As humankind transitions to predominantly urban dwellings, cities are under greater pressure to not only expand and adjust, but more importantly to overhaul outdated infrastructure and systems. The economic, political, social and technological changes that cities will undergo to accommodate the urban shift is called urban development and transformation.
For national and local governments, the term means the forward-thinking policies to accommodate the expected 2.6 billion new urban inhabitants, and to more efficiently dispatch and distribute resources. For businesses, it is the opportunity to create and implement new data-based IoT technology to actualize blueprints for future cities.
Given its wide implications for our future shared societies, all business should plan for the short and long term effects of urban development and transformation, taking proactive viewpoints so that they are able to guide future smart cities instead of simply reacting to the inevitable urban shift.