In 2023, cities will prioritize smart transportation initiatives, with an emphasis on creating equitable access. Digital twins will facilitate greater connectivity within smart cities and shared vehicle market momentum will persist. State and local governments will adopt more digital services, and charger infrastructure siting will determine the future of electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Real-world data will encourage further fleet EV adoption, and cities will use office-to-residential conversions to revitalize business districts. Smart cities will plan for e-bikes, and assistive artificial intelligence (AI) will help city agencies and departments collaborate. AI-enabled autonomous transportation will take off, if cities invest in smart infrastructure, and cities will reimagine traditional office buildings.

Additionally, these changes will be supported by an increase in federal funding to improve transportation infrastructure and further momentum around trends such as electric bike and car adoption. Digital technology will play a key role in the success of smart cities in 2023, with greater emphasis on data analytics and machine learning (ML) tools to cut engineering hours and monitor variables in the field. Smart cities will also benefit from intelligent building management systems, which can automatically adjust building energy utilization during periods of peak demand. As cities grapple with optimizing streets and curb space, they will also need to consider how to best utilize public parking and charging spaces. To ensure that all citizens have equal access to these developments, governments will need to prioritize equity considerations when planning for smart city objectives.

As cities continue to adopt digital transformation, there will be a greater focus on customer experience and making services more user-friendly and accessible. Smart cities will also leverage data to create more resilient and collaborative governance models, and to forecast what the future may look like. Companies are capitalizing on this trend, providing services to help cities optimize traffic flow and permitting, as well as solutions for fleets to transition to electric vehicles. In the future, microcities will rise as building managers reimagine the potential of traditional office buildings and use them to address the housing shortage. As smart cities progress in 2023, they will need to focus on getting more electric vehicles on the road, and investing in the infrastructure and policies needed to make this transition successful.

Source: smartcitiesdive.com