Conference Presentation, Panel
Smart Cities and the Future of Urban Infrastructure
Milken InstituteSultan Sooud Al Qassemi, Lukasz Gadowski, Karl Magnus Olsson, Hamed Zaghw, Lukas, Magnus, Hamid, Fahad Al-Sharikh
- The panel defines a "smart city" as an evolving concept where the ultimate goal is citizen happiness, not merely the deployment of technology.
- Key features include internet connectivity, "transportation as a service," and the integration of big data to enable citizen participation in urban planning.
- Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid of Dubai has explicitly set the goal of making it the "happiest city in the world."
- Volocopter is developing a multi-copter urban air taxi that is fully electric, significantly quieter, and approximately 10 times cheaper to operate than traditional helicopters.
- Volocopter aims to achieve safety standards comparable to commercial airliners, exceeding the risk tolerance currently accepted for private cars.
- Dubai is the launchpad for Volocopter services, with plans for initial commercial routes starting in 2020 and scaling to hundreds of thousands of daily passengers by 2022-2023.
- The Gulf region's centralised leadership allows for rapid infrastructure development and streamlined approvals, contrasting with bureaucratic delays seen in cities like Berlin (e.g., a Berlin airport closure delayed by four years).
- Hamid Al-Souedi (representing ACOM) identifies Dubai as the most eager city for smart technology, followed by Abu Dhabi, while older cities like Cairo face challenges retrofitting legacy infrastructure.
- Kareem was founded in Abu Dhabi to crowdsourced public transport, addressing a specific gap in mobility for women, with 70-80% of its Saudi Arabia users being women who previously did not use taxis.
- Kareem reports over 500,000 registered captains, creating income opportunities and enabling economic participation for populations historically restricted by lack of safe, affordable transport.
- Regulatory challenges in expanding to 15 countries include varying definitions of "transportation company" and the lack of unified payment or identification systems across borders.
- Kareem's operational model adapts to local infrastructure; for instance, in Pakistan, the company conducts deep background checks including home visits, whereas Dubai relies on RTA-verified licensing.
- Volocopter requires a simultaneous rollout of vehicles and infrastructure (landing pads and hubs), evolving from specific locations to a network comparable to train stations.
- ACOM's "Future of Infrastructure" report notes that the physical infrastructure industry lags in adapting to new technologies, highlighting a critical need for updated engineering education.
- Proposed innovations include "platooning" (truck convoys) to increase road capacity by 10x, potentially reclaiming lanes for public space.
- Magnus Olsson advocates for government roles focused on setting visionary goals, creating open data standards (e.g., Smart2Buy), and fostering Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) rather than direct implementation.
- Dubai has achieved 93% fiber-to-home coverage, a benchmark Olsson cites as evidence of successful visionary leadership in infrastructure.
- Participants suggest that successful replication of Dubai's model requires a balance of centralized authority for decision-making and a strong rule of law to ensure safety and fairness.