Today’s youth are the key to tomorrow’s smart cities
By 2050, more than 6 billion people—about 70 percent of the world’s population—will be living in urban areas. Meeting the needs of this rapidly growing population requires us to revamp our cities so they function much smarter than they do today. We need to deliver highly sustainable citizen services. And we must create economic and social opportunities at scale.
At the forefront of these changes are today’s youth. Smart cities are not places being imagined and built for today’s youth. Rather, they are being shaped by young people already adept at living in a hyper-connected world.
In fact, today’s young people, with their perceived distractions of gaming and social media, are receiving the perfect training to become tomorrow’s smart city entrepreneurs and architects. Anyone who has watched young people play the sandbox video game Minecraft can see the desire to build creative socialized spaces. Likewise, any teacher who has tasked students with using OneNote to capture ideas about an imagined future can see the desire to transform our environments, both virtually and physically.
The good news is that schools in many countries are starting to prepare today’s youth for the opportunities offered by smart city development. In our Microsoft Showcase Schools, for example, students from around the globe are learning how to harness technology to build solutions that address some of the world’s most daunting issues. Every day, in every class, our showcase schools are creating future leaders equipped to meet our most pressing urban challenges.
So how can today’s youth prepare for careers in smart city development? Here’s my advice:
- Discover your passion. What needs do you see as you make your way around today’s cities? Are you passionate about energy efficiency, water conservation, biking, or public safety? Get inspired about a cause and develop your passion. Then research the need, find your voice, and become a leader by connecting with a local nonprofit or your local government. By getting passionate, becoming informed, and taking action, you’ll be able to make a big difference.
- Game it! Seriously, don’t underestimate the power of games for engagement and action. The United Nations has used Minecraft to involve citizens in the design of public spaces including parks, public squares, and football fields. In addition, social media campaigns have leveraged games to do everything from solving pollution problems to combating climate change to raise awareness about homelessness. Gaming can help you understand where your passion lies. It can also put on you a path toward thinking strategically and creatively about solutions to real-world problems.
- Develop the right skills. It’s been said that the wishbone will never replace the backbone. If you’re serious about making a difference, you need to develop a solid foundation. Sustainable cities require a highly educated workforce that can make effective use of cloud-based, mobile and social media platforms. It also entails collecting vast amounts of data from every aspect of urban life including transportation, energy and water use, healthcare, and public safety—and then turning that data into actionable insights that bring about smarter cities. If you’re not already, starting using cloud-based tools like Office 365 and Skype for collaboration. Learn how to analyze and visualize large datasets using tools like Microsoft PowerBI. And explore tools like Office Delve, which can help you get quick access to the information you need based on the project you’re working on.
- Get hacking. Hackathons are a great way for young people to develop apps and tools that provide innovative solutions to society’s most pressing problems. For example, a recent Microsoft Hackathon resulted in the development of a plug-in for OneNote designed to help students with learning disabilities better succeed in education. In the same way, Future Hacks around the world are helping to create better cities, while exposing a new wave of smart city talent. If you’re a young person interested in making difference, get involved in hackathons, and start tapping into your creativity to solve real-world problems.
Today’s youth are the key to tomorrow’s smart cities. What’s needed are passion, technological skills, a willingness to experiment, and the right commitment. To learn more, please see our Microsoft CityNext website.
