Urban planning, mobility, and ecological and energy transitions are complex and intersecting challenges, which the smart city attempts to address. By deploying clean and connected public transport infrastructures, smart cities facilitate travel within their territories, as well as significantly limit the risk of air pollution.
So, in view of the climate emergency and the unbridled growth of large metropolises, what means of transport best meets the need to reconcile innovation, living comfort and environmental protection?
Transport in the smart city, or how to offer more mobility to users
Rather than disarticulating agglomerations and turning the mechanics of cars upside down, wouldn’t it be better to put public transport back in its rightful place? This issue is at the heart of the concerns of local authorities, actors concerned with managing the smart city, according to a data governance in line with the hypermobility of people and goods.
Certainly, the stakes are high. Nevertheless, the generalization of sensors from advanced technologies suggests efficient, respectful and sustainable solutions. In order to make the smart city a concrete example of the evolution of mentalities and behaviors towards a more sustainable and coherent world, transportation is meant to be synonymous :
Industry 4.0 tools include:
- recycled electricity and renewable energy, rather than polluting fuel;
- cameras on traffic lights and street lamps, to smooth traffic flow and light only when necessary;
- intelligence, with connected network systems, for better harmonization of travel;
- of multiplicity, resulting in an à la carte service, according to the needs of each person.
Transportation in the city of the future: how will we get around in the future?
Ecology, economy and autonomy are at the heart of the objectives set by the intelligent city, to which are added optimized water and electricity management and the desire to preserve air quality. These parameters also feed into its “transportation” file, so that users can go about their business without worrying about traffic jams or fuel costs and without having to search for nearby parking lots.
Under these conditions, our capacity for intramural mobility by 2050 may well be conditioned by :
- Mobility as a Service (MaaS) applications;
- electric, connected, autonomous and shared cars;
- Modular and driverless cabs;
- urban tricycles, electrically propelled;
- flying cars and their automatic pilots.