Emerging technologies in transportation, smart cities, and other urban-focused aspects are often rapidly changing, complex, and pose challenges in terms of implementation and policymaking.
If urban planning has a 30-year vision, planning and policy-making around emerging technologies will need to be shorter, more nimble, and do more in five years, says Louisville, Kentucky. 's Digital Inclusion Manager Ricky Santiago said at Bipartisan 2024 on Wednesday.Technology Policy Conference in Washington DC
“Innovation is really deploying aggressive strategies towards emerging technologies, and we need to stay on top of that,” he said. “I think one of the most difficult parts of urban technology is that so few people, both on the community side and on the government side, really understand the new technology.” The event was a collaboration between local government and broadband advocacy group Next Century Hosted by Cities.
Conversations and public policy around emerging technologies, coupled with the same policies and debates about smart cities, are changing as rapidly and often iterative as the technology itself. Cities needed to quickly gain a foothold in the rapidly evolving field of new transportation options such as connected vehicles, artificial intelligence, and micromobility.
“Emerging technology could become a scooter,” Santiago said. “Scooters could become a thing. Now we have to create policy around 'where do we ride scooters and where do we park them?'”
Headlines five to 10 years ago touted the possibility, even inevitability, of self-driving cars, said Raza Panjwani, senior policy advisor at the Open Technology Institute, at an event on emerging technologies. He also spoke at a panel discussion.
“And then, for various reasons, everything went quiet,” Panjwani said. “But slowly, in the background, we're starting to see some of these technologies starting to be deployed more and more.”
Because new technologies often germinate as an idea or concept and then evolve in ways you don't necessarily imagine, some of the same technologies that power self-driving cars include the metaverse, decentralized web, and artificial intelligence. He explained that it is also seen in other areas such as.
“All of this will eventually come back in some form that is probably more usable,” Panjwani said. “So, recognize what you are in the hype cycle stage and realize that you are now in the actual product stage.”
But ultimately, the real question for cities — and for technology developers — is how technology improves lives, said Taylor Carter DiSanto, deputy director of broadband and digital equity for the City of Baltimore. speaks.
“What does that actually mean? Who cares?” Carter-DiSanto said. “All of these things are definitely top priorities for city government. But for us, I think we're in a position to figure out what's worth investing our time in. The reality in our community. How can we determine the impact of
Carter-DiSanto emphasized that technology, when done intentionally and thoughtfully, can help improve the lives of residents, providing broadband expansion and access as a prime example. He emphasized that broadband “can be a tool to liberate communities that have been treated unfairly.” Many of these discriminatory practices have been left unattended for far too long. ”
And indeed, Santiago said, “access to technology will be a major barrier to equity in our society.”
