Smart, Responsive, and Resilient Cities during Covid-19

We can expect journeys to become greener, more interconnected, and with less waiting time and more seamless traffic flow. City infrastructure that caters for active travel, with flexible pedestrian-only zones and cycling routes, and public transport services that can adapt to changing peaks of crowd flows.

FREMONT, CA: There are a number of issues city governments have to deal with on a regular basis, such as mobility, overlooking safety and security, managing of energy, education, and health. Leveraging data-led analytics, gathered from sensors and IoT devices, is enabling city governments to reduce accidents, traffic, and even crime much more productively.

Technology is making things easier for city governments, for instance, smart parking can help drivers find a parking space and also allow for digital payment. Another example would be smart traffic management to monitor traffic flows and optimise traffic lights to reduce congestion, while ride-sharing services can also be managed by a smart city infrastructure.

There’s no doubt that the pandemic is proving to be a catalyst for change. The future is arriving more quickly and technology is providing the means with which to shape it. We can expect journeys to become greener, more interconnected, and with less waiting time and more seamless traffic flow. City infrastructure that caters for active travel, with flexible pedestrian-only zones and cycling routes, and public transport services that can adapt to changing peaks of crowd flows.

Using AI and other technology, cities are now becoming instantly reactive to the movement around them, working towards a holistic and anonymous ecosystem of technology and city zones, helping all modes of transport and movement to negotiate their way through the ever-changing metropolis.