Welcome to City Bits, a lighthearted newsletter about how cities around the world are making themselves more sustainable, efficient and livable for the people in them.
Each update will focus on how a specific city is addressing an urban issue facing their citizens, things like unique forms of public transit in Bogotá, to progressive cycling infrastructure in Amsterdam, to just building more green space and parks in Singapore. You may have heard the term “Smart City” before, but like many industry buzzwords, it’s a vague, nebulous term that’s often hard to pin down what exactly it is.
Furthermore, when technology corporations or even municipal governments talk about their cities being “Smart”, they often just mean “more digital” or “more hi-tech”. The pitches come out looking/sounding like The Jetsons, with their flying cars, sensors everywhere and robots taking care of the dishes. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it's a narrow minded view of what cities of the future can be. A huge reason why I am writing this newsletter is to highlight the whole spectrum of ways to improve urban life. Not just technologies, but also policies, initiatives or unique strategies that cities are using address the challenges they face.
If that sounds interesting to you, or you just want some vaguely educational memes sent to your inbox, you can sign up for the newsletter below!
Lastly, this is a passion project and as result is very much still a work in progress. I genuinely appreciate any feedback you have, positive or negative, so please don’t hesitate to reach out. Thanks very much, and enjoy!
-Max