Tomorrow.City

Cybercrime, increased geopolitical tensions and a dangerous lack of computer literacy, coupled with political neglect have resulted in spectacular heists and crippling attacks to critical infrastructure. Hospitals, power plants and railways have fallen prey to threat actors looking for personal profit or following somebody else's orders. Is there a way we can prevent this? In this episode, Nicola Crespi and Dario Campovecchi, cybersecurity experts from Paradox Engineering, join CIDOB's researcher Andrea García in a conversation that explores some of the most acute dangers that smart cities are facing right now.

The pandemic is clearly changing old dynamics between cities and its peripheries. What is the real value of mid-size cities and rural villages? Are they a valid answer to metropolises’ hyperdensification? And about that… how can we successfully integrate informal settlements, which are in turn cities within cities? In this episode, entrepreneur Azeem Azhar wonders about the impact of a probable urban exodus, and we talk to the city of Buenos Aires to get closer to a success case of neighborhood integration.

Is it possible to maintain a resilient economic activity only working from home? Also, figures show that we are working even more during the lockdown. What impact will this have on social relations and cities, which are mainly based on human interaction? Is teleworking a one-shot solution or has it come to stay? If so, should we adapt teleworking to our society before we got adapted to it? Together with Sandra Baer, CEO of Personal Cities, we will try to shed some light on this issue.

How can big infrastructures and industrial projects produce social and city-planning profits besides the economic ones? Smart ports are a great example but on the other hand, micromobility raises new unknown questions. What benefits can this private use of public goods such as streets bring? More than ever, this issue is open for discussion, so we are picking the brains of experts from Port de Barcelona and Berkeley University.

¿What does “zero waste” or “carbon neutral” mean? Why are these concepts so relevant? How can big corporations reduce their climate impact avoiding the empty, greenwashing initiatives? Should each city tackle its own environmental challenges or is a global, collaborative approach more beneficial? Microsoft and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group give us the keys to answer these questions.

Can we build more resilient cities through science and tech-driven strategies? How far can we trust in algorithms and AI to define policies and services? How can we put in motion effective collaboration between cities and the development of shareable solutions? In this episode we open up these critical questions and we talk to City Possible (Mastercard) and the Institute for Global Health to pick up on their perspectives.