Chair Abha Joshi-Ghani, Senior Advisor, World Bank Group
Presenter
Jaana Remes, Economist and Partner, McKinsey Global Institute
Discussant Hyoung Gun Wang, Senior Economist, World Bank Group
After a wave of criticism following the inital hype around smart cities in 2008-12, the concept of the smart city is having a "come back" with a focus on solving real problems facing urban citizens. The new McKinsey Global Institute research project contributes to the efforts by sizing the impact of smart city applications across on key dimensions of citizen quality of life (e.g., health, safety, time, environmental quality) and assessing the current state of smart city technologies, applications, and their usage across 50 global cities. We find that while adopting smart city applications can improve citizen outcomes up to 10-30 percent across many dimensions, the potential varies dramatically by type of a city and the way they are implemented -- what works in one city might not work in another.
About the Presenter:
Dr. Jaana Remes is an economist and a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), McKinsey & Company's business and economics research arm, based in San Francisco. Since 2003, Jaana has led MGI's research on productivity, urbanization, competitiveness, and growth. Her most recent research looks at global consumer groups that are shaping global demand, as well as global growth prospects in an era of demographic decline. Jaana leads MGI’s Urban World research series that includes shifting economic power of cities, the rising urban consuming class, and mapping of the global company landscape; as well as the patterns of urban growth and renewal across the Americas. Her long term research interests also include analyses of how different policies have contributed to industry competitiveness and growth; the impact of multinational companies on emerging economies; as well as in-depth assessments of the barriers to competitiveness and growth across a range of economies, including the US, Mexico, Brazil, Canada, UK, Finland, Sweden, and South Korea. She has led MGI's research on energy, with a focus on understanding the microeconomic underpinnings of global energy demand and the opportunity to reduce energy consumption through higher energy productivity. She advises global business and government leaders on related topics and frequently contributes to policy debates through articles and conference presentations. Jaana has a Ph.D. on applied economies from Stanford University and an MSc degree in economics and philosophy from the University of Helsinki, Finland. She is a member of OECD’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Directorate’s advisory group; a nonresident senior fellow at the Metropolitan program of Brookings Institutions, as well as at the Strategic Foresight Initiative of the Atlantic Council. She also serves on the Board of directors of Girl Scouts Heart of Central California.
Calendar » BBL How Smart Cities Improve the Quality of Life?
BBL How Smart Cities Improve the Quality of Life?
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Abha Joshi-Ghani, Senior Advisor, World Bank Group
Hyoung Gun Wang, Senior Economist, World Bank Group
If you have any questions, please contact: gbasat@worldbank.org