The Urban Singularity-Envisioning the Future of Cities

This paper is a hypothetical exploration of the connections between teleological evolution,the Omega Singularity,and the future of cities,weaving together insights from a diverse array of disciplines.Our investigation delves into the possibility that cities are evolving towards a Singularity,a state characterized by infinite knowledge,intelligence,and adaptability,which would bring about a radical transformation of urban environments and their underlying dynamics in the 21st century and beyond.At the heart of this exploration lies the role of language and time as crucial dimensions of the Urban Singularity.Moreover,we examine how linguistic developments and cross-cultural exchanges can foster more inclusive,adaptable,and resilient urban environments,while also highlighting the need for advanced technologies and communication modalities that can support the dynamic needs of future cities.Furthermore,the paper investigates the profound implications and transformative potential of merging human consciousness with the urban Singularity.By examining the interplay between these concepts,we seek for a deeper understanding of the potential trajectories and implications of these concepts for the transformation of human society and our relationship with the built environment.

Potential advantages in combining smart and green infrastructure over silo approaches for future cities

Cities are incorporating smart and green infrastructure components in their urban design policies,adapting existing and new infrastructure systems to integrate technological advances to mitigate extreme weather due to climate change.Research has illustrated that smart green infrastructure(SGI)provides not only climate change resilience but also many health and wellbeing benefits that improve the quality of life of citizens.With the growing demand for smart technology,a series of problems and challenges,including governance,privacy,and security,must be addressed.This paper explores the potential to transition from grey,green,or smart silos to work with nature-based solutions and smart technology to help change cities to achieve considerable environmental and socio-economic benefits.The concepts of grey,green,and smart infrastructure are presented,and the needs,benefits,and applications are investigated.Moreover,the advantages of using integrated smart,green nature-based solutions are discussed.A comprehensive literature review is undertaken with keyword searches,including journal papers,stakeholder and case study reports,and local authority action plans.The methodology adopts multimethod qualitative information review,including literature,case studies,expert interviews,and documentary analysis.Published data and information are analysed to capture the key concepts in implementing SGI systems,such as storm-water control,flood and coastal defense,urban waste management,transportation,recreation,and asset management.The paper investigates the elimination of silo approaches and the alleviation of the destructions caused by extreme weather events using these interdependent SGI systems supported by novel datadriven platforms to provide nature-based solutions to boost the health and wellbeing of the residents.

Tier Ⅲ and Ⅳ cities Will Be the Main Driving Forces for Future E-business

Recently,the China E-Business Research Center(100EC.CN)released the'2015 Monitoring Report of China E-business Market'.The report says that the China E-business transaction volume amounted to 18.3 trillion yuan in 2015,up by 36.5%from a year ago,and marking an increase of 5.1 percentage points in growth rate.Meanwhile,the B2B E-business trade value totaled 13.9 trillion yuan,up

Spatial modeling issues in future smart cities

It is our goal to make today’s and future cities smart,sustainable and resilient.In order to achieve this,it is fundamental to understand how each city works,to formalize the knowledge gained and to apply it to a city model as the base for simulations that can generate future scenarios with a high level of probability.The nature of this model,which must cover design,qualitative and quantitative aspects,has changed over time.In this study,we focus on the role of the spatial dimension and of geometry in a city model.Emerging from being a dominating generative force in ancient cities,spatial modeling has developed into an underlying description language for present and future cities to define functions and properties of the city in space and time.The example of the stocks and flows model applied to the city depicts where and how spatial modeling influences the design,construction and performance of the future Smart City.

The sustainable development of innovative cities in China： Comprehensive assessment and future configuration

Innovative cities not only constitute an important basis for innovation activities, but also play a strategically critical role in constructing an innovative country, producing new forms of urban development, and fostering urban sustainable development. Currently, China is marching toward the goal of establishing an innovative country by 2020, but in the start-up phase of this process of innovative city construction, the fundamental transition from factor-driven development to innovation-driven development is not being realized. As a result,a wide gap currently exists between China＇s innovative cities and the advanced innovative cities in developed countries. This paper argues that this necessary transition is being constrained by a series of bottlenecks in investment, income, techniques, contributions, and talents. The article takes 287 prefecture-level cities as its object of comprehensive assessment, developing a comprehensive assessment system for innovative cities and devising innovative monitoring system software in order to evaluate the current situation in China＇s innovative city construction. The analysis addresses four key aspects – namely,independent innovation, industrial innovation, living environmental innovation, and institutional innovation – as well as the spatial heterogeneity of the innovative city construction process. The results demonstrate that the level of innovation in Chinese cities is low, and the paper warns that building an innovation-oriented country will, as a consequence,be difficult. Some 87.8% of the cities studied maintained comprehensive levels of innovation that were lower than the national average. The level of comprehensive innovation in a city was found to have close and positive correlation with economic development. The level of the eastern region of China was, in particular, found to be significantly higher than that of the central and western regions. The levels of urban independent innovation, industrial innovation,environmental innovation, and institutional innovation showed consistent spatial heterogeneity, as did the comprehensive level of innovation in cities. In the future, the authors suggest, China should speed up the construction process in accordance with the basic principles of ＂independent innovation, breakthroughs in key fields, market-oriented, regional interaction, talent-supported,＂ with the purpose of building up Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai,and Guangzhou as global innovation centers; and Nanjing, Suzhou, Xiamen, Hangzhou, Wuxi,Xi＇an, Wuhan, Shenyang, Dalian, Tianjin, Changsha, Qingdao, Chengdu, Changchun, Hefei,and Chongqing as national innovation centers, by 2020. Through this process, China will finally build a national urban innovation network that includes 4 global innovative cities, 16 national innovative cities, 30 regional innovative cities, 55 local innovative cities, and 182innovation-driven development cities, thereby contributing to the establishment of an innovative country by 2020.

The Great Cities of the Future

目前全球许多取得巨大成就的大城市已在亿万人心目中享有特殊形象,并已得到政界、科学界、艺术界和商界要员和巨头的公认。这些“超级大都市”能吸引和留住滚滚财源。全球大商业集团理所当然选择这些城市作为它们的总部、研究和发展实验室以及其他战略性投资的所在地。 本文作者分别论述了:新世纪世界级超级大都市的定义;应具有的基础设施;全球主要大城市竞争超级大都市的现状;以及决策所面临的挑战。作者认为在这场竞争中“The winner,like successful generals in the heat of battle,will bethose who can conccive of and implement effective development strategies.”