Connectivity and QoL How digital consumer habits and ubiquitous technology are driving smart city development in Asia PacificConnectivity and QoL © MIT Technology Review, 2017. All Rights Reserved. 2 To access the full report: mit-tr.co/ConnectivityQoL To follow the project on social: #ConnectivityQoL MIT Technology Review on Twitter: techreview techreview_intl LinkedIn: MIT Technology Review Connect with Dentsu Aegis Network Twitter: dentsuaegis Facebook: dentsuaegisglobal LinkedIn: Dentsu Aegis Network dentsuaegisnetwork/asiapacific A sia Pacifics rapid development has been a singular success story in the global economy: the regions economies have grown at roughly twice the speed of the rest of the world for nearly a quarter-century, and over that time have seen their collective GDPs nearly triple in sizeto over US$22 trillionin that time. While Asia Pacifics growth drivers are multifaceted and difficult to generalize, they typically have involved strong coordination of government and business agendas around regional and global trade, focused investments in infrastructure, and in particular a willingness to adopt and develop leading-edge technologies. Cities, in this sense, have been at the heart of Asia Pacifics growth, serving as the catalysts for the regions thriving trade, innovation and opportunity. The United Nations Human Settlements Program, in its 2016 World Cities Report, estimates that Asias cities grew by nearly one billion people between 1995 and 2015more than all other regions in the world combined. 2.1 billion Asians live in cities, 53% of the regions population, and those numbers grow by over two million a month.Urban growth has also brought challenges fast-expanding cities have strained transportation, power and sanitation infrastructure, particularly problematic in Asia Pacifics poorer cities. Increased energy consumption, deforestation and car ownership in the region has turned Asia Pacific into the worlds largest contributors to greenhouse gas. Asia Pacifics smart city imperative 468 f bbvm,6 GDP v,6-6 3 8 P vb bvm (6,m) m byM cy Rv bfm WBk, Ecmc U Connectivity and QoL - Figure 1 GDP Milne points to efforts to broadcast context-relevant ads targeted to consumers based on analysis of license plates in the streets. But the increased consumer insight advertisers derive from this enhanced connectivity comes with a quid pro quo: “Passive advertising is OK, but active ads become intrusive,” Milne finds. “Moreover, brand owners have to provide more relevant ads, along with other services.” Such services, he predicts, might include augmented-reality displays for wayfinding in the public transportation network.Sethumadhavan also sees this shift facilitating the delivery of new and enhanced public services, and empowering Asian consumers to boot, as the “fabric of the data surrounding them at all times” makes them aware of the things they need without Pervasive personalization: The value exchange between cities and consumers “Government-funded infrastructure lays the foundation, but in order for smart cities to blossom, the private sector must take more responsibility.” Arvind Sethumadhavan, Asia Pacific Chief Innovation Officer, Dentsu Aegis Network