Smart Cities Coming, But How Useful Will They Be for Residents?

NOVI, MI – So-called smart cities are inevitable, panelists here at the TU Detroit 2016 connected-car conference say. But some wonder how useful the transformation will be for those living in them.

Armed with the statistic that 55% of the world’s population now lives in cities, the Center for Automotive Research’s Eric Paul Dennis estimates half of that figure live in areas considered slums.

“These are not consumers of smart-city technology. I’m concerned some of these things are not actually in the public interest,” he tells attendees here as part of a Smart City panel.

The movement to reduce congestion and pollution while improving transportation in fast-growing urban areas via autonomous vehicles, electrified vehicles, public transportation, sensors and apps also could stress taxpayers, while other areas he sees as more critical go without funding.

Looking for smart-city success stories before today’s panel, Dennis, a transportation-systems analyst, says he discovered shooting trackers, software supplied with data from sound sensors that keeps records of where gunshots are heard in crime-ridden urban areas.

“But what if you took that money and got a couple beat cops and a social worker?” he asks.

However, not all municipalities pay for such technology. In Detroit, a California-based company called SST was providing its ShotSpotter technology for free as of early March, reported The Detroit News.

However, Dennis’ concerns about smart-cities technology not being inclusive prompted fellow panelist Lee Barnes, senior program manager-Connected & Autonomous Vehicles for engineering consultancy Ricardo, to mention the first-mile, last-mile focus of smart cities. That is the ability for people using any form of transportation in an urban environment to get to it and from it.

Barnes notes that a portion of  the 70-plus proposals for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Smart City grant speak of desiring inclusive transportation for citizens of varying income, age and ability levels.

The U.S. DOT has whittled down the selection process to seven cities: Columbus, OH; Pittsburgh, PA; Austin, TX; Kansas City, MO; Denver; San Francisco; and Portland, OR, whose mayors yesterday made pitches for the $40 million in grant money available to put their smart-city plans into action.

Xavier Mosquet, senior partner and managing director-The Boston Consulting Group, notes his firm’s research on the cost of not having smart cities.

He says last year accidents on U.S. roadways cost $950 billion, roughly 6% of U.S. GDP and $4,000 per car on the road.

With smart cities, “I think every year we can save 6% of GDP.”

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