Smart Cities Help Governments

Smart Cities, Good Government How 5G technology is assisting city infrastructure and quality of life

by Joel Sams

Globally, 5G technology has ushered in a host of possibilities for city maintenance and infrastructure development, waste management and recycling and quality of life. But what exactly is smart city technology — and what does it mean for state leaders? Tech Republic defines a smart city as a city using “IoT [Internet of Things] sensors and technology to connect components across a city to derive data and improve the lives of citizens and visitors.” In practical terms, smart city technology allows multiple devices to connect and communicate with each other. This connectivity allows humans and machines to monitor and measure vast amounts of data while improving quality of life. Chicago is one example of a city that leveraged smart city technology to transform infrastructure through projects led by Brenna Berman, former executive director of Chicago’s City Tech.

Data collected from connected cameras, for instance, allowed the city “to better design intersections and streets, work out where to segregate different traffic flows and tweak traffic light patterns to improve safety,” according to Wired. Street floods were yet another challenge that Chicago addressed using smart city technology. Berman said artificial intelligence sensors would report data on street conditions, including depth of water on the street, helping city officials anticipate and respond to problems. Smart city technology can also transform waste management and recycling processes. In Toronto, Ontario, Sidewalk Labs is piloting an AI-powered recycling program that relies on robotic camera images to provide information about waste management practices, according to reporting from StateScoop. And in Los Angeles, Ecube Labs Co. — through a web-based tool and a smartphone app — collects data on waste bin fill levels, making collection processes more efficient. In 2016, cities worldwide spent $80 billion on smart city technology — a sum that is predicted to grow to $189 billion by 2023, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). Accordingly, state leaders will need to be clear-eyed about the challenges and opportunities posed by new tools. “State leaders need to understand privacy and security issues and address these, as well as digital divide (access) issues,” said Nevada Assemblywoman Ellen Spiegel, who serves on the What’s Next? Embracing the Future subcommittee of the CSG Future of Work National Task Force. “The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how the networks that underlie smart city technology also can be used to deliver services, such as education and tele-medicine; facilitate communications from governmental leaders; and help those in need access services faster. We’ve also seen how privacy and security can be impeded and how the digital divide can lead to even greater inequality.”

2016 $80 billion

2023 $189 billion

In 2016, cities worldwide spent $80 billion on smart city technology — a sum that is predicted to grow to $189 billion by 2023, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC).

Back to the Future

(1989, SET IN 2015)

PREDICTION

Self-lacing shoes, Flying cars

REALITY: Self-lacing shoes

The Nike Mags famously worn by Michael J. Fox in 1989 film “Back to the Future” became a cultural phenomenon at the time as shoes that could lace themselves. Decades later, in partnership with The Michael J. Fox Foundation, which raises money for Parkinson’s disease research, Nike released its Nike Mag in October 2016. The shoe was a limited-edition release of only 89 pairs in order to raise awareness in the fight against Parkinson’s disease. Nike also developed the HyperAdapt 1.0 in 2016, which automatically laces and fits to the unique shape of each athlete’s foot. This individually responsive system called Adaptive Fit senses the wearer and tightens or loosens accordingly.

REALITY: Flying cars

The race is on, but so far no one has met the requirements to launch a flying car. In Miami, a high-rise residential building — the Paramount Miami World Center — has a specially designed rooftop to accommodate potential flying cars. This observation deck doubles as a landing pad for vertical takeoff and landing vehicles. It is scheduled to open in 2020. However, Porsche and Boeing — who have joined together on this venture — estimate that commercial passenger drones won’t hit the market until 2025.

Star Wars

(1977-2019, SET IN AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE/TIME)

PREDICTION

Bionic limbs

REALITY Luke Skywalker famously lost his hand to Darth Vader in “The Empire Strikes Back” and had it replaced with a bionic hand. The University of Utah Bionic Engineering Lab, in partnership with Mobius Bionics, has developed an artificial intelligence-powered bionic limb that will change the future of advanced prosthetics. The LUKE Arm prototype — short for Life Under Kinetic Evolution — is inspired by Luke Skywalker. The prosthesis returns function and feeling to its users by signaling the nervous system via peripheral nerve stimulation through a small implant that delivers sensory information and feedback to LUKE.

Minority Report

(2002, SET IN 2054)

PREDICTION

Targeted advertisements to individual people — by name — via retinal scan.

REALITY

We’ve all been shopping on an online commerce site, searching for a particular brand of something only to have the same product suggested to us on social media or through search engine ads just minutes later. These targeted internet ads — called personalized re-targeting or re-marketing — are made possible through cookies in your browser. Additionally, IBM and Japan-based NEC have worked on prototypes for personalized ads through facial recognition software. In Japan, some supermarkets have tested this advertising through ad boards with this facial recognition software built in. The technology identifies a person’s age and gender as they walk by and delivers them recommended products based on that demographic. It was designed to be anonymous, but with the technologies currently available through smart phones alone, it could be an easy leap into truly personal targeting, a technology that “Minority Report” didn’t predict would be available until 2054.

Her

(2013, SET IN “A NEAR FUTURE”)

PREDICTION

Virtual assistant

REALITY In the movie “Her,” the main character purchases an operating system upgrade that includes a virtual assistant with artificial intelligence designed to adapt and evolve. When the movie came out in 2013, a relationship — romantic, platonic or otherwise — seemed ridiculous. But today, we talk to Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant while we’re driving, around the house, opening the refrigerator and working out. A few years ago it may have seemed strange that the movie’s character let his virtual assistant, Samantha, run through the hard drive on his computer. But today, we ask these assistants to get information from our phones, access documents, go through our music and our contacts and to control our utilities. And their services improve as they get to know us and learn how to make our lives easier.

What did science fiction and pop culture — the movies and television shows we watched growing

up and the books we read — tell us was going to happen in The Future? A lot of movies and shows such as “Back to the Future,” “The Jetsons,” “iRobot” and “Minority Report” predicted things about technology and what the future world would look like. Did any of these predictions about the future or alternative universes come true? What do these technological advancements really look like? You may be surprised to see what really came to fruition.

The Jetsons

(1962-1963, 1985-1987, SET IN 2062)

PREDICTION

Jet packs, robot maid and housekeeper, Rosie, and video phones

REALITY: Jet Packs

In “The Jetsons,” the characters only had to strap on their personal jet packs and they were off to school or the mall. Today, both water jet packs and flyboards — originally propelled by water but with prototypes of the jet-powered versions — have been invented. So why don’t we see people flying around? A couple of reasons: First, they are expensive. Costs for these suits range from $250,000 to $450,000. Second, there’s the issue of fuel. A flyer can ride just 5-10 minutes on a full tank of jet fuel. You’d need a lot to travel anywhere. Third, they’re difficult to fly. It takes an incredible amount of arm and core strength to stabilize your body against the thrust of the jets. Finally, they’re in a regulatory gray area. Nearly everything that flies in the U.S. is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Would the FAA monitor fliers of jet packs, or would they fall under a personal flying vehicle category that the FAA calls an "ultralight" aircraft — one not requiring certification?"

REALITY: Robot Maid and Housekeeper, Rosie Both in the comic and the television cartoon, the Jetson family includes Rosie, a robot maid and housekeeper. While today we don’t have robots dressed as maids wheeling around our residences, many households do have robotic cleaners. Robotic vacuum cleaners such as the iRobot popular model, Roomba, first came about in 1996 but had several problems, including colliding with objects and stopping too short of walls. Early models of these vacuums were unpopular and follow up products from Dyson (DC06) were too expensive to put on the market. It was the American advanced technology company iRobot that dedicated itself to robotizing household chores. Roomba was launched in 2002. By 2004, more than 1 million robotic vacuum cleaners had been sold.

REALITY: Video Phones

Video phones have been seen in several pop culture references over the years, but perhaps one of the first was in “The Jetsons” cartoon that was first on the air in the early 1960s. On the show, the Jetson family would get incoming video calls on a large television-like device that resembled tube television sets of the time. Only this one had some space flare and floated in the air. In 1964, AT&T debuted the Picturephone I, a Bell System Picturephone that required special wiring to work and wasn’t compatible with the phone network. Webcams and the online video chat revolution came about in the mid 2000s along with Video IP phones. But video calling was revolutionized by the smartphone. iPhones and FaceTime, Google Duo, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp are all ways we can create our own Jetsons-like video calls around the globe.

Edge of Tomorrow

(2014, SET IN 2020)

PREDICTION:

Exoskeleton suits

REALITY

The Tom Cruise movie, “Edge of Tomorrow,” was set in the year 2020, but it doesn’t look much like the world outside of our windows. The movie characters, however, utilized supercharged exoskeleton suits to combat aliens. In real life, these costumes took 26 weeks to build, and they weren’t even functional to do what the movie shows them doing. So how realistic are the suits, and who would need them in the real 2020? The U.S. Army has been exploring the concept of commercial exoskeleton technologies for potential military applications, which could be used to support strength and endurance and protect soldiers from strain injury. Several companies are working on early development of this technology.

I, Robot

(2004, SET IN 2035)

PREDICTION Autonomous vehicle

REALITY This Will Smith action movie poses its fair share of concerns about technology, artificial intelligence and robots in the future. However, the Audi self-driving cars that are seen throughout “I, Robot” are something all viewers were jealous of when the movie came out in 2004. While we’re still 15 years away from the “future” when the fictional story takes place, we may see more driverless cars sooner than you think. Already, cars equipped with self-driving systems are on the roads. Google uses them to capture map data. States have introduced several versions of legislation preparing for a more widespread release of these vehicles, and manufacturers like Tesla expect to have vehicles with autopilot hardware and software for hands-free driving available in the next five years. Safety will be a primary concern.

Photo here!

Laura Kelly KANSAS GOVERNOR

What inspired you to run for public office?

When I moved to Topeka, I lived in an incredibly civic-minded, politically engaged neighborhood. My next-door neighbor was Kathleen Sebelius, who was a state representative at the time and obviously went on to do great things as the Kansas insurance commissioner, Kansas governor, and the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Barack Obama. My state senator lived around the corner. The Kansas secretary of state lived down the block. My social life naturally began to orbit around political and community events, which drew me into the political process at the local and state level. I am not an especially partisan person and never harbored ambitions of being a politician. In 2004, I was asked to run for the Kansas senate. At that time, I felt like the incumbent state senator did not represent me, my neighbors or the district. I thought it was time for change, so I went for it.

What policy areas are you most passionate about?

I’d say I am most passionate about the state budget. I know it sounds boring, but the budget is the ultimate reflection of what a state truly values. I served as the ranking member of the Senate Ways and Means committee for 12 years, which is where I learned the nuances of state finances and how the gears of government click together (… or not, in some cases). This is how I learned that all public policy eventually comes back to the budget, in one way or another.

When I was elected, I also pledged to be the “Education Gover nor.” I am particularly passionate about early childhood education. My past career experiences working with kids with mental health issues and in the prison system influenced me a great deal. Early in my career it became clear to me that the care and education we provide children during their first few years of life can shape their entire life’s trajectory. And, as we’ve been acutely reminded of recently, the most important job of state government is to keep people safe. The public health and economic emergencies confronting every state at the hand of COVID-19 has offered new per spective as to why government must remain both stable and agile in the face of large-scale challenges.

You are the 2020 CSG national president. Can you tell the value of being a part of CSG and what kinds of tools and/or resources it provides that help you serve the people of Kansas?

viding elected leaders with a “safe space” to collaborate and share ideas in a nonpartisan, nonpolitical way, CSG helps transform politicians into public servants who focus on best practices. This type of collaboration has never been more important, especially as all states — and all units of government — navigate the uncharted waters of COVID-19.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept across the country, Kansas has consistently been a leader in establishing policies that work to keep Kansans safe. What has been the most difficult part of governing during this time, and what do you draw inspiration from as you continue your efforts in doing your part to battle this health crisis?

In January 2019, Kansas’ economic outlook was bright and our state coffers were stable. But from my perspective, a downturn was never a question of “if,” it was a question of “when” and “how bad.” Even with the threat of the coronavirus, our priorities remain the same. Kansas, and states around the nation, have had to deal with the immense challenge of implementing strategies to slow the spread of the virus while also making sure people have access to the things they need — like personal protective equipment (PPE), groceries, unemployment services and up-to-date, reliable information. Luckily, it’s not just my team in this fight. We have seen countless examples of communities coming together to support one another through acts of kindness, innovation, patience and love. Our healthcare workers and first responders are on the front lines every day working to protect the lives of so many. That’s what truly inspires me.

2020 celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote. There have been many influential women in state government in the past 100 years and many female governors who have had an impact during their time in office. Who has inspired you and why? What would you say to young women aspiring to run for public office?

The Sunflower State has a long, proud history of putting women in positions of leadership. We were the first state in the nation to grant women the right to vote in local school board elections. We elected the nation’s first female mayor, the first female sheriff, and the first all-woman city council. Kansas was also the first state to send a woman, Nancy Kassebaum, to the United States senate in her own right — without replacing her husband or fulfilling an unexpired term. I think a lot about Jane Addams, who was an activist, reformer and social worker. She created the Hull House, a settlement in Chicago where they provided essential services to improve the lives of the poor, like daycare, education and healthcare. As I think to the next generation of women leaders, I am greatly inspired by my fellow female governors. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan has become a wonderful friend. I am also a huge fan of Congresswoman Sharice Davids, one of the two first Native American women to ever be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. I’d encourage women to think less of what they want to “be” and more on what they want to “do.” Public service should be the reason anyone runs for office — man or woman. I’d encourage women to be both thoughtful and fearless. There’s nothing easy about public service, but if people understand that you’ve put serious thought into an issue or problem, they are more apt to come along with you … even if they may not fully agree.

Asked & Answered

1

What’s something you keep in your office and why?

I have a photo of a young girl named Lexie on my desk. Lexie was a toddler when she tragically died while at daycare. I worked with her parents and we passed Lexie’s Law. This significantly strengthened requirements for in-home childcare licensing, catapulting Kansas from 46th in the nation to 3rd over just a couple of years. Lexie’s picture reminds of why I serve — to fight for Kansans and implement smart public policy and to work as hard as I can in the limited number of days I am given in this office.

2

When you get a break from your official duties, how do you like to spend your free time?

While working on my master’s degree at Indiana University, I was asked to describe how I best liked to spend my leisure time. I chose “solitude.” All these years later, I gravitate to reading, puzzles and walking. Occasionally, I play very bad golf.

3

What is your favorite thing about Kansas?

Kansas has an inherent can-do attitude. We are home to the pioneers – the problem solvers – and are known to work together. After all, our motto is quintessentially Kansan: “Ad Astra Per Aspera” (“To the Stars Through Difficulty”) That’s what I love most about Kansas.

4

What is the best piece of advice you’ve received?

First and foremost: speak less, listen more. But also, focus on people’s strengths. I once read a book about differences in gender when it came to team building. What stuck out the most was that men who were successful in business and other endeavors were so because they learned to build teams based on talent, skills and strengths, while women would often select individuals based on their personality. It is important to build a team whose members get along with each other – but I also make a point assessing what unique skillset they bring to the table.