I read an interesting piece in the Sunday NY Times a few weeks ago called “SimCity for Real” Measuring an Untidy Metropolis.” It talked about a “smart city” initiative at NYU seeking to use sensing, computing, and data-sifting technology to improve efficiency and quality of life in urban areas. Big players are partnering in the initiative, such as IBM, Cisco, and Xerox, as well as universities and the city of New York. The project leader says he wants to “create a SimCity for real.”
As futurists, we try to pay special attention when trends and developments from separate or unrelated places, sectors, or groups come together and suggest a common theme. Maybe that’s why this story caught my attention – surely, it’s not the first “smart city” article I’ve seen. So, maybe the connection comes from:
- Nary a day goes by that there isn’t a story about “Big Data” (see this Google Trends graph) and it’s been part of some of my recent project work
- The Houston Futures program chose “City Making” as theme for its Houston Futures Gathering on April 12 and 13.
- A month later, (May 2-4) the Association of Professional Futurists (APF) is hosting a gathering on simulations called PLAY: Games, Simulations and The Future.
Hmm, perhaps something is brewing here? Andy Hines
