Sustainable cities rely on technology, incentives

According to Lux Research, technology and government policy and incentives will create efficient, sustainable future cities to accommodate an urban population of 6.3 billion people by 2050.

Lux reports that Amsterdam, Stockholm, Colorado's SmartGridCity and Portugal's PlanIT Valley are among the most replicable models for countries scrambling to accommodate an additional 2.7 billion people by 2050, according to a Lux Research report.

According to Lux, technology is key to efficient future cities and the efficient future city market will favor well-known technology leaders such as IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, Hitachi, Siemens and Philips that have already converged on the efficient future cities market and, in some instances, are collaborating on initiatives like Amsterdam and PlanIT Valley.

"Technology companies need to understand the variety of models under which future cities develop so they can tap the widest channel to market in each case," said Ryan Castilloux, Lux Research Analyst and the lead author of the report.

"Cities like Singapore, Stockholm, Masdar, Incheon Free Economic Zone, and PlanIT Valley are structured to ensure integration and interoperability of technologies and systems across the urban value chain."

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