TOP SMART CITY TRENDS OF 2024 REVEALED BY LEADING FUTURIST KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Urban areas continue their drive toward data-driven infrastructure and services to improve sustainability, connectivity and quality of life. Based on pilots underway and investments planned, we consider the top smart city trends expected to gain traction globally in 2024.

Mobility Innovation

Cities will rapidly roll out intelligent transportation systems ranging from traffic light coordination and parking optimization to integration of autonomous shuttles and unmanned infrastructure inspection drones. Vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication using 5G connections aims to boost urban mobility.

Alternative Energy

More municipalities will develop microgrids powered by distributed renewable energy generation and storage. Increased small-scale solar, wind and energy storage distributed across neighborhoods promises improved resilience and lower emissions. Fossil fuel-powered mass transit will also increasingly electrify.

Waste and Water Systems

Sensor-enabled water distribution and sewage systems will expand, allowing cities to remotely monitor flows, leaks and pipe integrity. Smart water meters in homes will also gain adoption. Expansion of smart waste collection infrastructure aimed at improving recycling rates and reducing landfill volumes will accelerate as well.

Public Safety and Justice

AI-enabled crime prediction and prevention systems will emerge from pilots to full deployment in select cities, using networks of cameras, gunshot detection microphones and anomaly recognition algorithms. Predictive policing and real-time risk geospatial mapping will increase. watch lists fed by facial recognition may raise bias concerns balanced against crime reduction.

Connected Citizens

Digital portals will proliferate as urban governments use cloud platforms to tighten feedback loops with residents. Citizen relationship management via integrated databases aims to streamline service delivery with data analytics-driven allocation. In return for quality of life and sustainability gains, city dwellers will face choices around data privacy.

Next-gen Connectivity

The number of cities piloting minor upgrades to 5G infrastructure will rise significantly by 2024. Over a longer time horizon into 2030, pioneering areas will begin testing sixth-generation 6G wireless capable of insane speeds, rapid mobility and connectivity densities to enable innovations not yet conceived.

The smart cities of 2024 will leverage these kinds of technologies to balance sustainability and development – though not without new policy debates. Yet the drive toward urban efficiency and resilience through data integration will only accelerate in years ahead.