Urbanization is continuing to progress at a rapid clip. By 2030, the United Nations estimates that megacities (metropolises with at least 10 million residents) will be home to more than 750 million people, a 35% increase from today. Meanwhile, cities with over 1 million inhabitants are projected to have an aggregate population of 2.3 billion people, with much of that population concentrated in developing countries.

Growing populations, aging and inefficient transport systems, and rising car ownership in these cities are increasing congestion and reducing productivity. According to the World Economic Forum, the number of cars worldwide is set to soar in the decades ahead, climbing from 1.1 billion in 2019 to 2.0 billion by 2040. Inadequate transport systems are also a significant driver of poor health (from emissions and road accidents) and exacerbate social inequality in cities by restricting access to education, jobs, and health care.

Digital cities (smart cities) emerged as a response to these growing trends as an attempt to address these challenges with better data and technology. Today, as some of the key technologies like edge processing, 5G, data management, artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, and modern, agile application architectures converge, create an unprecedented possibility for cities to develop powerful, new capabilities towards delivering citizen outcomes more efficiently and effectively.

Urban mobility solutions are one of the key areas of focus that most cities are focusing on as part of their transformation strategies.

Some of the key urban mobility challenges faced by cities can be categorized into the following:

Transportation and citizen safety

• Most big cities are stuck in traffic jams that paralyze city life.
• The number of traffic incidents growing from year to year.
• Traffic incidents, along with roadside deaths and injuries, are growing every year.
• An increase in traffic incidents and traffic violations leads to even more traffic jams.
• Traffic jams tend to increase pollution and worsen the ecological situation in cities.

City management process and technologies

• City traffic management systems do not meet modern challenges and cannot cope with traffic problems.
• Most cities do not have the necessary modern digital infrastructure for effective monitoring and managing of road infrastructure.
• Operators of city control centers are no longer able to cope with the huge number of events that must be responded to.
• Most urban city management systems do not scale efficiently.
• Urban infrastructure is not integrated and cannot be effectively managed.
• Most city management systems are outdated and do not meet cybersecurity requirements.