A future enabled by location technology, today
In this four-part series, HERE collaborates with four thought-leaders to explore the rapidly growing impact of location technology on four critical topics: smart cities, transportation, mobility and data monetization. Hear their ideas and views on the opportunities it is opening up for urban environments, and the businesses and governments who serve them.
The transportation system itself – its very design – can contribute to you feeling connected to your community or feeling isolated.
Seleta Reynolds has more than 20 years’ experience in transportation, in both the public and private sectors, and is passionate about using location technology to transform cities’ out-dated transport infrastructures. She believes the new reality of urban transport is a system designed to continually adapt to how it is being used by its citizens.
Reynolds believes our streets should be beautiful, and by design create a sense of joy, happiness and well-being:
“That's something that we don't often think about as deeply in transportation. There's a whole segment of our population – people with disabilities – that is already isolated, especially if they don't have access to transportation. So the way we design that system ought to be beautiful, it ought to invite cohesion, it ought to invite connection, it ought to invite and strengthen the vibrancy of our communities and our neighborhoods – which make us better citizens and better cities.”
Through data insights on how we use our streets, public spaces could be continually adapted – shifting to the changing needs of those who use them.
“Streets comprise up to 15% of the public space in cities and we predominantly use them for one thing – moving cars from A to B. But if people didn't need to own cars, and they had access to a suite of services to get where they were going, then it would unlock our ability to manage that public space differently.”
Reynolds and her team are reimagining ways to use intelligent transportation systems to connect and bring people together, transforming infrastructure from the 40s and 50s that led to communities being divided.
“There is an injustice that occurred when we built the freeway system that we now need to very intentionally undo, through the way that we provide choices. So it's about safety, it's about accessibility, it's about reliability, affordability – very much aimed at correcting historic inequities.”
Reynolds sees a future where under-used streets and parking spaces can be transformed into modular, communal oases for everyone to use and enjoy. On the verge of the next big disruption in transportation and mobility:
“I firmly believe that the way to not repeat the mistakes of the past is to have the city in the middle of the wheel, and to be the hub that guards the public realm for the public good, and to have private companies do what they do best – which is to accelerate innovation and choices for people no matter where they live.“
Balcaen and her team at HERE are exploring how location technology and real-time data services, can help cities address critical transportation challenges such as congestion, pollution, safety and increased demands on infrastructure as populations expand.
In a collaboration with five European cities, Balcaen’s Cities team at HERE has been able to bring together data from the public and private sector to create real-time understanding of traffic, predict scenarios and even inform drivers in any moment of what is happening in the city around them.
HERE’s SOCRATES 2.0 program (System of Coordinated Roadside and Automotive Services for Traffic Efficiency and Safety) demonstrates how urban transport challenges can be solved with data.
In Copenhagen, HERE has created a detailed digital real-time image of the infrastructure and traffic through the exchange of data from road authorities, service and mobility providers.
With Hamburg’s open data platform and HERE’s Reality Index™, we are helping to create an intelligent transport system that addresses air quality, travel times and road safety issues.
Working with VIA in the Netherlands, we aim to reduce road accidents by half, by using HERE Traffic Analytics to capture speed and traffic flow data, and make road safety management recommendations to local authorities.
Through a unique combination of data and services, we will partner with you to create value with location technology. To learn more about how HERE can enable new opportunities for your business, contact our team, or read more about our infrastructure solutions.
More from the New Reality series
Can fairer access create more inclusive cities?
Professor Julian Agyeman of Tufts University explores the New Reality of mobility.
Can data make cities more human?
Carlo Ratti of MIT shares his views on the New Reality of smart cities.
Can we take control of our own personal data?
Data expert John Ellis looks at the New Reality of data monetization.