Conference Presentation, Fireside Chat, Panel
Smarter Cities for a Smarter World
Milken InstituteJonathan Woetzel, Hugh Andrew, Nayef Khalid Al Khalifa, Robert Rosenstein, Lauren Sorkin
- Smart city advancements are expected to deliver improvements in longevity, water usage, safety, and commute times, with current high performers scoring approximately 7 out of 10 and a target for broader improvement anticipated through 2030.
- Significant gains in public health, housing affordability, and climate resilience are predicted, with cities needing to define specific outcomes over a 20 to 30-year timeframe before procuring technology or partnerships to solve identified problems.
- Demographic projections for Bahrain indicate a potential population tripling from 1.3 million to 3.9 million over the next two decades, necessitating substantial investment in digital infrastructure and land use.
- Urban planning strategies will increasingly rely on algorithms and electronic government data to inform decisions regarding traffic, footfall, and building heights, while zoning definitions require updates to accommodate digital realities such as shifting retail functions from showrooms to delivery kitchens.
- The future of urban development emphasizes balancing community interaction and cultural preservation, such as protecting palm trees, against the pressures of construction to avoid creating "concrete jungles."
- A shift in the workforce is anticipated where nine out of ten recent graduates seek roles that align with making a positive social impact, influencing where entrepreneurs locate operations based on access to diverse talent and community culture factors.
- Private sector platforms like ride-sharing and digital marketplaces are expected to drive significant reductions in congestion and entrepreneurship, though concerns remain that these technologies might initially benefit only a small percentage of travelers while leaving others behind.
- In regions with political turnover or short technology life cycles, such as Cambodia or Laos, the private sector is predicted to play a greater role than in areas with strong long-term government planning, potentially filling gaps where governments lack financial capacity or expertise.
- Government frameworks must be refocused on desired outcomes to enable a level playing field for businesses to achieve scale, allowing creative enterprises to enter the public sector space and deliver solutions for the widest citizen benefit.
- Real estate value creation in the digital age may involve new debt or equity sources emerging in 20 to 30 years to fund the conversion of bankrupt shopping malls into tiny homes or creative living spaces, while balancing borrowing costs from institutional investors against the need for innovation.
- Equity management will become critical as cities become smarter, requiring governments to set rules ensuring accessible solutions for the "bottom of the pyramid" and preventing digital technologies from benefiting only a select few.
- Cities will need to establish meaningful metrics to measure return on investment, recognizing that pilot programs solving critical problems can unlock future monetization opportunities through scale and innovation, whereas offering licenses without clear problem definitions will face resistance.
- Global benchmarks for world-class smart cities will likely include Seoul, New York, Shenzhen, Beijing, and Shanghai, with the potential for some smaller European and Asian cities to demonstrate unexpected performance levels.