Cities in a Time of Global Emergencies

Cities in a time of global emergencies ix

FOREWORD This is the second volume of smart city case studies jointly produced by IMD and SUTD. In the short time that separated the publication of the first volume (Sixteen Shades of Smart ) in 2019, and the launch of this new volume, the world has met with an unprecedented crisis, ushered in by the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus. All our organizations have been deeply shaken by the consequences of reduced activity levels, and the need to protect the safety of our employees, clients and fellow citizens. We know that many of the new habits and practices we had to adopt will stay with us in the longer term, contributing to defining a new normal in the way we work, learn, teach and interact with each other. There is no doubt that our economies, and to a large extent our societies, will be different in the post-COVID-19 world that is taking shape before our eyes. We shall work differently, learn differently, play and live differently. The online tools that we started to use extensively, the social and working practices that we became used to, and the new organizational and business models that we started to explore will likely be with us for a long time. We also know that the crisis has not relegated global concerns to a secondary level: climate change, growing inequalities, and the resumption of cooperative international relations remain pressing issues. This is the context in which cities will have critical roles to play. IMD and SUTD are hence very proud of having had the opportunity to collaborate in that space, and to have highlighted – before the pandemic even started – some of the key principles that will undoubtedly guide smart city designers, managers and citizens in the post-COVID-19 world: how can human-centric cities help us shape tomorrow’s world in a more resilient, a more innovative, and a more cooperative fashion?

Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease