Cities are growing rapidly, with over half of the global population now living in urban areas. By 2050, this number is expected to rise to two-thirds, creating significant challenges in infrastructure, resource management, and service delivery (United Nations, 2018). Urban planners and city officials must find innovative solutions to these pressing issues.
With 68% of the world’s population predicted to live in cities by 2030, we must make our cities more livable, sustainable, and appropriate to their residents. That’s where Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) comes in. These technologies offer powerful tools to enhance urban development, optimize resources, and improve the quality of life for residents.
How Big Data and AI Are Transforming Urban Development
Big Data refers to the vast volumes of data generated from various sources, including social networks, sensors, and public records. AI, on the other hand, enables systems to process this data intelligently, making decisions that typically require human cognition. Together, they can revolutionize urban environments in several ways:
- Complex Problem-Solving: AI for Complex Problem-Solving is excellent at producing a wide range of urban solutions that carefully take into account social, environmental, and economic aspects.
- Quick Turnaround: Cities can now quickly see what might happen in the future, which makes design processes more adaptable and dynamic.
- Flexibility: Long-term adaptability is ensured by the capacity to continuously enhance and evolve city plans depending on new requirements thanks to generative design techniques.
According to UN estimates, there are currently 33 megacities with a population of at least 10 million people, five of which are in India and six or more of which are in China. Tokyo, the world’s largest metropolis, is home to around 37.5 million people.
Cybersecurity in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence
As mentioned, Big Data is large volumes of data. All this data is obtained from multiple resources. It encompasses social networks, sensors, and records of the general public. AI is an abbreviation that means Artificial Intelligence.
It is the process whereby computers and related systems execute processes that would otherwise require human input and cognition. Big data, together with AI, can process large amounts of data within a short period. This aids in decision-making since accurate data is needed in coming up with decisions.
They are discussed as innovative technologies that contribute to the enhancement of multiple spheres. For instance, in health care, they forecast disease occurrence. In finance, they find out fraud. Thus, the process of urbanization is also no less unique. The main idea is that when correctly utilized, cities can change their functioning.
They can forecast traffic conditions, light energy utilization, and even security conditions. Exploring Topics provides information that within the next seven years, the value of the AI industry will increase by 13.5 times.
Improving Infrastructure Planning
Infrastructure is very essential for the growth of the urban area. Every city requires efficient transport, energy, and general services. Based on the given Big Data and AI, planning can be enhanced in infrastructure. They can about forecast future needs since they have data to work with.
For example, in the case of traffic, information can inform the authorities about places where new roads are required. Another crucial application of AI in civil structures is an opportunity to simulate how the latest developments will affect the infrastructure.
McKinsey’s research on the transportation system demonstrated that the application of Big Data cut down traffic by 15% in some large cities. This leads to mobility and decreases the level of pollution. AI can also help with timing the frequency and number of maintenance’s.
This helps to ensure that there are always adequate and properly working infrastructures. Thus, predictive maintenance is known to minimize expenditure by 30% at most (Deloitte, 2019). Thus, cities can save money and provide better services.
Enhancing Public Safety and Emergency Response
Protection of the public is always a priority for any city. Big Data and AI are valuable in public safety and emergency response. They will be able to pinpoint areas where crimes are likely to occur and then mobilize security in those areas in good time.
AI works by processing and outlining criminal trends and statistics. This assists in solving problems before they occur, an aspect known as proactive policing, and in Chicago, predictive policing decreased crime by 7 percent (The Economist, 2019).
Emergency response is also another benefit that is experienced in facilities where adaptive and resilient supply chain management is practiced. AI can capture information from the sensors and social media in a natural disaster event.
This assists in co-ordinate rescue operations. For instance, in the case of floods, AI can estimate where the floods are most likely to happen. People can be reached, and materials are transported there in a short period. This cuts the number of deaths and the extent of destruction.
Management of Energy Efficiency and Sustainability
Energy is used a lot within cities. Energy efficiency is considered an essential aspect of this issue. Ladies and gentlemen, the technology of Big Data and AI can. They can assess the general trend of energy use and consequently discover various potentialities of the enhancements.
Smart grids incorporate AI into the management of the distribution of electricity. They forecast demand and hence supply the market with products in anticipation of the demand in the market.
In Barcelona, smart meters and AI lowered the energy requirements by 20% (Smart Cities World, 2020). This results in reduced expenditure and a decreased environmental impact regarding carbon emissions.
Another application that can be derived from the use of AI is the efficient utilization of green energy sources. Thus, by forecasting the climatic changes, it can control the utilization of solar and wind energy. This, therefore, helps in the provision of a stable energy supply.
Improving Governance and Citizen Participation
Public services can be considered to be very important for the functioning of a city. Big Data and AI can improve such services. They can dissect citizens’ opinions and enhance their manner of service delivery. Consequently, the use of AI involves interpreting large information sets from public complaints.
This can be useful in teasing out the areas that would require some attention. Analyzing 311 call data enhanced the existing services in the city tremendously in the case of New York (NYC Open Data, 2021).
Citizen engagement is also improved. AI-powered chatbots can handle common queries. This reduces the workload on city officials. Big Data can also help in planning community events. By analyzing social media data, cities can understand what residents want. This leads to higher satisfaction and better community engagement.
Overcoming Challenges and Ethical Considerations
The process of applying Big Data and AI in urban development is not without some difficulties. The main concerns include security, particularly in the aspect of data privacy. This means that cities need to adopt various measures to impress on them that they equally have the responsibility of handling data appropriately.
There should be strictly-formulated measures for data gathering and management. Transparency is key. This suggests that residents must find out how their information is being used.
Another is a difference in the use of technology, where some students access the internet through their laptops and desktops, while others do not have any form of this device. Every person in the house, for instance, does not own a mobile phone or has access to the Internet.
Municipalities must wake up to this reality. They should also ensure that the benefits of technology should be achieved by all for them to have positive consequences. This encompasses offering skills in computer usage and access to a cheap internet connection.
Conclusion
Big Data and AI can unlock a lot of opportunities for advancing the quality of urban life. It can increase the quality of facilities, upgrade the safety of citizens, and even get more out of energy. They also improve public delivery of services and citizen participation. However, there are some issues and ethical concerns that cities have to solve. Thus, they can fashion intelligent, sustainable, and habitable typologies for cities of the modern world. Chapter247 thinks that data and technology enhance the future of urban development.
