Unlocking the potential of cognitive cities for tomorrow’s urban living

Cognitive cities use artificial intelligence to supplement the physical environment, creating new-world experiences that blend imagination, personal customization, information highways, machine learning and physical realities. Residents in these cities may live in homes equipped with various technologies to make their daily lives easier, such as micro-climate sensors tuned to their unique comfort levels and wellness-integrated appliances that respond to their changing needs. Each building is connected to a community network that provides the digital platform for individual customization within the residential unit. Outside, citizens might be transported around through smart mobility pods that select the fastest route based on real-time traffic information.

As the 21st century unfolds, the vision of cities is evolving. No longer are they just a collection of physical structures; they have metamorphosed into dynamic ecosystems, seamlessly integrating city stakeholders and physical assets with digital and cognitive technologies. Meanwhile, the rise of the metaverse, a persistent and interconnected virtual environment where social and economic elements mirror reality, is poised to reshape the fabric of urban living.

However, the metamorphosis of a cognitive city — in which city elements are linked digitally and able to learn, adapt and respond to interactions — into this new digital realm is a colossal endeavor. It demands a combination of cutting-edge technologies and the right expertise. When integrated into society, cognitive technology takes previously manual tasks and turns them into opportunities for progress, unburdening humankind and making daily life seamless.

Cognitive cities are born not just through managing vast city-building projects and programs, but with the careful weaving of a cognitive digital narrative and story from conception to implementation. Ensuring that a city performs sustainably, efficiently and proactively, with the scalable capacity to adapt to an individual’s needs. At the core, cognitive cities harness the power of intelligent insights and analytics, 3D models and digital twins. Embracing new emerging technologies from artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to gaming engine technologies will be crucial to a cognitive city’s overall long-term framework and journey.

Complexity in cognitive city planning. Where to start? Early.

Traditionally, digital planning is implemented after the physical design has been realized, leading to the fragmentation of digital solutions existing in silos. AECOM has recognized the potential for establishing a robust, scalable foundation for future cognitive cities during the early stages of new city infrastructure building programs. Integrating cognitive city concepts from the start ensures a more holistic and cohesive urban design. The early conception of a cognitive city narrative enables the data infrastructure to mature and mirror the city’s evolution. This approach facilitates the seamless blend of technology and urban living spaces, enhancing functionality and aesthetics.

Governance: the key success factor for cognitive cities

Governance is a crucial component of the narrative of cognitive city planning. Effective governance structures are essential for ensuring that the development and operation of cognitive cities
are aligned with the broader goals of sustainability, inclusivity, and public welfare. They provide the framework for decision-making, stakeholder engagement, regulatory compliance, and the integration of technological innovations in a way that benefits all of a city’s stakeholders in a fair way.

Interdisciplinary collaboration, trust and cultural change

The planning of cognitive cities is a combination of a top-down, bottom-up approach centered around users' lived experience. Cognitive cities balance the personalization of an individual’s desires and the functional performance of the community to create a more livable and enjoyable urban environment.

For people-centric urban development, it is essential to consider citizens and community stakeholders as key contributors in designing and implementing cognitive city initiatives. Nurturing trust between users and data curators is crucial for sharing information, necessitating the use of citizen engagement platforms, such as open data portals for data exchange and insight, into municipal needs. Representative, regular forums or communal committees should be established to facilitate open dialogue between city officials and residents, ensuring that urban services align with the community's needs.

Trusted city leadership and institutional governance

In realizing the future of infrastructure, effective transformation begins with the unwavering commitment of governments and business, underscored by a clear and well-defined vision and objectives that begin at the urban planning stage, Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG), and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) strategies form the basis of any global cognitive city building program. City leaders must prioritize long-term city infrastructure impacts over the immediate benefits of short-term projects, demonstrating a capacity for foresight and strategic planning in this rapidly evolving technology landscape. Essential to this leadership is the ability to foster collaboration, forge strong alliances, and build partnerships, all aimed at enhancing the quality of life for urban residents while striking a balance between technological advancements of cognitive cities and the practical realities and challenges of urban living.

Local governments play a pivotal role in creating a conducive environment for cognitive city development, necessitating regulatory frameworks that can compromise between private and public interests in data usage. A central cognitive cities project management office (PMO), whether at the local or national level, is crucial for ensuring that activities align with the overarching cognitive city strategy. Meanwhile, spreading initiatives across municipal departments signifies a move towards decentralized leadership that fosters collaborative efforts in project and program execution.

Data governance

In cognitive cities, where innovation thrives on data-driven insights, maintaining robust privacy and security governance is paramount. Essential measures include implementing comprehensive data protection laws in line with international standards to govern data collection, processing and sharing. Regular privacy impact assessments and state-of-the-art cybersecurity frameworks are crucial for safeguarding against data breaches and cyber threats. Emphasizing transparency in data usage policies ensures that residents are informed about how their data is used and that consent is obtained. Adopting principles of data minimization and anonymization helps protect individual identities, while integrating privacy and security features from the initial design stage of technological solutions is known
as the concept of 'Privacy and Security by Design'. Educating the public about data rights and risks empowers them to make informed decisions, fostering a culture of trust.

Additionally, collaboration across stakeholders, continuous policy updates to match evolving technologies, and robust incident response strategies further fortify the privacy and security framework. These measures, when diligently applied, enable cognitive cities to harness the power of innovation while steadfastly upholding the principles of privacy and security.

Regulatory and ethical issues

There is a thin line between financial savings and increasing public satisfaction without invading people’s privacy. To drive innovation, the more usage of data that can be collected from everything and everyone, the better. Guardrails and policies are necessary to prevent privacy invasion, while data anonymization can bridge the gap between innovation and privacy needs. Boundaries on the use of AI are currently being introduced, and model explainability and options to be overridden by humans will be set to remove any potential risks. Applicability of AI models that have not been trained on an adequate regional data set can have a significant impact on the behavior of the model.

Key benefits of a cognitive city

Improved quality of life

When cognitive technology becomes an integral part of society, it revolutionizes how we approach and execute everyday tasks, transforming them from manual, often time-consuming activities into gateways for advancement and innovation. This integration extends from smart homes automating mundane chores to intelligent transportation systems optimizing traffic flow, which significantly unburdens humanity from
routine tasks. Furthermore, in our personal lives, such technology can enhance healthcare, education, and entertainment, making daily experiences more seamless, personalized, and enjoyable. This transition to a more cognitive society does not just streamline our day-to-day activities; it opens the door to new levels of human potential, enabling us to focus on growth, exploration, and the pursuit of more meaningful, fulfilling endeavors.

Cognitive cities can utilize real-time feedback mechanisms to adapt services and infrastructure quickly to meet changing community needs, ensuring that the urban environment continuously evolves in response to citizen input.

Building new types of communities and collaborative behavior

Cognitive cities, with their integration of advanced technologies and data-driven insights, can significantly enhance community building, social interaction, citizen participation, and collaboration. Cognitive technologies enable more efficient and accessible communication channels between city authorities and residents. Tools like AI-powered chatbots, community apps, and digital forums can facilitate better engagement and participation in local governance and decision-making processes.

In addition, intelligent transportation systems can improve access to different city areas, making it easier for residents to participate in community events and social activities. This can be particularly impactful in enhancing social inclusion for residents with mobility issues.

Increased resilience and sustainability

Early integration of cognitive city elements can significantly contribute to sustainability and resilience goals. Smart technologies can help in energy management, waste reduction, and adapting to climate change impacts, which are easier to implement from the ground up. Starting with a cognitive city mindset allows for the design of efficient data collection and management systems from the ooutset ofany city infrastructure building project or program. This leads to better decision-making processes and more responsive city services.

Next generation city infrastructure technology

Empowered by construction technology, developers are setting ambitious timelines for city-building, with the average construction timeline for a 700-square-kilometer city targeted between five and seven years. Designers and operators are leveraging digital solutions to consolidate various components of city design, including transit planning, aviation zoning, utility management and emergency services management, in a shorter time frame. Cognitive city planning allows delivery teams to switch from project-based design and construction workflow to a product-based approach that optimizes time for design thinking.