Cities

• [New] By offering ride share opportunities, the total number of cars on the road and the necessity of owning a personal vehicle is reduced, especially in large cities.
• [New] Availability of safe drinking water is at risk due to global challenges such as rapid urbanisation and changing weather patterns.
• [New] The Russian capital will expand its fleet of electric buses to more than 2,000, and reach a total of 2,675 units of e-transport, in the next four years.
• [New] Most people have lower than 50 mph roads in their cities, meaning the CSC Wiz will feel right at home.
• [New] Hitachi offers powerful data analytics capabilities that smart city and MaaS providers and others will be able to tap to develop new public infrastructure solutions and offer compelling new consumer services.
• [New] National and local leaders are laying the groundwork for bans on the most polluting vehicles in major cities in the run-up to 2030.
• [New] Construction of the Kinetic Edge platform is proceeding in 36 US cities, and will offer Kinetic Edge coverage that reaches ~ 80% of US population.
• [New] While policies to end homelessness can only be successful through a tailored local or regional approach, many stakeholders have called 76 for a European impetus to end homelessness across the EU by 2030.
• [New] Representatives from China's healthcare sector and other public health experts may find risks lurking with the plan for bigger cities.
• [New] Although the numbers likely to use the new visa route - which opened at the end of January - are uncertain, potentially hundreds of thousands of people from one of Asia's most dynamic cities could be set to start new lives in post-Brexit Britain.
• [New] Local infrastructure will play a crucial role: 70% of the green infrastructure needs for 2030 are in urban areas which are also responsible for around 70% of greenhouse gas emissions.
• [New] The self-driving Buzzes will be used by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, with the plan being to use them for ride-hailing and/or carpooling services starting in select cities.
• [New] Demand for biomedical lab space is insatiable right now and will remain in high demand for next 24-36 months in the Boston-Cambridge metro.
• [New] A McKinsey report finds that deploying a suite of smart city applications in waste and water management could reduce average water consumption by 20 to 30% and reduce the amount of unrecycled solid waste per person by 15 to 20%, while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• [New] In addition to doubling the number of bikes available in existing cities, Lime plans to launch in a dozen new US cities - and dozens more across Europe and other markets - by the end of 2021.
• [New] The $50 million investment in Lime's shared electric bicycle network will add a new model of bike, double the number of the green vehicles in the cities where it operates, and expand to many new cities.
• [New] The Mexican irrigation infrastructure has additional opportunities to improve water-use inefficiency and improve soil health.
• [New] Whilst regional fintech clusters might be an attractive aspiration for politicians seeking to democratise access to financial services jobs, in reality, given that London is a global financial centre its gravitational pull eclipses all other cities in the UK.
• [New] Although the Government of Senegal has set targets to achieve universal access by 2025, many still have to contend with volatile and unreliable electricity supply.
• [New] Cities Approve Hero Pay for Grocery Workers: Several cities, including Seattle, Long Beach, and Los Angeles have passed hazard pay increases for grocery store workers of approximately $ 5/hour.
• In Memphis, residents in the city of 650,000 have been told for nearly a week to boil water for three minutes if they plan to use it for drinking, cooking or brushing their teeth.
• Though Jiangxi's policy could be adopted by other regions with similar socioeconomic conditions, hukou restrictions are likely to continue in major urban centers, including first - and second-tier, cities as well as some third-tier cities and more attractive provinces.

Last updated: 07 March 2021