Strategic Vision of Connected Urban Development

The Connected Urban Development project envisions sustainable policies and practices for connected cities

Working with Cisco Systems, the MIT Mobile Experience Lab imagined how future cities can adapt and thrive in an era of ubiquitous information and communication technology.

The MIT Mobile Experience Lab and Cisco envisioned four areas of opportunity. First, people will be able to move around and interact with their city through citizen engagement points, where physical space and virtual information are integrated, such as in ad-hoc car and bike sharing systems. Second, the smart city will embrace the energy contributions of its citizens by taking advantage of “microgeneration”, such as regenerative brakes on bicycles, or “piezogenerators” in dance floors. Third, retrofitting existing buildings to be sustainable, configurable, and flexible, will allow for hyper-efficient use of energy and space. Finally, cities and citizens will be able to collaborate in a number of ways, such as open-source eco-maps that monitor land use and environmental effects.

Through prototypes and proof-of-concepts, the Connected Urban Development project promotes sustainable policies and practices as technological systems are further integrated into the day-to-day life of the city.