Municipal governments are riding a volatile wave of economic, ecological, and social change. But one thing is constant—the accelerating spread of digital technologies. More specifically, municipal governments are learning how to use software to measure, analyze, and optimize service delivery.…
Following the publication of The Future of Urban Tech: A Ten-Year Horizon Scan, we began a collaboration with Paris-based think tank Urban AI that is now entering its second year. Over a series of 10 scheduled webinars, we brought together…
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, better known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”) launched the biggest 5-year push to repair, expand, and most importantly—improve—the nation’s civil infrastructure. This act authorizes more than $550 billion in spending on transportation, broadband,…
The Digital Cities Index 2022, published by The Economist “combines highlights from the DCI with expert commentary on the key factors determining success in the utilisation of digital technology in today’s cities, and uses the rankings to benchmark performance and…
Self-repairing roads and sewers. Forests and farms inside buildings. Software that follows our instructions rather than following us around. These are just some of the possibilities and pitfalls for urban tech in the decade ahead. This site is a kaleidoscope…
This paper is the first output from our ongoing work with the Urban Tech Hub @ Cornell Tech, and identifies key ethical dilemmas shaping the future of networks, sensing, and computation in cities. This discussion paper explores the emerging territory…
We were delighted to participate in a fascinating new study by longtime collaborators Lean Doody and the team at Arup on “workplacemaking”, a new approach to designing and managing distributed work in the post-pandemic city. See the report, Making Place:…
Update: Check out St. Louis Magazine’s in-depth coverage of the Design Downtown STL project. “Smart Cities author Anthony Townsend, an expert on urbanization and digital technology, says St. Louis should develop a long-term stand-alone digital master plan, just as it…
Over the last decade, so-called “urbantech” firms have transformed the way people live and work in cities. Are Uber, WeWork, and AirBnB too big to fail? This panel discussion, at CityLab DC 2019, features * City Group’s Anthony Townsend alongside…
In this interview, produced by Esquire UK for the launch of the Hyundai IONIQ Electric, we explore how urban sharing has shaped cities and how technology will create new opportunities in the near future.
