How can we make cities smarter? Streets were strangely quiet during coronavirus lockdowns. And while people missed the shops and cafes, many appreciated the respite from noise and pollution. As cities started to wake up from the socalled anthropause1 during the Covid crisis, questions were being asked about how we can improve them more permanently. And the assumptions we had about making our cities smart may also need a rethink. Robots and drones are definitely set to become more popular in the near future. During the pandemic, the Boston Dynamics Spot robot was used to encourage social distancing in Singapore, while drone regulations were adapted in North Carolina to allow the delivery of medical supplies to hospitals, and telepresence robots helped connect people in quarantine. Cities already collect vast amounts of data via sensors attached to infrastructure and even lamp posts, observing a range of metrics – from air quality and transport usage to the movement of people. And it is not only researchers who are interested in this information; ordinary people might also like to know, for example, how many cars enter the city centre. Such data can be beneficial in many ways as they have the potential to make more permanent changes for urgent problems such as air pollution. Post-pandemic cities need to also consider whether they want to make more permanent changes to transport, via electric vehicles and bikes, thinks Dr Robin North, who founded Immense, a firm that offers simulations of future cities. “There is a huge opportunity to redesign the transport system brought on by the pandemic and the response to it. If we want to take advantage of that we have to be able to plan and think ahead,” he says. Some cities are already thinking ahead. Paris is experimenting with the idea of a decentralised 15-minute city, mini-hubs where everything you need is within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. The “ville du quart d’heure” is a key pillar of the city government’s plan of turning Paris into a collection of ecologically transformed neighbourhoods. What is more, in the wake of the success of working from home during Covid lockdowns, firms are starting to question the need for big, expensive, centrally located offices. “The skyscraper’s moment may be over. As a result of the pandemic, urban planners are going to have to rethink the idea of space,” said Prof Richard Sennett, an urban planning expert who helped redesign New York City in the 1980s, and who has had a leading position in the Council on Urban Initiatives at the United Nations. “What we have built now are fixed, immobile structures that only serve one purpose.” What is needed, he explained, are flexible buildings, ones that can adapt to short-term needs and to changing economics. This might entail turning offices into retail outlets or even homes. In general, experts agree that cities need to be sociable places. Also, technology has proven to work better when it is used to help people communicate. While track and trace apps have had mixed reviews and success, localised neighbourhood apps that keep people informed about rubbish collection times or enable them to help a sick neighbour have soared in popularity. Sensors may be good at collecting city data, but the smartphones people carry around with them are far more powerful. And actually, data is pretty dumb, according to one expert. Data will “tell you how many pedestrians are wandering through Newcastle city centre, but […] can’t tell you why.” He concludes, “A smart city has to work with citizens, behavioural scientists, and social policy-makers. It shouldn’t just be about data and technology”. Read the text about making cities smarter. First, decide whether the statements (1–7) are true (T) or false (F) and put a cross ( ) in the correct box. Then identify the sentence in the text which supports your decision. Write the first four words of this sentence in the space provided. There may be more than one answer; write down only one. The first one (0) has been done for you. Reading 2 1 The term refers to a global reduction in modern human activity, especially travel; it was coined by a team of researchers in June 2020 in an article discussing the possible impact of Covid-19 lockdown on wildlife. Reading i i I can understand a text about current trends and future developments. I can understand information on global issues. 64 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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