Smart Cities

My friend Jesse Berst (pictured) is Founder and Chairman of the Smart Cities Council, and one of the world’s foremost experts when it comes to building intelligent, ICT-enabled (information and communications technology) cities.  Better yet, his understanding of the subject is matched by his passion for creating a more livable, workable and sustainable future.

At one point we were talking about smart parking meters, i.e., those that push an “I’m unoccupied” message to nearby drivers via a certain phone app, and he asked me to guess the percentage of gas used in urban areas by frustrated drivers looking for empty spaces.  Turns out it’s 22%.

Given Jesse’s prowess in this arena, I wonder what he would think of this, Norway’s experiment with street lamps with radar systems that enable them to activate only in the presence of oncoming vehicles.

My personal viewpoint is that this is an expensive waste of time, as it applies to such a small fraction of a nation’s roads. High trafficked roads have street lamps that would be on constantly (and need to be), where low trafficked roads don’t need street lamps at all.

Here’s the road that connects my little cow town to the nearest city (Santa Barbara).  On moonless nights, it’s very dark; you can trust me on this, given how little light pollution there is. But headlights get the job done nicely.

Sounds like technological overkill, but I could be wrong.  Has happened.