Future Cities: How Smart Can a City Be?

Contrary to popular science fiction, future cities don’t look like something from George Orwell’s 1984. Here’s a look at just how smart a city can be.

If you happen to visit the Masdar City in Abu Dhabi, UAE, you will notice the technological advancement that the city boasts of. After coming out of their initial amusement, visitors will observe the infrastructure responsible for one of the world's most sustainable communities. From solar panels that create renewable energy and driver-less cars, the city seems to be a leaf taken out of the shows like Futurama or the Jetsons. When we say the word 'future' or 'smart cities,' we intend to build a city that runs on clean and renewable energy. 

But why is it important to introduce the concept of smart cities? There is no denying that our ill-planned policies have brought too much damage to our planet. High levels of carbon emission have made the world a polluted place. The reliance on fossil fuels to generate energy has also made threats of global warming even graver. In such situations, it is important to introduce the concept of smart cities to our young mind who can also think of ways to reduce carbon footprints. After all, the climate change march is being led by a 16-year-old. We are making the world increasingly uninhabitable for our children, and it is they who will have to bear the consequences of a world destroyed by us. 

This is why we are coming with a one-of-a-kind event called First Lego League (2019-2020), which is a competition that challenges young minds (for children with ages between 9 and 16) to think of ways to solve pressing problems like recycling, surviving in space, and energy by using the principles of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).  

While the objective of future cities is to create an environment that is clean and green, the cities also want to promote inclusivity. These future cities will not only have state-of-art building complexes, but they will also be home to playgrounds that allow children to have a good time. 

Traditional playgrounds are built in a way to alienate children with disabilities. For example, a wheelchair-bound child cannot play on a jungle gym or enjoy the see-saw. Future cities aim to support smart habitats for people with disabilities. Through the help of technology, these cities will try to be more accessible and more inclusive for everyone. 

Through this competition, children will be expected to build a city (shape a city) that is not only sustainable but also promotes inclusivity. Through this challenge, children will share their views regarding how buildings and recreational spaces like parks and cinemas can become more accessible for people with disabilities so that a major segment of the population is not inadvertantly alienated. Young minds may help explain questions like: can a driver-less car help a blind person to reach their destination without difficulty? Or how we could use technology to help people with disabilities to assess the cities more comfortably?

This event will allow children to let their imaginations go wild and to think of ways to make the cities more sustainable and the one which welcomes all.