Preparing For Revolutionary Changes

WASHINGTON, D.C., USA, March 12, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Our cities are preparing for revolutionary changes which will make them more efficient and more livable, according to two top experts on cities who appear this week on “White House Chronicle”, the news and public affairs program.

The experts are Jan Vrins, Global Energy, Sustainability and Infrastructure Segment Leader at Guidehouse LLP, a consultancy, and Chris Castro, Director of Sustainability and Resilience for Orlando, FL.

“Twenty years from now, we will not recognize cities and they will drive economic growth,” Vrins said on the program.

Castro outlined how some of the changes will affect Orlando, one of the fastest-growing cities – in the United States. The city must also accommodate an extraordinary number of visitors: 75 million a year, 200,000 a day.

Enterprise and tourism, Castro said, are “bittersweet” for Orlando: They contribute to its priority, but also to great challenges in transportation and infrastructure, including water and sewage.

“Making Orlando ready for the future is a priority,” he said.

Vrins said Orlando has a vision for the future. For him, a “city of the future means we are changing the way we live.” For example, he said, “buildings will become self-contained power plants and public transportation will change radically.”

Vrins and Castro were questioned by host and syndicated columnist Llewellyn King and the episode was filmed in San Antonio, TX at a conference on cities of the future, sponsored by CPS Energy, the local utility in collaboration with the city.

Vrins has been a leader in preparing the nation’s electric utilities for digitization, global climate change and cybersecurity. He sees the city of the future – known colloquially as “smart cities” -- as harnessing technology to solve many urban problems. The tools will be sensors, creating giant data flows and managing everything from autonomous vehicles to monitoring potholes in streets.

Castro has a pivotal role in preparing Orlando for the future both by getting it ready to accept more citizens and to deal with Florida’s problem of rising sea water penetrating freshwater aquifers.

King said viewers and readers ask him the same two questions about the city of the future: Will it be walkable and will there be affordable housing? They also ask him about privacy, given the proliferation of sensors on light poles, traffic lights, and even the corners of buildings.

Castro replied that “equity was a priority” for Orlando, “so that we don’t leave anyone behind.” He said kiosks in Orlando were providing connectivity to those without cellphones. “Kiosks can be a leapfrog.” Also, he explained how Orlando divides data into that which must remain strictly private and that which has a public purpose, like traffic flow.

Vrins said the technology which has created the privacy issue is also capable of solving it.

“White House Chronicle” airs weekly on select PBS and public, educational and government access stations. The program’s audio airs four times every weekend on SiriusXM Radio’s POTUS, Channel 124. The program airs worldwide on Voice of America Television and Radio in English and Chinese.

The program can be viewed on whchronicle.com, or on Vimeo.

Llewellyn King
White House Chronicle
(202) 441-2702
email us here

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