Urban Development

And He Saw That It Was “Smart”

And He Saw That It Was “Smart”

Interview with Boyd Cohen Climate Strategist

The world population is growing, andmore and more people are moving into the city. In 2050, two thirds of the citizens of the world will live in conurbations. The adaptation of these cities for the future is one of the greatest challenges today. During the 2013 Vienna Tourism Conference, wien.at spoke with climate strategist Boyd Cohen, inventor of the Smart City index, which ranked Vienna as the smartest city worldwide. Cohen talks about abandoned suburbs, full underground trains and why being smart is also clever.

Smart Urban Development

Smart Urban Development

Today more than half the world's population and two-thirds of Europeans are living in cities or urban areas; the figure for Austria is 64%. The global trend in urbanization is upwards; the process will continue in the future, and the city will become the dominant environment in social and economic terms throughout the world. Europe's cities generate the bulk of our affluence although, at the same time, they face huge economic, ecological, and social challenges.