Now, more than ever, the purpose and function of the digital city is of paramount importance. Mass urbanization across the globe continues at pace. The UN World Urbanization Prospects estimate that by 2050, two-thirds of the world population will live in urban areas. That could mean as many as seven billion people occupying our cities, adding significant pressure to already overloaded infrastructure.
In meeting the challenge of supporting increased demand, there lies an opportunity to apply a new perspective enabled by digital — one that moves beyond an incremental change to something entirely transformational. Here in Asia, which is already home to eight of the world’s 10 largest megacities (cities with populations exceeding 10 million), and where many new cities are being planned, we have the greatest potential to do this and help relieve some of the burdens of urbanization including environmental issues, transportation and the well-being of people.
Achieving this digital transformation calls for more than a new outlook, it requires collaborative and integrated new thinking across the spectrum of roles and responsibilities involved in the planning, design and delivery of cities. It also demands the inclusion of users as an equal partner in this.
In many respects, AECOM’s Buildings+Places global business line is a microcosm of the ecosystem of stakeholders found in every city. Since October 2020, we have been reforming and transforming the way we work together across our disciplines – from master planning, to sustainable urban design, to grey, green and blue architecture, to engineering for quality delivery of future-ready, high-performing buildings and places. It is crucial that we establish this model throughout our own ecosystem to facilitate holistic connectivity and collaboration across the myriad of external stakeholders with whom we partner. Connectivity and collaboration are vital to embedding and optimizing digital to build cities that are resilient and agile in safeguarding and enabling their people.
We envision and enable data to be harnessed going forward, to achieve shared public value including more equitable outcomes for all people, whether by improving emergency response times or designing inclusive public spaces in densely populated cities. We also imagine its potential to monitor environmental impacts such as measuring carbon emissions, monitoring traffic flow and patterns to manage transportation networks, and helping to provide more effective public healthcare services.
As we now enter the age of the digital city, decided by people and powered by advanced technological infrastructure, we are setting the foundation for all generations to follow.
What you will see as you read through this report is a clear need for a model of collaboration that taps into the new potential afforded by the digital city to expand a people-centered approach, both in terms of innovation in the provision of urban facilities and services, as well as the inclusion of all. An approach that seeks to place people — as the users and creators of data and technology — at the center of the solution to urban challenges and future opportunities.