New-Tech Europe | March 2019

It’s all about letterboxes, fashion designers and scooters: the city of the future where you’ll definitely want to live.

Jan Adriaenssens, Imec

Living in the city? Very enjoyable, because everything is close at hand and easy to get to – plus it never gets boring. One thing’s for sure: the city of the future doesn’t have to be dull and grey or overcrowded. Jan Adriaenssens, director City of Things at imec, believes in a city with lots of greenery and plenty of flexibility. Flexibility in transport and flexibility in the way spaces are used. Smart City technology is the ideal way of adding this flexibility to the city. Everyone heading for the city According to the United Nations, almost 70% of the world’s population will live in cities in the

future (2050). In Western countries, that will mean having to give up ‘the detached house with a large garden’. This dream is untenable in the long run. We need more woods and green spaces to act as a green lung for our planet, buthis means that not everyone will be able to have their own patch of garden any more. So we will have to get organized and move to cities, close to our jobs, school, leisure facilities and shops. And to create as much space as possible in the city for trees and parks – essential to ensure good air quality and to soak up rainwater – high-rise buildings are often the best solution. There are plenty of opportunities for adapting existing cities so that more people can live in them harmoniously, with plenty of

greenery in the neighborhood and the ability to move around the city efficiently. Technology will play a major role in making this come true. There have already been several attempts to build ‘the ideal city’ from scratch, although they have not always been successful. Think of Brasilia, for instance, created by the brilliant architect Oscar Niemeyer out of nothing in a matter of years from 1956 on. Every detail was carefully planned out and the latest insights into cities and urban construction applied. And it became a wonderful, yet not very ‘bustling’ city. Since then, Brasilia has found its urban dynamic, but the city’s early years highlighted the dangers of imposing utopian and exaggerated design, as well as organizing everything too rigidly.

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