EDITORIAL | Smartening up cities

20 / 06 / 22 - 0 minute read

Cities are people magnets! And – given ongoing urbanisation – evidence shows their power to attract is ever increasing. Some 56% of the worldʼs 7.9 billion people already live in cities, and the number of urban dwellers will swell dramatically in the coming decades.

It is no surprise that cities are so attractive. Many are economic powerhouses that dwarf most nation-states in terms of their gross domestic product, productivity and population. And with economic strength comes more employment, better

Author

Wolfgang Egger

In particular, investments in ‘smart’ technologies will ensure infrastructure, transport and utilities are fit for the future. Smart technologies will also be critical in the transition to renewable energies and the decarbonisation of our economies.

Similarly, building digital and social infrastructure is essential to smarten up our cities and make them liveable, affordable, and attractive for young people and our ageing population. In an interview in this edition, Graham Matthews, our Head of Infrastructure, tackles the interconnectedness between smart technologies and social infrastructure and why there will be increasing demand for these types of assets.

This edition of estatements is dedicated to smart cities or, as we prefer to think about the task, smartening up cities. For the challenge is not to create sparkling new e-topias on green fields but rather intelligently retrofit our existing cities so they remain secure, resilient and, above all, liveable and attractive environments for generations to come.

I am sure you will enjoy reading this edition.

Wolfgang Egger, CEO and Founder of PATRIZIA

The challenge is not to create sparkling new e-topias on green fields but rather intelligently retrofit our existing cities so they remain secure, resilient and, above all, liveable and attractive environments for generations to come.