Cities of the Future

Category: Mobility

  • Barcelona tackles its traffic, pollution with parking policies and superblocks

    Barcelona tackles its traffic, pollution with parking policies and superblocks

    Cities of the Future talks to Barcelona’s mobility guru, Mercedes Vidal, about how the high pollution levels that are pushing the city to rethink heavy traffic flows, provide faster more efficient public transport and hike up parking fees. Last week, the city of Madrid had to trigger its high-pollution protocol Level 2 due to dangerous levels […]

  • Customers Not Ready to Give Full Control to Autonomous Cars

    A survey conducted by MIT’s AgeLab suggested that while consumers are interested in advanced safety technologies that assist the driver in reacting to potential collisions, only 40 percent of drivers in the 25 to 34 year old age bracket have any interest in full autonomy. The New England Motor Press Association (NEMPA) and MIT AgeLab […]

  • No Free Parking — Leave Your Car At Home

    No Free Parking — Leave Your Car At Home

    Free and cheap parking is expensive for cities. It becomes a pull factor for commuters to bring their cars every day, together with the pollution they create, traffic congestion, accidents and lost revenue for public transport.

  • Barcelona’s first Superblock, Fighting the Power of Habit and Wavering Political Will

    A month ago, after nearly three decades of waiting, Barcelona urban designer Salvador Rueda finally saw the first “Superilla” (Superblock) installed in his city. The superblock faced some fierce opposition from unhappy residents and local businesses complaining about loss of curbside parking, and changes of bus stops and street direction. It was also criticized from […]

  • Superblocks, Barcelona Answer to Car-Centric City

    Superblocks, Barcelona Answer to Car-Centric City

    Barcelona wants to be the world’s best city for people. To reclaim the public space and community living that residents lost to cars over the last century, the city, in the spirit of the original design by Cerdà, is transforming mobility and access to public space by introducing the Superblock. When Catalan urban planner Ildefons […]

  • IoT and Analytics are Reshaping the Rail Industry

    Using sophisticated sensors and analytics Spain’s high-speed trains achieve 99.98% availability, allowing the rail company to operate without reserve units. The Bangkok metro also uses advanced analytics to achieve 99.55% availability. Equipping trains with sensors that monitor wear and tear of individual parts, using advanced analytics to forecast preventive maintenance, and scheduling replacements in advance […]

  • Deputy Mayor of London: Diesel NOT the Right Thing for Cities

    Cities of the Future sat down with Matthew Pencharz, Deputy Mayor for Environment & Energy for the Greater London Authority (GLA), during the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona. We asked Mr. Pencharz his views about diesel in the city in light of the recent Volkswagen emissions scandal. “The VW scandal has focused attention […]

  • Cities Should Consider Going Cashless

    It is starting to make sense for cities worldwide to prepare for a cashless society. Children in Iceland bake cookies to sell on the street, a tradition similar to American kids’ first taste of business selling lemonade. The difference is their choice of payment: While in the US, kids selling lemonade only take cash, Iceland’s children […]

  • Barcelona, Not Pedestrian Smart

    Every day I take a walk to our favorite bakery to buy fresh bread, and every day I have to side-step dozens of motorcycles parked on the pavement. Often they hog so much space there’s only a meter gap for pedestrians to squeeze through between them and the buildings. Barcelona is constantly referred to as […]