Signal 3: Cleaner Cities through Intelligent Cities

The dramatic rise of urban areas across the world has led to significant air quality issues in many of these cities and surrounding areas. Cities like Pittsburgh, which were at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution, have seen pollution hit a crescendo with increasing health issues, particularly in lower income communities. Pittsburgh has taken an enormous step to tackle the air pollution that has plagued the Pennsylvania city by planning to implement sensor and wifi enabled congestion technologies.

By installing motion and Bluetooth sensors throughout the city, Pittsburgh has been able to map and analyze the movement of their citizens to inform the location of planned projects, including the installation of charging ports in the city and “intelligent” street lights. A more connected metropolitan area through IoT allows for streamlined urban services and provides insights for future planning.

The implementation of these technologies is a major step towards creating a more sustainable future but it is not widespread. By following Pittsburgh’s footsteps, many major urban areas can tackle the various rising health, social, and environmental concerns by having a data-informed planning structure.