Smart cities are pivoting hardware in pandemic

11 Dec 2020 CW Team

However, in 2020 smart cities have been pivoting reinvented hardware and associated systems. There is a realisation that these may take up to 90% of the investment. That means smart buildings even in the sea and in deserts. Forest City Malaysia will be reclaimed from the sea and be a jungle of self-watering vegetation.

Some technologies in future zero-emission smart cities. Source: IDTechEx Research, “Smart Cities Market 2021-2041: Energy, Food, Water, Materials, Transportation Forecasts”, www.IDTechEx.com/SmartCities.

It means new forms of transport such as autonomous cars travelling at speed in underground tubes (Elon Musk Loop). Will it be Hyperloop achieving airline speeds in vacuum tubes between cities using magnetic levitation with trains only three seconds apart? Important now is cities making their own food, fresh water and electricity for security and cost reasons.

Multipurpose is key. Examples are Toyota robot shuttles replacing many types of city vehicles in its planned "Woven City", repurposing through the day. School bus then parcel delivery then taxi? They will go over solar plazas and even into shopping malls. Smart glass will perform many functions together. Aquaponics grows fish and vegetables as food in a single set of tubing, the plants feeding on the fish excrement. Agrivoltaics has the new bifacial solar cells mounted vertically like rows of fences so a small field is both a farm and a power station. Yes, multipurpose and smart materials are important now and IDTechEx forecasts that radically new smart city technology may rise to around $1.7 trillion yearly in 20 years.

Republished by arrangement with IDTechEx. Original report "Smart Cities Market 2021-2041: Energy, Food, Water, Materials, Transportation Forecasts" at www.IDTechEx.com/SmartCities.

The focus of smart cities has changed. They have become more ambitious as budgets increased to trillions of dollars overall, unaffected by Covid-19. The original concept was based on widespread deployment of information and communications technology ICT such as Internet of Things and 5G. However, in 2020 smart cities have been pivoting reinvented hardware and associated systems. There is a realisation that these may take up to 90% of the investment. That means smart buildings even in the sea and in deserts. Forest City Malaysia will be reclaimed from the sea and be a jungle of self-watering vegetation.Some technologies in future zero-emission smart cities. Source: IDTechEx Research, “Smart Cities Market 2021-2041: Energy, Food, Water, Materials, Transportation Forecasts”, www.IDTechEx.com/SmartCities.It means new forms of transport such as autonomous cars travelling at speed in underground tubes (Elon Musk Loop). Will it be Hyperloop achieving airline speeds in vacuum tubes between cities using magnetic levitation with trains only three seconds apart? Important now is cities making their own food, fresh water and electricity for security and cost reasons. Multipurpose is key. Examples are Toyota robot shuttles replacing many types of city vehicles in its planned Woven City, repurposing through the day. School bus then parcel delivery then taxi? They will go over solar plazas and even into shopping malls. Smart glass will perform many functions together. Aquaponics grows fish and vegetables as food in a single set of tubing, the plants feeding on the fish excrement. Agrivoltaics has the new bifacial solar cells mounted vertically like rows of fences so a small field is both a farm and a power station. Yes, multipurpose and smart materials are important now and IDTechEx forecasts that radically new smart city technology may rise to around $1.7 trillion yearly in 20 years. Republished by arrangement with IDTechEx. Original report Smart Cities Market 2021-2041: Energy, Food, Water, Materials, Transportation Forecasts at www.IDTechEx.com/SmartCities.

Infrastructure Transport

06 Feb 2026

Second Mountain Tunnel Breakthrough in Palghar Advances High Speed Rail

The Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail (MAHSR) project reached a milestone with the breakthrough of a mountain tunnel in Palghar, Maharashtra. Mountain tunnel MT-six measures 454 metres long and 14.4 metres wide and will accommodate up and down tracks. The breakthrough follows MT-five near Saphale on second January 2026 and the MT-six excavation was completed from both ends using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method. The ministry reported that the tunnelling was completed within 12 months. The New Austrian Tunnelling Method is favoured for its flexibility in complex geology and irregular tunnel s..

Infrastructure Transport

06 Feb 2026

Modi Government Pushes Atmanirbhar Container Drive With BCSL MoU

The Union Government advanced a plan to create an integrated, domestically anchored container ecosystem with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Bharat Container Shipping Line (BCSL). The MoU was signed by key agencies including the Shipping Corporation of India and Container Corporation of India alongside major port authorities and Sagarmala Finance Corporation Limited under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, in the presence of senior ministers. The initiative aligns with the Container Manufacturing Assistance Scheme announced in the Union Budget 2026–2..

Infrastructure Urban

06 Feb 2026

Ministry Reports Gains In Mobility For Marginalised Communities

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing skill development, education and rehabilitation schemes to promote socio-economic mobility and sustainable livelihoods for marginalised and disadvantaged communities across the country. Programmes target Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, Economically Weaker Sections, De-notified Tribes and Safai Karamcharis through specialised implementing corporations and empanelled training institutes. Pradhan Mantri Dakshata Aur Kushalta Sampann Hitgrahi Yojana, or PM-DAKSH, provided skill training and placement support through the Nati..