June 6 Forum Explores Intelligent Cities
More than half of the world’s population now lives in cities and the United Nations projects that number to grow to 70% by 2050. At the same time, new technologies allow us to collect more data than ever before about cities and their inhabitants. How do we make sense of and use this collected data to build better cities?
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| The first Intelligent Cities infographic visualizes home size and energy consumption data. View full-size version |
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We have data telling us where people are moving to and from, energy use per capita, the growing size of the American home, commuting patterns, and carbon output of each building. How do we make sense of all this information that is coming at us like a fire hose? And can we take advantage of new applications that tell us when the next bus arrives, where that parking place is lurking just around the next corner, or even engage citizens in neighborhood planning?
On June 6 the National Building Museum hosts a day-long forum to explore how data and information technology are changing the way our cities look, feel, and function. The best and brightest minds in the nation will participate in this innovative and thought-provoking event. Federal and municipal leaders will share how they are using data to make cities more sustainable, healthy, and efficient. Leading experts from across the United States will lead a series of interactive discussions on how technology is impacting design professionals, transportation, infrastructure, and resources such as water and energy.
The day begins with a high-powered keynote conversation with such interdisciplinary voices as:
- Anne K. Altman, general manager, Global Public Sector, IBM Corporation
- Dr. Xavier de Souza Briggs, associate director for General Government Programs, Office of Management and Budget, The White House
- Susan Piedmont-Palladino, curator, National Building Museum
- Judith Rodin, president, Rockefeller Foundation
- Hon. Nancy Sutley, chair, White House Council on Environmental Quality
- Moderated by Richard Stengel, managing editor, TIME
This morning discussion will be followed by these topics:
- The City as a Lab
- Democracy and Inclusion in the Intelligent City
- Regionally Thinking: Transportation, Affordability, and Equity
- Imagining a Healthier City
- Community and Social Interaction in the Wireless City
- Designing a Collaborative Built Environment
To register for the forum and learn more about the initiative, visit www.nbm.org/intelligentcities. Can’t make it to the museum on June 6? Sign up for a free webcast of the day’s events.
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| The neighborhood infographic mashes up data on the changing ways American children travel to schools. View full-size version |
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As part of the Intelligent Cities initiative, the museum has commissioned original
infographics that visualize data about the built environment. One of these
captivating images connects the growing size of the American home with rising
energy use. Another compares the
percentage of American children that walked to school in 1969 (close to 50%) with
that of the present (only 13%). This data visualization is juxtaposed with
information on the current high rates of childhood obesity.
Infographic 1: The Home
Infographic 2: The Neighborhood
Infographic 3: The Community
Infographic 4: The City
Infographic 5: The Region
Infographic 6: The Country
The point is that the built environment matters. Where we once embedded small schools in the middle of neighborhoods, we now build bigger schools on the edges of communities where land is inexpensive. This makes it difficult and impractical for children to walk or bike to schools. Visualization of this data helps frame these issues and inform future decisions. Once we know the real annual cost of a car ($8,485) perhaps we can think about opting for that next rental apartment nearby public transportation and pocketing some of the extra cash.
Each Intelligent Cities infographic is
paired with polling questions asking why we choose where we live or what we
value most in neighborhoods. To date, the museum has collected over 5,000
responses. Polling is still open; take a couple of minutes to answer how you
define a city or if you would be willing to drink treated wastewater (so far,
65% said yes).
Poll 1: The Home
Poll 2: The Neighborhood
Poll 3: The Community
Poll 4: The City
Poll 5: The Region
Poll 6: The Country
Thanks to modern technology, many of us carry powerful computers in our pockets in the form of smart phones. We can instantly access a digital encyclopedia to answer any conceivable question—from the name of the architect who designed the Pension Building to the changing demographics of Washington, D.C. The Intelligent Cities initiative explores how creative people are harnessing this information to plan more walkable cities, design bridges embedded with smart sensors, and analyze water systems and GIS data to mitigate flooding.
Data collection and information technology have the potential to engage the public more deeply in the built environment around us. Knowledge is power. And when we bring people in close contact with each other—the true value of cities—we can share that knowledge to imagine, create, and innovate. What makes an intelligent city? We do.
INTELLIGENT CITIES IS A NATIONAL BUILDING MUSEUM PROJECT
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH  |
AND FUNDED BY |
