The Wharton Future of Cities Conference, held on 21st January 2023, is an annual event hosted by the Wharton School and Weitzman School of Design to channel discussions around the latest challenges affecting our cities and how we could reimagine their futures. As a City Planning student concentrating in Smart cities, I was interested in learning more about how cities adapted the various technological solutions and enhancing my knowledge of equitable cities.
This year the theme was “Connect Cities to the Future: Transformation Through Equity, technology, and infrastructure”. This one-day event was successful in unpacking the supporting topics of finance, climate change, housing, and transportation through the discussions among many experts from all over the world. I was especially inspired by the panel, Paving the Future: Streets and Integrated Infrastructure, which was moderated by Shannon Mattern. This panel touched upon how cities adapt streetscapes that are constantly balancing multiple activities, paraphernalia, and people. This panel was particularly relevant to me because 'Smart' cities of today come with more sensors, smart technology and infrastructure, and our streets are where most of these come to fruition. Ultimately, the panel touched upon how this constant state of flux for streets is a positive space for experimentation, and the way forward is through sharing our streets among multiple users.
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