When it comes to designing infrastructure, one thing is for sure: Big Data collected through the IoT will play a key role in growing the megacities of 2050, including using data to watch people’s movements and creating smarter mobility. But creating smart cities means more than using the IoT to optimize services or communicate information to residents. It should frame local government decision-making around city transformation.
There’s a popular saying in Chinese urban geography and architecture: “If you want to understand 5,000 years of Chinese civilization look at Xi’an, 1,000 years look at Beijing, modern China look at Tianjin.”