Smart City Predictions For 2027
Smart Cities have become a fully functional part of today’s world, setting a template for the ongoing urbanisation processes throughout the globe, as well as for the reimagining of old models. As the world continues to adapt to the post-pandemic era, digitalisation is helping to solve a lot of old administrative issues around cities, while also making evident the need for smart city structures and innovation in the effective administration of our communities.
These latest movements give us a powerful insight into what’s in store for Smart City developments over the next five years.
A recent report by Research and Markets, for example, takes a closer look at today's Smart Cities marketplace in order to assess opportunities and future developments that are on the rise, or that can play a major role in urban strategies, while looking at the leading vendors and strategies for infrastructure, solutions, applications, and services. Analysing market factors such as solution adoption, technology readiness and fitness for use, the report evaluates what future developments will impact the smart cities world the most.
So what are the key predictions for Smart Cities for 2027?
Over the next five years, the market is expected to exceed $2.7 trillion, a number which is highly impacted by the ongoing rise of the artificial intelligence market, which is currently estimated at $298 billion. This put the overall growth of the market at a much higher level than similar predictions made at the beginning of the pandemic.
Alongside AI and other rising tech, 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) will still be playing, years from now, an essential part in the re-adaptation of smart city structures. This should come as no surprise, as much of their implementation has been accelerated from a perspective of function, use and purpose during the Covid crisis.
Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) are also transforming at a rapid rate, driven by urbanisation, the industrialization of emerging economies, and the specific needs of various smart city initiatives.
Challenges also obviously exist from a sustainability perspective, which is why we should welcome reports that predict that smart traffic systems, for example, can save up to 205m metric tons of CO2 by 2027 - and much of this thanks to the integrated use of 5G and AI in smart traffic management, as well as growing investment into smart intersections, which is expected to double in the next five years.
Rapid advances in technology should, ultimately, serve a citizen-centric model of rebuilding and restructuring smart cities that takes into consideration challenges such as the climate, energy and food crises, as well as avoiding future scenarios that mimic the recent global pandemic.
Beyond 2027, the future has a potential to look brighter than ever if we take advantage of today’s technology to serve our cities and their citizens. Let’s make that happen.
