WSP Global : The Age of Urban Tech

That is why innovation, technology and city life were at the center of discussions during the 2016 New Cities Summit that was held in Montreal from June 21 to 23.

City officials, leaders in the arts, business and local communities gathered for the two-day event to share ideas and experiences on urban challenges.

Tom Smith, Global Director, Property and Buildings at WSP Global and Doug Webber, Head of Sustainability and Energy, WSP Canada, attended the two-day conference. Tom was also invited to be part of the closing session.

'Technology helps cities build places that have positive impact on its residents,' he said in a panel called Placemaking: Building the Community through Urban Tech.

Beyond the Smart City

Cities know they must change because they are providers of first community services, like garbage collecting, road infrastructure, water distribution, safety, and so on. What was very clear from the many presentations and debates at New Cities Summit was cities understand that they must use innovation to succeed.

But it's more than that. 'Cities must decide where they want to go or what they want to be, and use technology to get there, said Timothy Papandreou, Director, Office of Innovation at San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). He was a speaker in a panel called Mobility as a service.

From his perspective, cities must determine the framework and let partners provide new services that are requested by populations. 'We must get cars out of the cities. The question is: how do we do it,' he said. The Uber, Zipcar or other carsharing companies can help in solving many issues in transportation, he thinks.

All across the world, innovators and entrepreneurs are using technology and their creativity to provide real mobility solutions in urban centers. But technology must not be the final objective. As another panellist said : 'Cities are too important to be left to technologists.' That person was Anil Menon, president of Smart+Connected Communities at Cisco.

Connected, Autonomous and Driverless Vehicles

There were also lots of talks about autonomous vehicles, an area of global expertise for WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff, during the event, but for the moment, it is still difficult to see exactly how AV will impact the landscape of our cities.

In the future, less parking space will be needed because cars won't stay at drivers' destination. They will either drive themselves back home or make themselves available for other travellers. In the end, cities will have the opportunity to create something with the available space.