ThoughtLab: Urban Experts Come Together to Study How 250 Cities Are Becoming Future Ready in the AI Era
June 25 2024 - 6:40AM
Business Wire
With social and environmental challenges growing in urban areas,
and mobility, infrastructure, and digital systems failing to keep
up with citizen and business expectations, cities need to act now
to harness AI and other emerging technologies to become future
ready. To help urban leaders develop implementation roadmaps for
the future, ThoughtLab, a leading global research firm, has joined
forces with a broad group of business, government, and academic
leaders to launch a comprehensive benchmarking study examining the
strategies and investment plans of 250 cities to meet future
citizen and local business needs.
This landmark study, titled From Future Vision to Urban
Reality, will explore how cities in different locations, and
with varying populations and income levels, are reinventing
themselves across the urban environment—from infrastructure,
mobility, and energy to public safety, health, sustainability, and
education. The data-driven research will provide actionable
insights into nine key urban initiatives:
- Harness AI and other emerging technologies
- Unlock the full power of data
- Design infrastructure fit for future purpose
- Develop people- and planet-centric mobility
- Innovate through wider ecosystems
- Achieve sustainable development goals
- Build resilience for a riskier world
- Ensure citizen buy-in, trust, and equity
- Find new funding avenues and business models
Building an AI-empowered city
To help urban leaders address rapid technological change, the
study will focus on how trail-blazing cities use AI and other
emerging technologies—together with new business models and
partnership ecosystems—to spur innovation, resilience,
sustainability, and economic growth. It will explore a growing set
of AI use cases, from optimizing traffic flows and minimizing
carbon footprints to enhancing public safety and healthcare
services. The research also will identify policies and practices
for ensuring the responsible and secure use of AI and data by
cities, with a focus on the newest form of AI, generative AI.
“In the ever-evolving landscape of urban development, AI—and
particularly generative AI—has become a transformative force,
promising unparalleled advancements in smart city planning and
management,” says Lou Celi, ThoughtLab’s CEO and the project
director. “However, the path forward remains uncertain, with AI’s
enormous upside clouded by its potential downside. That is why an
urban AI playbook based on evidence-based research and benchmarking
is so crucial for cities today.”
An operational playback for the future
As cities implement key elements of their future-ready visions
and move from pilots to scale, they need trusted benchmarking
analysis and strategic insights to ensure they make the right
decisions. This valuable research, which will be freely available
in the public domain, will provide urban leaders with a portfolio
of decision support including:
- An in-depth thought leadership report on how 250 cities
are drawing on emerging technology, wider ecosystems, and
innovative business models to implement their future visions.
- Best practice profiles of 15 cities around the world
that are ahead of the curve in critical areas of future readiness
across urban domains.
- A benchmarking database comparing the future-ready
goals, strategies, and investment plans of 250 cities across
locations, income levels, and population sizes
A coalition of leading urban experts
The research coalition for From Future Vision to Urban
Reality consists of:
- Global businesses, including Axis, Deloitte, FTI
Consulting, GM, Intel, Itron, and ServiceNow
- Multilateral organizations, including the World Bank and
UNECE
- Associations and think tanks, including Anbound,
Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA),
Fiware, Resilient Cities Network, Open Sustainability
Collaborative, SmartCitiesWorld, and United Cities
- Academic institutions, including Arizona State
University, IESE Business School, University of Pennsylvania
Institute for Urban Research (Penn IUR), Rochester Institute of
Technology - Dubai, Stuttgart Technology University of Applied
Sciences, and University of Southern California
- Government and transportation leaders from Almaty City,
Barcelona, Bucaramanga, Cary, Chicago, Clark County, Dublin, Kyiv,
Los Altos Hills, New York, Philadelphia, Drancy, Seattle,
Trondheim, and others.
About ThoughtLab
ThoughtLab is an innovative thought leadership firm that
creates fresh ideas through rigorous research and economic
analysis. We specialize in assessing the economic, financial, and
social impact of technology on cities, companies and industries.
Our services include fielding business, consumer, investor, and
government surveys; organizing executive interviews, meetings, and
advisory groups; conducting economic modeling, benchmarking, and
performance analysis; and developing white papers, eBooks,
infographics, and interactive analytical tools.
Find out more on www.thoughtlabgroup.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240624322723/en/
Lou Celi, Chief Executive Officer ThoughtLab Group
louceli@thoughtlabgroup.com
Anna Szterenfeld, Editorial Director ThoughtLab Group
annaszterenfeld@thoughtlabgroup.com