Digital Lifescapes

The demand for smart traffic management systems has grown due to rising urban populations and increasing vehicle ownership. With more people and cars concentrated in cities, problems like traffic congestion, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions are pressing issues. Since the early 2000s, government leaders have been exploring ways to leverage advances in IoT connectivity, sensors, artificial intelligence (AI), and data analytics to address these transportation challenges. The concept of a Smart City emerged in the 2010s, with smart mobility and intelligent traffic management as key components.  Smart Traffic Management Market Development Concerns about continued climate change, as well as cost savings from improved traffic flow, have further motivated local government investment in these advanced systems. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, they found that by 2028, smart traffic management investment will be up by 75 percent from a 2023 figure...

Green public policy is about the commitment to sustainability and environmental management. Having a formal policy shows the world that managing environmental issues is a high priority to address climate change. The global public and private investment levels in green urban infrastructure are expected to increase from $606 billion in 2022 to $978 billion in 2030, according to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research. Growth will evolve across a wide range of Green assets, including city parks, urban forests, blue spaces such as ponds and lakes, rooftop gardens, green walls and buildings, and pedestrianized green streets as part of new urban concepts. Green Technology Market Development Example projects include the Green makeover of the Champs Élysées in Paris for the 2024 Olympics (€250 million), the redevelopment of the former Athens International Airport into the Metropolitan Park and Coastal Front (€8 billion), and the NEOM Regreening and Saudi Green Initiatives ($187 billi...

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is a rapidly growing transportation offering where people are able to plan, book, and pay for a variety of service types, through a joint digital commerce channel. It is a shift away from expensive personally owned modes of transportation, such as automobiles, towards a low-cost subscription or pay-as-you-go services. It is achieved through the combination of public transport -- such as trains and buses -- as well as private transport, and micro-mobility, including bikes and scooters, to get users from one destination to another. Mobility as a Service Market Development Mobility as a Service users are able to pay for the service provided either on a monthly basis or pay per trip. According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, Mobility as a Service will generate fuel cost savings of $10.8 billion by 2027 globally -- that's increasing from $2.8 billion in 2022, a growth of 282 percent. Juniper Research anticipates these savings will b...

Urban dwellers have seen shared bikes and scooters popping up around their city. Initially, there was untapped demand. As traffic congestion increased, legacy public transportation couldn't keep up with the needs of a growing population. Micro-mobility operators were eager to expand, paying minimal attention to developing a sustainable business model. However, now they're forced to evolve from 'growth at any cost' strategies. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, by reformulating business models, operations, and strategic goals, shared micro-mobility companies can unleash the potential of a market worth $9 billion in ride revenues by 2030. Micro-Mobility Service Market Development Most service providers have high idle rates and low profitability in several markets, due to a mismatch between vehicle supply and demand. To thrive in the shared micro-mobility market, operators must now optimally relocate or expand operations based on data-driven insights and...

Building on significant advances in disruptive mobile app technology, ride-sharing services have emerged to become a popular means of urban mobility. This is unsurprising given the advantages of ride-sharing options over traditional transport modes, such as buses and more expensive taxis. Innovative ride-sharing platforms enable app users to customize their journeys according to real-time phenomena, such as nearby traffic conditions, time of day, and rider demand. However, this is not to say that ride-sharing services are perfect. The popularity of ride-sharing has resulted in some additional traffic congestion in major cities already struggling to control this issue, while the widespread disruption caused by the pandemic affected most stakeholders within the local transportation value chain. Ride-Sharing App Market Development According to the latest worldwide market study by Juniper Research, ride-sharing spending by consumers globally will exceed $937 billion by 2026 -- that's c...

Smart City initiatives are one of the most important developments worldwide in public sector digital transformation. Given the crucial role that cities will play in both overall digitization efforts and the development of national economies, the largest or fastest-growing use cases have the attention of municipal leaders across the globe. Smart City initiatives will attract technology investments of more than $81 billion globally in 2018, and spending is forecast to reach $158 billion in 2022, according to the latest worldwide market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). Smart City Initiatives Market Development "We are now delivering detailed sizing of 25 named use cases, as well as the first release of a new database of spending at City level," said Serena Da Rold, program manager at IDC. Intelligent transportation and data-driven public safety remain the largest investment areas, but IDC analysts report they are also finding significant pockets of investme...

Air pollution and traffic congestion in urban areas continues to challenge the leadership in major cities across the globe. As a result of these growing problems, more local government leaders are considering alternative approaches to public policy resolutions. Promoting a variety of electric vehicle technology is gaining momentum worldwide. ABI Research predicts an imminent rise in smart electric mobility. Their latest market data analysis lead to a forecast that global electric vehicle revenue will reach $58 billion in 2021 -- that's more than five times the market value in 2015. "The role of vehicle electrication in urban areas is part of a broader smart mobility model that includes shared vehicles, charging options, and driverless electric vehicle fleets of cars, buses, trams, and light rail," said Susan Beardslee, senior analyst at ABI Research . "No singular option prevails -- in fact, innovative manufacturers are creating ways for them to converge." ...

Community services within the world's major metropolitan areas are under stress as more people from rural areas continue to migrate toward inner-cities. Local government leaders are responding by making detailed space optimization plans to accommodate the population growth. One approach that has gained momentum over the last decade is the adoption of smart technologies that ease urban expansion by automating routine support services. This approach is empowered by the utilization of Internet of Things (IoT) methodologies and the associated vendor ecosystem. It's now estimated that 1.6 billion connected things will be used by smart cities in 2016 -- that's an increase of 39 percent from 2015, according to the latest worldwide study by Gartner, Inc. Automation in Commercial Real Estate "Smart commercial buildings will be the highest user of IoT applications until 2017, after which smart homes will take the lead with just over 1 billion connected things in 2018,...

As consumer adoption of smartphones increases, usage of mobile devices to purchase real world goods and services has soared. The mobile user base, once cautious of transacting on the mobile phone, now increasingly expects to be able to easily make these purchases. More than 16 billion transport and events tickets will be delivered annually to mobile handsets by 2018, according to the latest market study by Juniper Research. That forecast is three times the volume expected this year. While electronic ticketing adoption on mobile devices will be strong across a range of markets, volume growth will be driven by metro and bus deployments, most notably in the relatively untapped U.S. market. 2D Barcode Solutions to Prevail The resulting Juniper report -- Mobile Ticketing Strategies: Air, Rail, Metro, Sports & Entertainment 2013-2018 -- noted that SMS-based solutions had achieved particularly strong adoption across markets such as Sweden, where mobile now accounts for 65 percent ...