The Rise of Smart Cities
Seeing development all over the world, smart cities are starting to look like the future of living. Smart cities are urban areas that are using different electronic methods and sensors to collect data, using it to manage assets, resources, and services efficiently. New plans keep rising from governments and private companies alike. This will be the future, but how far should companies and governments be allowed to go?
Woven City is one such plan that may change the future of living. Toyota is leading the project which will be located at the base of Mount Fuji, and the city will include 170 acres of land. Unlike similar projects in the past such as Google’s plan to turn part of Vancouver into a smart town, Toyota already owns the land so they won’t be prevented by residents currently living on the land. The aim of the city is to create a breeding ground for new technologies for the future of mobility and urban living. In the plans, Toyota plans to develop three types of ways for pedestrians to travel around the city: 1) a road for exclusively autonomous vehicles 2) roads for a mix of pedestrians and cyclists 3) a park-like path exclusively for pedestrians.
The Woven City will also play a hand in the health of the city residents' population with the ability to deliver nutritious meals to citizens. The city planners also plan to implement AI to track the contents of resident refrigerators to better track citizen health. If implemented correctly, AI could greatly improve the quality of living for citizens, giving them information to keep them healthy and the ability to identify unknown illnesses. Designers also plan to employ robots to complete chores such as stocking the fridge, cleaning dishes, and cleaning houses. The goal for this is to benefit the elderly while giving older citizens more time to spend with families. Toyota hopes that such technology could prove beneficial for the elderly around the globe. Along with all of this, Woven City designers will provide citizens with smartwatches that will have the ability to track parts of one’s body for the wearer's benefit, using AI for the best results. Although all of this may sound great, the tracking of the health of the residents has the United Nations Human Rights Organization concerned over the privacy of health and social security data especially for people that suffer from HIV and AIDS, since the AI will have access medical records, causing the potential of an unauthorized person being able to view another’s private information.
This is just one of many futuristic cities that are starting to arise. Whether or not we are ready, future cities may quickly become widespread around the globe. Those in favor of such smart cities believe they possess the ability to bring the community together and create a more pleasant environment in which to live. However, if these beginning cities fail to change anything we may lose the potential to greatly improve our cities.
