How autonomous vehicles could relieve or worsen traffic jam

By Leo Kusters , Managing Director of Urbanisation at TNO, an independent Dutch research organisation. We are working on the liveability and competitiveness of urban regions and believe in the joint creation of economic and social value. A comprehensive approach is needed to get our cities ready for the future. Accessibility , liveability, sustainability, air quality, noise, energy, health and economic vitality are inextricably linked. TNO expertise are being called in by cities from the Netherlands all the way to China to analyse and solve these issues as a coherent whole. Because the world wants comprehensive solutions. https://cities-today.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/pasfoto-LKusters-002-647x735.jpg Leo Kusters , Managing Director of Urbanisation at TNO “We are working on innovative solutions for Dutch cities, and our expertise has also caught the attention of the fast-growing Chinese city of Shenzhen that, with a population of 50 million, is the world’s largest conurbation,” says Leo Kusters, Managing Director of Urbanisation,TNO. “We are advising the city on sustainable regional development as well as designing potential solutions for an enormous metro, train and road intersection in the new financial district that has to process three quarters of a million commuters each day. This brings together our range of expertise – mobility, human behaviour, safety and security, air quality and sustainability . With the knowledge that we are developing in this area, we are putting the Netherlands on the world map with leading concepts for smart cities. And we’re taking Dutch industry with us.” Viewing issues as a whole Many changes that affect cities are determined externally, like economic growth or recessions, the climate, ageing populations. So the city constantly has to make adjustments. The ability to comprehensively and interactively analyse and design lies behind TNO’s development of the Urban Strategy tool that enables us to view all the issues as a whole. We link our knowledge in areas such as mobility, environment, healthy living, building and infrastructure, safety and security, and energy with (real-time) data generated by the city itself. These insights enable us to make specific predictions. Where previous models existed for either noise, emissions or traffic, for example, we can now rapidly calculate how all these factors in every conceivable variant relate to each other as a whole. Real-time sharing of useful information We combine data from municipal services with data from third parties, which essentially comprises urban management and planning along with business and industry data in the city, so that each party can benefit from the other’s information. Urban and infrastructure managers have a treasure trove of data on the day-to-day operations and flows like traffic, waste, energy, building. Really smart city data solutions ensure that urban planners are able to make use of urban management data in real time while management through information sharing focuses on longer-term strategy. Citizens and companies in retail or catering, for example, and service providers or project developers will gain access to the same data in time, so that they will be able to see the urban situation in real time and thus adjust their plans or services accordingly. “In principle, it’s all about enabling all parties to make maximum use of the same data from every available source, enriching the data and then sharing it again with others,” adds Kusters. “TNO provides the technology needed to link the data in such a way that everyone can get useful information out of it: city services, administrators, companies and, of course, the citizens. Technically, there are hardly any restrictions; it’s a matter of working together to organise it.”

Medellin, Colombia has beaten off 38 other cities to be named as the winner of the biennial  Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize , which is awarded by the Singapore government. Although the city’s transformation has been widely recognised, the Nominating Committee wrote in a statement released to  Cities Today , that the city has built upon this in the last several years. “Within a span of just two decades, Medellin had overcome challenges of uncontrolled urban expansion, and transformed itself from a notoriously violent city to one that is being held up as a model for urban innovation,” the statement reads. “Since being named a Special Mention City of the 2014 prize, Medellin has made further improvements, such as the further reduction in homicide rates.” The committee also made special mention of the political will, bold leadership and long-term plans shown by the three mayors that have governed the city over the past 12 years, which have helped tackle security problems, developed the economy and improved its citizens’ employability and quality of life. The current Mayor of Medellin, Federico Guitierez Zuluaga, said: “This is an important recognition that we feel proud of for our city. We thank you for the encouragement to continue working for our city, a spectacular city that has come a long way but also has a long way to go.” Zuluaga’s predecessor, Anibal Gaviria Correa, who left office in December 2015, echoed his sentiments: “Winning the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize is a true honour and a motivation to continue building a city for the life for our citizens; more humane, equal, free and happier. With Medellin receiving this award, we hope this inspires and gives hope to other cities facing similar challenges.” The four other cities selected for a Special Mention are Auckland, Sydney, Toronto and Vienna. The Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, which includes a US$222,000 prize from the Keppel Corporation , is jointly organised by the Singapore Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Centre for Liveable Cities , to honour outstanding urban achievements and solutions. The prize will be awarded during a ceremony at the upcoming World Cities Summit which will be held from 10 to 14 July 2016 at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.

Study reveals savings from smart parking 28th December 2015 Adam Pitt https://cities-today.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/SFpark_Wayfinding_04.jpg San Francisco has been one of the leading cities in smart parking Advocates of smart parking argue that the technology can cut congestion and pollution, reduce stress among drivers, and boost economic activity. Adam Pitt examines a new study on smart parking and whether dynamic pricing could make parking a means to stimulate economic growth.