Cities may make the brain more susceptible to mental-health conditions, notably depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia. A study from 2011, published in the magazine Nature, shows that city inhabitants have a stronger reaction to stressors than those living elsewhere. The study shows that the agitation that city-dwellers experience can be linked to public transportation delays and traffic jams. It also shows that urbanites are less able to cope with negative emotions than people living in rural areas. In research from 2010, Peen, Schoevers, Beekman, and Dekker demonstrate a strong correlation between urban life and poor mental health. Although it’s challenging to determine precisely how a complex environment such as a city affects the brain, scientists are investigating the differences in the way that people living in cities and rural areas process stressful situations.
Weiterlesen: How do we design smart cities to ensure the health of its citizens?
John Underkoffler, a design assistant on Minority Report, discusses how smart cities can be designed to benefit residents in the future.
TechRepublic's James Sanders spoke with Oblong Industries John Underkoffler about how smart cities can be designed to benefit residents in the future.The following is an edited transcript of the interview.
Weiterlesen: Is Minority Report a vision of the future for smart cities?
Advances in sensor technology and analytics can improve how cities use their parking spaces, which can reduce congestion, enhance air quality and boost revenue.
Parking is a large-scale problem in cities throughout the world, contributing to a host of problems, including congestion, poor air quality and road safety issues. In Paris, drivers spend an average of three years of their lives searching for spots on streets, in lots or in garages. On average, a driver spends between 10 and 20 minutes trying to find a parking place. Drivers who have to hunt for a parking spot every day for work — assuming they work 210 days a year — could spend from 35 to 70 hours searching for that elusive space each year.
The term “smart city” elicits a wild vision of the world of tomorrow: flying cars, floating homes, transportation tunnels, and pretty much anything else you remember from The Jetsons or Futurama. However, the reality of smart cities is hardly the sci-fi innovation it sounds like. But that doesn’t mean we don’t need them more than ever.
Between increasing populations, inefficient transportation, and dangerous weather conditions, the cities of today face a wide range of serious problems, many of which can be addressed through technology. However, solving these problems takes more than an IT task force and a paltry budget. You need common sense advancements that actively improve the lives of citizens on a daily basis.
According to a report released by UN in May, today 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 68% by 2050.
The 31st of October is celebrated as World Cities Day. It is an opportunity to raise awareness of the trends and consequences of increasing urbanization and the challenges and opportunities urbanization brings to sustainable development. It is also a chance to promote best practices, new ideas and partnerships between cities and different stakeholders.