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Budding urban planners have some great post-secondary schools to choose from in Ontario. One of the most respected planning institutions in the country, the University of Waterloo's School of Planning is known for its co-op and PhD programs that provide students with unique learning opportunities. Over the past 24 years, the University of Waterloo Planning Alumni of Toronto have invited industry professionals to a special dinner to network and learn about the challenges facing urban development. The 24th annual edition, held at the Royal York Hotel on November 13th, attracted hundreds as Robert Bell, co-founder of the New York City-based Intelligent Community Forum and co-author of 'Brain Gain: How Innovative Cities Create Job Growth in an Age of Disruption', spoke about the changing relationship between urban planning and digital infrastructure.
The dinner provides essential support for many of the University's ventures, including the Planner-in-Residence program and the provision of entrance scholarships. With several distinguished corporate sponsors, including the City of Toronto, Concord Adex and Quadrangle Architects, the event is a significant meeting of the brightest planners, developers, lawyers, engineers and architects in their respective field.
After guests were treated to a full course meal, Robert Bell delivered his enlightening keynote speech entitled 'The Broadband Network Ate My Plan! Digital and Physical Infrastructure and the Future of Cities.' Toronto is an appropriate place to discuss digital infrastructure, as it was named the Intelligent Community of the Year by the Intelligent Community Forum. The distinction is awarded to cities that "represent models of economic and social transformation in the 21st century." Seven top cities are chosen which exemplify "best practices in broadband deployment and use, workforce development, innovation, digital inclusion and advocacy that offer lessons to regions, cities, towns and villages around the world."
Toronto was heralded by the group for its economic and cultural diversity, well-respected universities, extensive library network, innovative institutions like the MaRS Discovery District and its plan to offer 1 Gbps fiber-based broadband to residents of new buildings along the lake as part of the Waterfront Toronto revitalization initiative. "Waterfront Toronto has decided that connectivity is the new quality of life factor in a major city," said Bell.
"Every intelligent community that we look at is a smart city, but not every smart city is an intelligent community," said Bell as he began his speech. "Smart cities are about technology. They're about applying information communications technology (I.C.T.) to accurately monitor, measure and control things that we've just been estimating up until now." He explained that I.C.T. is now used in cities around the world to monitor things like traffic flows, leakage from water pipes and the amount of potholes on roads. "Smart cities are all about saving money, becoming more efficient and delivering better service to the taxpayers." While these are noble goals, he said that this is simply not enough. To Bell, the vision should be to create better cities and better people.
Bell went on to highlight many international cities that are making strides in the use of digital infrastructure to better the quality of life of its citizens. Just outside Melbourne, Australia is the town of Whittlesea. Frequently overshadowed by its much larger neighbour, local leaders wanted Whittlesea to have its own identity and economy. To do this, Whittlesea created a new rule that required all new greenfield developments to install underground conduits. Once finished, this new network of underground wiring belonged to the city. As a result, Whittlesea now has the highest penetration of very fast broadband in Australia except for the Melbourne central business district. Whittlesea has now created its own start-up economy because of the massive amount of bandwidth available.
Bell then told attendees about how Hsinchu City, Taiwan is transforming the way its residents deal with the government. City officials have created a multi-purpose resident card that replaces the need for separate student cards, senior discount cards and other plastic. The card can be used to access government support services and social subsidies, with residents also being able to load money to the card. The data from the cards are stored in a central server, giving the government access to data on mobility, retail trends and the use of social services and facilities like transit. The citizens enjoy the benefit and convenience of the card while the city receives accurate, real-time data to inform decision making.
Also in Taiwan, New Taipei City has created a unique tool called Hot Spots Analysis. Data is brought together in an attempt to solve arising issues and citizen complaints. Issues that are not being solved and complaints that have not been investigated become "hot spots". The Hot Spots Analysis is reviewed every month and appropriate solutions are crafted. Information about solutions to the problem, as well as why the problem occurred in the first place, become part of a case study made available for residents to examine. One specific case study involved the overcrowding of rush hour traffic buses. Upon examination, the city realized that its own rules were the problem as they prevented more passengers from being loaded onto highway bus routes due to safety regulations. Unwilling to change the safety rules, officials were able to convince bus companies to run shuttles along the same routes, but terminating at train stations instead. This resulted in a reduction of waits on rush hour express buses by half as traffic was diverted to train stations. The Hot Spots Analysis ensured New Taipei City avoided making unnecessary investments to solve "pretend problems".
Closer to home, Bell explained how Arlington, Virginia is adapting to the 21st century. Dubbed 'The Arlington Way', the county places a great amount of emphasis on citizen engagement. They do this through dozens of community advisory groups that inform the County about issues related to transit, public art, the economy and a whole host of other issues. With technology rapidly progressing, the County realized citizen engagement could be more effective if more content was placed online. The E-Government Master Plan came into fruition in order to bring 'The Arlington Way' into the 21st century. Now, those unable to attend meetings can access documents online and communicate directly to Arlington County. This is a way to "move community engagement from the digital to the physical," said Bell.
Finally, Bell went back to Australia, this time to the coastal city of Coffs Harbour. The city's rocky landscapes and sandy beaches make up the healthy environment valued by its residents. To help protect this environment and reduce red tape, the Electronic Housing Code Program was created. Property developers use the online system to see if their project is compliant with environmental rules. The convenience and ease of access reduces frustration around the approvals process while also improving compliance, resulting in benefits for both the city and developers.
After venturing around the world, Bell ended the address by wishing planners well in capitalizing on this new digital reality, emphasizing that I.C.T. will continue to transform cities. But he explained that we need to go one step further and eliminate distance as a barrier. "The tradition of planning is deeply intertwined with distance, with physical constraints, with the physical economy. That's why we plan, we're trying to deal with the constraints. With this broadband economy that we're taking over at a great speed, we're shrinking distance and we're collapsing constraints."
How do you believe digital infrastructure will shape the cities of the future? Are there other cities around the world that are capitalizing on I.C.T.? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts.
