracting companies that employ highly skilled
workers can provide many benefits to a city. However, a competitive city needs to
provide services that offer a high standard of living at competitive costs.

2.2. Technological Challenges

The adoption of technology has the potential to offer an array of benefits to
municipalities. The traditional operating model for a city has been based on
functionally-orientated service providers that operate as un-connected vertical silos,
oftentimes not built around user needs. Under this model, digital programs are often not
integrated, such that an operational decision made within each program will most likely
involve replicating a decision that has already been made by another program - thus,
wasting valuable resources, time and money. Vertical smart city frameworks also
inhibit collaboration across different activities in the region. For example, a transport
authority may invest in an advanced wireless infrastructure to support intelligent
transport systems, but this infrastructure is then not reused for healthcare. This has
irreversible socio-economic consequences and hinders economic development and
environmental progress for local governments. The drivers of these conclusions
include:

1. Industries are not interconnected, and data cannot be shared across verticals
2. Future operational challenges will be complex, costly and risky – there is no long-
term approach that makes programs inefficient and not sustainable
3. Solutions are not citizen or enterprise-focused

8
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

4. Despite all the investment, there are still challenges to drive internal innovation
Connectivity underpins all the innovation in cities: energy, waste management
education, transport and healthcare are just examples of areas that are adopting
innovation in cities. Networks (fixed and wireless) support all the technologies
adopted in cities to favour public and private sector services, and until now cities
rely on service providers to invest in the infrastructure to support such digital
transformations.

History with 4G and fibre has shown that without public sector intervention the
telecoms market is slow to deploy infrastructure in areas which is not commercially
profitable. Furthermore, added to the fact that the telecoms sector revenues have
been declining over the last years, cities require a change of operating model, one
that requires a strategic involvement of the public sector taking a leadership role of
setting the building blocks to stimulate investment in a market that is currently
expanding. Cities are required to implement an integrated model that addresses
cross-sector infrastructure strategy and gives the public sector more control and
power to drive long-term strategic goals.

2.3Population as an issue
Cities are synonymous of economic growth, employment, social mobilization,
technological advances and innovations, among other positive factors that are
reflected in the fact that more than 80% of the world’s gross domestic product is
produced in the cities. However, they are also the reflection of negative externalities
as a result of accelerated urbanization such as inequality, poverty, sectorized
development, among others, which are transformed into social exclusion, insecurity,
pollution (70% of carbon emissions are produced in cities), which implies
significant challenges for the urban agenda in order to achieve more inclusive, safe,
resilient and sustainable cities that are aligned with the targets outlined in the
Sustainable Development Goal 11.

In 2019, more than half of the world’s population lived in cities (55.7%), that is,
4.274 million people. By 2030, this percentage is projected to increase to 60%. In
2018, the majority of the population (26.5%) lived in cities with fewer than 500,000
inhabitants and it is projected that by 2030 one in three people will live in cities with

9
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

these characteristics. On the other hand, it is estimated that “megacities”, a city with
more than 10 million inhabitants, will increase from 33 to 43 (2018 to 2030). In
2018, the population in these cities was equal to 6.9% of the world population.

Clearly, the panorama shown above exposes different challenges about planning
and territorial ordering of cities to guarantee that all their inhabitants have equal
access to basic services, in particular, housing, urban facilities and services,
transport and public spaces, by increasing the environmental commitment of all
stakeholders and reduce the risk of spatial segregation processes, whether due to
income, ethnicity, religious beliefs or others

In 2018, 23.5% of the population lived in poor neighbourhoods and informal

settlements, with East and South-East Asia (370 million), Sub-Saharan Africa (238
million) and Central and South Asia (227 million) being the most populous regions
in this situation. In addition, the expansion of urban land consumption exceeds
population growth by up to 50%. Rapid urbanization raises debates between the
expansion of land use and the sustainability of territories by exerting pressure not
only on the spatial distribution of people, but also on the supply of resources (fresh
water), services such as public health, wastewater treatment and waste collection,
among others. According to the World Bank (2020), cities consume two thirds of
the world’s energy and produce 70% of greenhouse gas emissions.

Urban services “constitute a mediation between their territorial and social

dimensions”. They allow distributing the minimum conditions to develop urban
activities and satisfy the collective needs of citizens through state actions. Among
the urban services are citizen security, road infrastructure, funeral services, public
administration services, waste collection, among others.Together, the world’s cities
produce between 7 and 10 billion tons of waste per year. At the local level,
municipalities in low-income countries spend about 20% of their budget on waste
management and 3% on sanitation. However, solid waste collection only covers half
the population and 16% of the urban population lacks access to basic sanitation
services.

10
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

Lack of proper waste management has different negative effects on both health and
the environment. “Globally, a third of solid waste is thrown into the open air and
only a fifth of it is recovered for recycling and composting, in addition to the fact
that 80% of wastewater is discharged into rivers” Mobility is an essential service in
the cities. Therefore, adequate transportation systems become a tool for economic
growth, social inclusion and competitiveness by acting as a connector between
people and health services, education and the labor market. Millions of people use
public and private transport every day, facing traffic jams and the environmental
pollution that traditional cars, buses and others can generate. According to the, the
transport sector generates at least 20.4% of CO2 emissions.
On the other hand, transport systems can also be considered as a symbol of
independence, especially for people with disabilities, who face architectural and
urban barriers that hinder their integration into the labor market. In the world, one
out of eight adults lives with a disability, in Latin America and the Caribbean around
13% of the population has a disability condition.

Urban public spaces are places of social interaction and recreation, as well as means
of subsistence for many people. Therefore, a people centered management of them
should be a priority. According to the report, in the world, around a third of the
surface of a city is occupied by public spaces. Public spaces can be divided into
three main types: Streets and pedestrian accesses; Open and green spaces (parks,
squares, waterfronts), and public facilities (libraries, community centers and
markets). Regarding streets and pedestrian accesses, the share of street vending as
a percentage of total employment can vary from around 5 percent in many cities to
20 percent in some cities.

2.4 Social and Cultural Issues

Cities now are experiencing the strongest pressure of growing cultural diversity
and social heterogeneity of the population. The population of cities consists
of representatives of different nationalities, languages, religions and social levels
and it will be more and more evident in the future cities.
Cities fulfill the socio-cultural function, proving to be places of custody of the
cultural heritage of the peoples living in them. In the cities traditions, attitudes,

11
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

norms of behavior that regulate the behavior of social subjects are formed. Through
this function, the creative activity of individuals is realized, as well as their
identification.

Global changes in the development of cities are a distinctive feature of the modern
world and definitely of the future. Today, the city faces completely new problems
that require new, unusual solutions. The time has come to take a fresh look at the
city, rethink the priorities of its development, prepare to solve the problems of
tomorrow, and not yesterday's world. The reorientation of society into information
and knowledge as strategic development resources, virtualization and globalization
of public life, approaches to radical changes in certain spheres of society and in the
public organization in general. The society of the future is: "information society"
and "knowledge society", that will be characterized by introduction of information
technologies in the production structure, improvement of global communication
systems, growth of high-tech goods and innovative products.

2.4.1 Culture

To outline the cultural potential of future cities, we should remember that

monuments of history and culture of world or state importance are concentrated in
cities. It is necessary to implement projects in the field of digitalization of tourist
and cultural spaces of the city, including a navigation system, mobile Internet for
tourists and personalized online services, updating Internet sites of museums with
the possibility of virtual tours on them. Museums and cultural centers of the world
will often use the technology of virtual reality. It is important to specify modern and
future trends of the cultural city life:

Glocalization (simultaneous processes of globalization and localization of culture).

This trend can be defined as the desire to ensure that each culture realizes its
"singularity" in a multicultural world. It is the process of interaction of global and
local influence simultaneously on all systems, and on culture in particular. On the
one hand, we see all the manifestations of a mass global culture, globalization has
led to the fact that culture has acquired an international character and is based on
dynamic processes of cultural communication. On the other hand, local culture takes
on special significance. It is important to be aware of the diversity of cultures in

12
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

cities. It is necessary to develop tolerance, hold city events aimed at maintaining the
various cultures of the city. Tracking the shift in the understanding of political,
economic and social systems from "global" to "local", urban research becomes an
alternative geographic scale of analysis, particularly, when the national state loses
its importance in increasingly integrating global space. Global social and economic
changes blur the traditional identification of people with while weakening the role
of the nation-state as a source of identification. In the self-identification of
people, especially Europeans, the shift from "national" to "urban": belonging to the
country becomes less indicative than belonging to the city, and sometimes to district
of the city.

Wirth (1956), representative of the Chicago School of Urbanism, noted the

role of decentralization in the development urbanization. Wirth pointed to the
unprecedented growth of metropolitan regions, central domination of cities and the
need for freedom for them in solutions.

He also noted that centralization of power in the minds of many associated with
tyranny and dictatorship, so in democratic countries there are tendencies to strong
localization of power. The policy of localism is more likely to be approved at the
state level, regulating the activity of local self-government. Direct involvement of
residents will occur in different ways: polls, forums, meetings, consultations.

2.4.2 Social life

The city authorities set the goal of providing guarantees to achieve the appropriate
level of social protection, promoting equal opportunities in housing, education,
etc, combating social exclusion and discrimination. Speaking about innovative
potential in the field of education, for example, it is necessary to note the
importance of developing universities as centers of urban education. Universities
should be centers of innovative ideas and training centers capable of implementing
these ideas. The educational process should become more interactive with a variety
of approaches to the problems. Intelligent education is the transition from passive
content to active. It is necessary to develop e-learning, which provides two-way
communication between teachers and students, allows sharing knowledge, and it
does not matter how far the interlocutors are from each other. Future universities

13
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

will need new faculties to be able to teach new professions, necessary for the future.
Educational sphere will need new specialists to be able to teach new technologies.

Urban residents also need smart social services. For example "smart healthcare" -
an electronic registry, an electronic medical record, electronic prescription,
laboratory service and personalized accounting.

3. Opportunities for Cities

3.1. Technology as an opportunity
Technology has the potential to address many of the above-noted challenges facing
local governments. For the purpose of this discussion, two types of technologies
will be discussed – those that developed and used for internal back office purposes
to help the city manage its internal operations, and smart applications that have the
potential to offer new services to residents and local businesses.

Technologies for internal use include applications that primarily focus on making
back and middle office functions more efficient through automation. One example
of such an application includes artificial intelligence and smart algorithms to assist
with human resource functions. Many private sector companies are using
technology to manage virtually all aspects of the human resource process and life
cycle – from hiring to year end evaluations. While it is not possible to automate all
functions, those that have certain characteristics (high frequency of occurrence,
repetitive, and labour-intensive) may be good candidates to be automated. Benefits
from automation include lower cost of services, improved customer experience with
higher quality services, productivity may increase, and morale may improve as less
interesting tasks have been removed from day-to-day duties.

Another very interesting technology that has the potential to help municipalities is
blockchain and smart contracts. According to Vitalik Buterin in a recent article 6, the
blockchain has the potential to help cities enhance trust and transparency through a
more secure verification system for existing transactions. This article also presents
examples of how the blockchain can be used to manage the ownership of municipal

14
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

assets and to enhance governance. Interestingly, some cities, such as Reno, have
already started to experiment with the blockchain.

Perhaps the technology that will have the greatest impact on cities are smart
applications. This technology stands to offer an array of benefits to cities. For
instance, they hold the potential for new services to be offered. This in turn can not
only enhance the quality of life of residents and productivity of local businesses
(including higher wages and a new type of employment) but it can also offer
additional revenues to cities. Municipalities need to become more to start thinking
more creatively to provide more value-added services and to enhance sources of
revenues. Technology presents a venue that would allow cities to become more
entrepreneurial.

Over the past two decades, the “smart city” concept has been largely supply-side
driven, with the private sector having “taken the leading role so far in defining both
the problem and the solution” (Kleinman, 2016) on how digital innovation can help
generate new economic opportunities, improve public service delivery and facilitate
citizen engagement in cities. This trend accelerated in a backdrop of rising demand
for services, shrinking public budgets, and lowering trust in government. Smart
cities are at the interface between social and technological dimensions.

The concept encompasses “cities of all size”, including smaller communities or

regional municipalities where various inspiring examples can also be found.
However, much of the discussion around smart cities has revolved around the
technological dimension mainly due to the initial lead role by corporate
organisations such as IBM, CISCO, Intel, and more recently by GE, Microsoft,
Oracle, and Amazon. These initiatives tend to focus on the development of cloud
based platforms and solutions for smart city projects. The role of technology has
therefore been key for the enablement of new production, distribution and
governance processes; the transformation of organisational and institutional
arrangements; and the information of individual choices and behaviours. However,
information and communication technologies are not the only components in
providing smart solutions. Social innovation, which creates new social forms and

15
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

forms of cooperation in society, is also essential. In this context, the capacity of

municipalities to involve the various stakeholders (entrepreneurs, academics, non-
governmental organisations and citizens) in planning and implementation processes
should be emphasised, as well as their ability to agree on the best solutions for
development, responsibilities and investments as a result of common efforts.

The smart city concept is evolving and is still subject to debates. There is a range of
definition for “smart cities” across OECD countries and institutions (“What is the
Smart cities?” box). In most cases, smart cities have been defined as initiatives or
approaches that use digital innovation (including digital-enabled innovation) to
improve competitiveness in a community and efficiency of urban services. A search
on Google Trends suggests that worldwide interest in smart cities significantly
increased since 2013 making “smart” the most popular adjective of cities in
comparison with others such as sustainable, healthy, liveable, green and resilient.
Several emerging technologies are poised to have effect in cities through 2025 .
They are predicted to have particularly strong implications for urban development
and management such as additive manufacturing (3D printing), the Internet of
Things (IoT), big data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), advanced energy storage
technologies, civic technology, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) and Blockchain.
In the intermediate future, autonomous vehicles (AV) are also primed to have a
strong impact on cities. In addition, many smart applications are already being used
in infrastructure-based service services in the areas of security, healthcare, mobility,
energy, water, waste, economic development, housing, etc.

3.2. Infrastructure - a key factor for future

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a massive upheaval of life as we know it.
Beyond its threat to our health, it has affected our work, education, childcare, and
even how we think about our cities. While it is too soon to know the lasting impact
of the pandemic in many regards, the quick and largely successful shift to embracing
technology and remote working has made many people question the value
proposition of our biggest cities.

Indeed, as individuals and businesses contemplate whether the return on living and
operating in a city is worth the cost, there is a new imperative for local leadership

16
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

to encourage people to stay by providing a good quality of living. This means not
only accommodating the business environment but also ensuring the city runs
smoothly and benefits everyone. At the same time, cities are being called upon to
tackle other sizable challenges, any one of which would be daunting when budgets
are tight: achieving economic and social recovery, mitigating climate change, and
addressing systemic societal inequities.

A crucial connection among these goals is the built environment, with infrastructure
serving not only as a significant job creator but as the lifeblood of cities. However,
it is difficult for cities to make large-scale changes quickly. New construction,
despite the industry’s investments in innovation, can take years and be prohibitively
expensive. Yet retrofits are so complex that beginning a new project is almost
always the more attractive option.

The good news is that in a wide variety of key urban infrastructures, new
technologies allow for high-impact, affordable solutions that expand the options for
cities looking to meet today’s challenges and make the most of infrastructure
funding. Several investment opportunities for urban leaders, and potential
innovative partners, stand out: renewing old infrastructure using technology
overlays, harnessing reservations and monitoring systems to get more out of existing
infrastructure, and reinventing the way we build new infrastructure.

The promise of technology in urban infrastructure By harnessing new technologies,

urban leaders can overcome longstanding hurdles and maximize their infrastructure
investments. And perhaps most importantly, these investments will help cities
effectively and sustainably provide transit, housing, and public space for all.

3.2.1 Renewing outdated infrastructure

One of the challenges with old infrastructure is that it isn’t built with the intelligent
capabilities—such as sensors, management systems, and interconnectivity—
designed into new projects. Historically, retrofitting older systems has been
prohibitively expensive, especially if new wires needed to be run to supply power
and data capacity to a host of new sensors, or if mounts had to be installed for
antennas or other technologies.

17
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

However, several technologies have advanced dramatically over the past few years,
making infrastructure renewal far more feasible today. Low-cost miniaturization
can enable everything from automated utility meters to air-quality monitors to be
deployed in tiny versions and at relatively minimal cost. Low-power Wi-Fi
communication allows devices to send intermittent streams of data, such as
occupancy counts or temperature readings, in a way that prolongs battery life. And
the evolution of both solar panels and batteries means buildings can harness more
power at lower cost.

For only a few thousand dollars, owners of buildings without complex building-
management systems can purchase a box of battery-powered thermometers that
stick to the wall like postage stamps, connect to Wi-Fi, and communicate with a
smart thermostat. They use so little power that they last years before needing a
replacement—and they provide the beginnings of a smart building. Taken together,
these technologies mean that existing infrastructure can now become smart with a
simple, relatively inexpensive overlay.

Similar opportunities exist for using sensors in urban systems such as parking
garages, metro stations, and parks—anywhere where occupancy, resource
consumption, or condition data are needed.

3.3. Development of Cities using modern skills

New and futuristic skills are required to fully harness the power of Smart Cities
which enhance the quality and performance of urban services through
technology. Roy Strik, Head of Business Development for Pearson Professional
Middle East, tells us about the skills that will be in demand to make the most of the
Smart City Revolution. Rapid urbanisation is leading to smarter cities that improve
the lives of citizens with the use of technology.

A 2018 report by McKinsey & Company states that the value of the Smart City
industry is projected to be a $400 billion market by 2020, with 600 cities around the
globe expected to generate 60% of the world’s GDP by 2025.

18
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

The natural consequence of the growth of any industry is job creation, and Smart
Cities are no different. This then leads one to ponder about the skills which are
needed for a job in this industry. What skillsets does one require to be able to
efficiently manage this industry?

The answer is interesting, because many studies state that 40% to 60% of the jobs
that might come up in 2030 have not been invented yet.

There is an increasing demand for new and futuristic skills, such as the ones
necessary to successfully manage a Smart City. In such a scenario, it is important
that working professionals upgrade their skills regularly and invest in up-skilling in
order to stay relevant.

3.3.1 The role of robotics

The use of robots in various industries has already begun. For example, in June
2018 Google invested $500 million into automated logistics for JD (the Chinese
equivalent to Amazon). At the end of last year, Alibaba invested $15 billion into its
own robotic logistics infrastructure.

Robots will be instrumental in the rise of hyper-connected Smart Cities. Their

presence is even more critical in countries characterised by ageing populations and
labour shortages that hamper operational efficiency. Singapore hotels, for example,
are already using service robots to clean rooms and deliver supplies.

Tokyo, the 2020 host of the Olympics, will introduce robot taxis for flexible
transportation for tourists. And closer to home, Dubai is already experimenting with
the working of robots in public services, transportation, policing and surveillance,
as well as targeting automation of 25% of its transportation system by 2030, all as
part of its efforts of creating the happiest city in the world.

3.3.2. Artificial Intelligence to boost efficiency of municipal services

AI algorithms are becoming an integral part of Smart City initiatives that aim to
automate and improve urban activities and operations. While programmes may vary
from case to case, most of them generally share the goals of improving living
conditions, making cities more competitive and making them more environmentally
sustainable.

19
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

Therefore, the use of AI is a huge driving force in digitalising cities. Gartner predicts
that 20% of all citizens in developed nations will use AI assistants to help them with
an array of operational tasks, and that by 2022, 30% of customer experiences will
be handled by conversational agents, up from just 3% in 2017.

AI is becoming critical to the Smart City Revolution and professionals possessing

these skills are likely to be in high demand as the Smart City Revolution flourishes.

3.3.3. 3D printing and city planning

3D printing is a huge opportunity for cities to leverage technology to serve residents

in new ways, without wasting either time or money.

In a Smart City, 3D printing can be employed to build houses, public buildings,

bridges and more for a fraction of the cost and time taken using traditional methods.

Real life examples include the world’s first stainless steel bridge installed across
one of Amsterdam’s oldest and most popular canals in the centre, GE replacing a
third of the parts on an aircraft engine using 3D printing, and Honda’s electric
vehicle created entirely from 3D-printed segments.

3.3.4. Automated logistics in Smart Cities

Automation is a key emerging theme among all industries today as they are coming
to recognise the immense operational benefits that Digital Transformation can
bring. As cities aspire to become smarter, many are striving to manage assets and
operations more efficiently with the use of automation.

This, of course, requires a specialised set of skills. Some examples are shipping
companies using scanners and sensors to improve tracking of containers, equipment
and vehicles, online vehicle inspections which enable technicians to perform
proactive maintenance and more. As Supply Chain Management continues to grow
as a critical business function for Smart Cities, it also makes it into the list of the
top skills to invest in for the future.

3.3.5. Blockchain’s role in developing Smart Cities

The modern Smart City constitutes a massive web of interconnected technologies
which is expected to expand even further. Gartner projects that 9.7 billion IoT
devices will make up the typical Smart City by 2020.

20
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

At the same time, this collection of data must be protected from hacks and leaks.
Studies indicate that nearly five million data records are lost or stolen every day,
constituting 58 data records every second.

Another aspect is the fact that standards in tech infrastructure may vary, and the
requirements are different in each city. Therefore, Blockchain serves as the only
suitable option to provide both interoperability and security to a universal data
storage platform catered to life in Smart Cities.

The UAE is already working on implementing Blockchain to provide greater insight

into government processes. Blockchain may be a nascent technology, but the time
to master the skills of Blockchain is already here.

Disruption has affected all areas of our life, and the world today won’t be the world
we live in five years time. To remain competitive, professionals will need to ensure
that they are continuing to develop new capabilities. Today upskilling takes place
in many forms such as blended education, MicroMasters and other programmes
which make learning flexible, portable, and cost-effective.

Newer forms of learning are linked directly to the industry and provide skills
required to get onto the job immediately – either it’s professionals who seek
employment or career advancement opportunities. In order to stay relevant for the
workforce and Smart Cities of the future, it will be essential to invest in developing
the required skillsets.

4. Conclusion- The gist of this topic

Cities play a vital role in the economic growth and human development of a country.
Therefore, a large number of States have worked on the development of national
urban plans that respond to multiple challenges faced by the territories, including
migratory processes, and create a roadmap to implement strategies that ensure the
same conditions and opportunities for all citizens.

Likewise, both competent authorities and citizens must promote dialogue spaces for
the formulation of public policies to avoid the expansion of segregated territories,
the reduction of green spaces and environmental damage; To provide urban services
for social and labor inclusion, especially in the most remote neighborhoods, and the

21
 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

suppression of sectorized stereotypes. And in such a way, create safe, resilient and
sustainable cities in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG 11).

Adequate and timely management of cities allows to create a robust framework of

action that ensures compliance with SDG 11 by working simultaneously on
different fronts: From dignity housing and accessible urban services, to the
promotion of open and green spaces; The preservation of the environment as well
as the economic development of urban areas, mobility, security and the protection
of cultural heritage, among others, without any type of discrimination. Therefore,
promoting the Right to the City.

22
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FACING CITIES OF
TOMMOROW

5. References

1) https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/overview

2) https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2022/07/chapter_1_wcr_2022.pdf

3) https://ieltspracticeonline.com/writing-task-2-major-cities-in-the-world-are-
growing-fast-as-well-as-their-problems/

4) https://kpmg.com/xx/en/home/insights/2021/11/the-future-of-cities.html

5) https://blogs.worldbank.org/voices/future-proofing-cities-how-our-prosperity-
tomorrow-depends-transforming-cities-today

6) https://www.thesmartcityjournal.com/en/articles/the-future-of-smart-cities-
economic-and-technical-challenges

7) https://cepei.org/en/documents/population-growth-the-biggest-challenge-of-
cities/

8) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330027676_Cities_Of_The_Future_S
ocio-Cultural_Aspect_Of_Urban_Innovations

9) https://www.oecd.org/cfe/regionaldevelopment/Smart-Cities-FINAL.pdf

10) https://urban.jrc.ec.europa.eu/thefutureofcities/tech-and-the-city#the-chapter

11) https://smartnet.niua.org/sites/default/files/resources/Youth%20and%20the%2
0City%20LearningEvent_Report_FINAL_1.pdf

12) https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/infrastructure-
options-for-the-future-of-cities

13) https://www.intelligentcio.com/me/2019/06/11/smart-cities-smart-skills-for-the-
future/

23