Building a sustainable partnership
Our latest update of the SCI highlights the rapid impact that digital technologies are having on the citizens' experience of the city and on the relationship between city and its people. As the adoption of automated city services expands and as cities become more reliant on citizen- sourced data to support basic functions, this relationship will become even more complex.
The rapid development of urban mobility solutions, whether delivered by mass transit, ridesharing or ultimately by connected and autonomous vehicles (CAV) is perhaps the most extreme example of this rapidly evolving trend. Changes in mobility are already irreversibly shifting the way in which cities operate - only 15% of private-hire car journeys are now undertaken by licensed taxi cab in San Francisco - the harbinger of much greater change that could occur if Mobility as a Service (MaaS) develops at the pace predicted by forecasters.
The citizen centric analysis presented in the SCI highlights the dramatic impact of change affecting most city dwellers' experience of their city. There is little evidence of stability and balance in many citizens' lives.
The additional dynamism lent to cities through digital disruption is both a threat and an opportunity for city leaders. On the positive side, emerging opportunities for greater understanding of how cities operate through data as well as means to communicate to citizens through a range of digital platforms should enable cities to be managed more effectively on behalf of all stakeholders. On the negative side, greater awareness of the pace and scale of change may detract from city living and some stakeholders - whether businesses, politicians or an elite may wield disproportionate influence over future investment and management priorities.
However, the real negative is that new technologies are not, on current trajectories, going anywhere far enough or fast enough to mitigate many of the negative impacts of city living. The cities at the top of the Index have succeeded in achieving a degree of sustainable balance not only due to an historic economic legacy but also due to far-sighted decisions taken to manage the impacts of growth. London's sewers, New York's grid-based planning and Copenhagen's green infrastructure are all examples of far-sighted thinking that has helped to mitigate some of the problems of today and of the future.
Reflecting on the findings of the SCI and growing evidence of the importance of the citizen perspective, we highlight three aspects of citizen centric cities that will be critical in underpinning long-term city sustainability.
