The Urban Land
Institute, leaders of creating sustainable communities, has launched an Urban
Technology Framework to help cities advance into the next generation.
The Urban Technology
Framework has identified 12 current trends that will shape metropolitan hubs.
This in turn, will help developers and architects who are responsible for
delivering future cities.
Key tech trends
include 3D printing transforming the way we build, and the Internet of Things
(IoT) progressing smart buildings from stationary structures to machines.
Digitalisation will transform business models, causing the existing sharing
economy to extend even further: with people sharing houses, cars and clothes.
The framework sets
out the trends into three themes - digital technologies, urban land factors and
business models - that will further transform our cities. These must be
considered in every plan for the future, and how they will affect communities,
institutions, buildings and the public realm.
Digital technologies
will transform the way we interact with and in cities. Current technologies
have enabled our communities to no longer be limited to locality, as small and
fluid tribes are increasingly defined by digital and physical worlds. Further technologies,
from increased connectivity through IoT to smart machines and driverless cars,
will likely have as significant an impact.
Urban land factors
create the context that digital technologies need to work in. These factors can
be people, organisations, scale of development and stage of design. Property
developers and architects have the opportunity to integrate technologies in design
to respond to changes in the way people work or travel.
Finally, digital
organising and business models will use technologies to deliver services in
urban centres. Cities of the future will enjoy digital retail, a focus on
customer experience, and an expansion of the sharing-economy.
Property developers
and architects will have to consider the trends in transformational change
facing cities and people’s living experience. The Urban Technology Framework
can act as a guide in this urban transformation process.
The Urban Technology
Framework is an initiative of the ULI Tech Forum, co-chaired by Adam Burstow, a
Group Digital & IT Director at Grosvenor Group and Ed Parham, an Associate
at Space Syntax. Lauren Poon, associate at CallisonRTK, is acting as its vice
chair.
Adam Burstow,
Co-Chair of the ULI UK Tech Forum, said: “The ULI Urban Technology Framework
illustrates how technology intersects with our urban areas and aims to provide
a platform to understand how we shape our cities. From new business
opportunities to digitalised worlds, there are ever increasing possibilities
for tech advancements and with our framework, urban professionals can better
understand how waves of technology could influence our urban environment.”
Ed Parham, Co-Chair
of the ULI UK Tech Forum said: “The ULI Urban Technology Framework illustrates
how technology intersects with our urban areas and aims to provide a platform
to understand how we shape our cities. From economic opportunities to social benefits,
there are ever increasing possibilities for tech advancements and with our
framework, urban professionals can better understand how digital technologies
could improve our cities and create value for the people that are part of
them.”
