| | July 2019 8FIRST BUILD SMART CITIES TOHUMAN SCALEBy Duncan Davidson, General Partner, Bullpen CapitalIn the 1950s, U.S. cities embarked on an idealistic spree of urban renewal. It resembled the present moment, where innovators share exuberant plans to make smart cities. Back then though, the U.S. had a champion of urban life, a journalist and activist who questioned our intentions and defined what makes a city great. Her name was Jane Jacobs.In a classic article for Fortune, Jacobs wrote, "There is no logic that can be superimposed on the city; people make it, and it is to them, not buildings, that we must fit our plans." We can swap "technology" for "buildings" in the current dilemma. Smart city planners are eager to introduce 5G networks, connected vehicles, and sensors everywhere. If we superimpose these technologies on cities as they are, we will get more of what we have. Basically, we will create more efficient traffic jams.Before we screw up, I propose that we physically redesign cities for people, not automobiles. If we create tiers of transportation that enable people to flow through their cities, smart technology will fit our needs. It sounds idyllic, but how do we practically do this?The Constructal LawIn 1995, Adrian Bejan, a professor of mechanical engineering at Duke University, listened to a Nobel Laureate lecture about the randomness of the tree-like shapes that abound in river basins, lightning, and circulatory systems. These systems weren't random, Bejan realized. They followed the laws of physics. He OPINIONIN MY
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