London is undoubtedly one of the smartest cities in the world. Strategically situated on the banks of the Thames, in an optimal time zone, and serving as the capital of one of the world’s largest economies, the odds have been stacked in its favour, writes Richard Pickering.
However, the “smart” bit has come in its openness to change, its embracing of world trade, and being a first mover in industry.
In the modern context, “smart” takes a specific meaning, particularly in the sense of “smart cities”. However, the more significant challenges for our cities come in the inefficient utilisation of resources, such as roads. The cliché about buses all coming at once is a perfect example. Spikes in demand mean that we have to build in redundancy (hence cost) into service design – or else suffer the pain of packed carriages and hospital waiting lists.
Modern “smarts” are based on the interconnectivity and co-ordination of city assets using ICT and artificial intelligence. Using live feedback from sensors and providing automatic responses to our environment allows us to iron out wastage. Breakthroughs in connection speeds, big data and the Internet of Things sow the seeds of the smart city. Meanwhile, urbanisation, densification and e-commerce create the imperative.
At its heart, the smart city is – and should be – a silent platform but it requires investment, especially in London’s case, because we need to retrofit design into a very old city with entrenched systems.
We need public investment and co-ordination to set open standards and adopt smart technology into a co-ordinated infrastructure of roads, public services and communications. The mayor and Smart London are best placed to deliver this, but it won’t be cheap – and the payback is tangential. We also need to enlist cutting-edge private-sector technology to maximise the opportunity. Rapid evolutions by, for instance, Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs and the recently funded London-based Improbable render best practice a quickly moving target. And we need to give investors confidence in London’s commitment to the smart city agenda, so that they in turn can underwrite their investments to use it. This requires political stability and initiatives that transcend public appointments.
Finally, we should perhaps not ignore that the best cities are a blend of loosely orchestrated chaos that provide the stage for serendipitous interactions. These form the sparks of creativity that drive innovation and productivity.
The smartest city is surely one that reduces the friction, without reducing the fun.
Richard Pickering is head of futures strategy at Cushman & Wakefield
