Prospectus Background Draft- Take 1
Note: PDF version is the end of the post. This is my first attempt to write the background of my Prospectus. One of my main troubles was trying to piece together my research and apply a narrative about the information for my project to catch the reader’s eye and convince people of its relevancy to the world.
Background
Smart Cities are the future of integration between the physical world and the digital world. “A Smart City is a place where traditional networks and services are made more flexible, efficient, and sustainable with the use of...technology to improve city operations for the benefit of the inhabitants.”[1] The Smart City concept operates to become the backbone for a city, the systems, and technology, in place, help to control the efficiency and quality of life of the urban environment.
The twenty-first-century urban fabric, in many cities, is based around the use of transportation and the automobile. Fast Company[2], a publishing company that focuses on technology, business, and design, suggests that autonomous vehicles are the way of the future. As digital technology becomes cheaper over time, the cost of a personal vehicle, in a larger city, will not make sense to have as an investment of money and time. A study in Los Angeles shows that a vehicle’s life averages about 5% use and 95% being parked. With this data in mind, the use of a more intelligent transportation system, both public and private, is one that can help the city function at its optimum level from a transportation and efficiency perspective. The systems in place would need to be that of a 2-way integration system, one in the physical world and another in the digital realm. The digital integration is a system of sensors and networks to communicate with each other across the grid, and physical infrastructure can then start to reorganize a growing population in these urban environments. The business of smart technology and innovation is the driving factor in the concept of the Smart City. Forbes projects there to be an investment of $135 billion in smart city technology in 2021.[3] Technology within the city is important in the foreseeable future of efficiency and connection of people within their environment. About 10 years ago, technology did not enable a true connection of the city, but with the rapid growth of interest and companies developing newer and smaller technology, the Smart City movement is off and running on what is possible in connecting the city through a network of digital technology.
The technology for connecting transportation in the digital world is already with us. An Intelligent Transportation System (ITS)[4] is a concept built off the idea that physical objects are interacting and supplying needed data to the digital systems. Whether a vehicle is fully autonomous or has some human control, the use of an ITS is the road-map for a future of safer, more coordinated, and smarter traffic management systems. As the population and density of urban environments increase, so does the traffic congestion, for instance, the system integration would be able to be applied to traffic lights and speed cameras throughout a city’s traffic grid to increase the volume of cars moving efficiently throughout the network of roads. The system would identify the “speed of cars, traffic density, waiting times at lights and traffic jams”[5] to then make intelligent decisions based on the data collected. This new age of technological innovation can also be applied to the vehicles themselves.
“On the Future of Transportation”[6] explains that autonomous vehicles are already functioning on the roads. In California alone “the government has already given 52 private companies permission” to test this technology on the road networks. The autonomous vehicles (AVs) can operate and navigate the physical environment around them as well as interact and communicate with other vehicles on the road (autonomous or not). With the bottleneck of downtown traffic, about “30% [of downtown traffic] are [people] just looking for a place to park.” The use of AV technology can eliminate that percentage of people as well as free up new real estate to allow for more efficient use of discarded parking lots and parking garages. The urban fabric is already set up to accommodate the application of technology into the pre-existing nature of the place.
The integration of smart technology into the urban environment relies on the cooperation between private stakeholders and public authorities. Many cities, including New York, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen, have already begun to implement initiatives to further the push to a more connected and integrated city. These initiatives help to close the gap between the human and the computer, whether we know it or not. In one case, New York City public authorities and LinkNYC have developed stations, that replace old phone booths, and provide a connection with the city. The stations provide Wi-Fi, integrated cell service, device charging, and tablets to access city services, maps, and directions. People can easily and more efficiently contact services and maintenance along with tourists to be able to get immediate information about directions and reviews of certain places. The city of Copenhagen followed app developments, connecting the city to the people, in Amsterdam and worked with MIT to develop an integrated bike system that runs through the city. The system can monitor real-time data and usage of bike paths through the integration of the city’s existing traffic system. The system will then respond to create and adapt the traffic flow to be as efficient as possible.
The integration of technology into the transportation of the city is vital for the future existence of an efficient and less polluted city-scape. The innovation of technology will continue to adapt to the contemporary world and can be quickly applied and updated to a system that is in place and throughout the network of roadways and vehicles. Through applications in both the digital and physical worlds, an Intelligent Transportation System can help facilitate the lives of people who live in urban areas around the world.
[1] S. P. Mohanty, U. Choppali and E. Kougianos, "Everything you wanted to know about smart cities: The Internet of things is the backbone," in IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine, vol. 5, no. 3, pp. 60-70, July 2016.
[2] Peters, Adele. “See Just How Much of A City's Land Is Used For Parking Spaces.” Fast Company, Fast Company, 27 July 2017, www.fastcompany.com/40441392/see-just-how-much-of-a-citys-land-is-used-for-parking-spaces.
[3] Peccarelli, Brian. “Are Smart Cities The Next Great Disruptor?” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 27 June 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/brianpeccarelli/2019/06/27/are-smart-cities-the-next-great-disruptor/#7c87ece81594.
[4] Sherly, J. and D. Somasundareswari. “Internet of Things Based Smart Transportation Systems.” (2015).
[5] Al Nuaimi, E., Al Neyadi, H., Mohamed, N. et al. Applications of big data to smart cities. J Internet Serv Appl 6, 25 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13174-015-0041-5
[6] Hancock, P A, et al. “On the Future of Transportation in an Era of Automated and Autonomous Vehicles.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, PNAS, 14 Jan. 2019, www.pnas.org/content/116/16/7684.full.