The Tech Building Blocks of City 2.0

CWmike writes "Sci-Fi writers call it Utopia, the glorious City of the Future. But short of downtown atriums being guarded by invisible walls and flying cars, City 2.0 is not as far off as you may think, writes John Brandon. Ubiquitous wireless networks are already available in Baltimore and Minneapolis, Thomson Reuters has sustainable data centers that sell power back to the local utility, the smart energy grid is well on its way, and city-provided social networks are common. While the concept of City 2.0 is monumental, these key technology advancements are already helping pave the road to the next-generation city. The next steps toward the city of tomorrow are all about integrating these services cohesively, making them widely available across the entire metropolis and managing the services more efficiently. 'The reality is that the city of the future will likely have many aspects of a contained and managed ecosystem,' says analyst Rob Enderle."

Comments

Yet another bad article.

[American Terrorist]

For those who didn't bother to RTFA, let me save you some time: new energy generation and distribution techniques + more internet = new cities. The money quote

The reality is that the city of the future will likely have many aspects of a contained and managed ecosystem

is just retarded, as anyone who has ever been anywhere near a city realizes that none of them are remotely resemble contained ecosystems, no matter how much solar power and internet you add.

Re:Can't be Done With Proprietary Stuff

[Anonymous Coward]

Also known as a submarine patent: basically, patent something and try as hard as possible to keep the patent secret while encouraging the use of the technology. Then, once everyone is using it and is too locked-in to change, start charging licensing fees on the patent.