043: SMART CITIES 2022: Unblocking the MEGA-BLOCKERS

As we approach the end of 2021, we enter into one of the tech industry's favourite seasons - 2022 Predictions. While all the industry evangelists will be predicting what mega-trends are going to transform our cities next year, I'm going to take a different approach. I'm going to focus on the mega-blockers that we need to overcome in order to live up to the industry hype.  And to do this, I am joined by 3 guests who sit in different areas of the Smart Cities ecosystem.  - Josh Sattler, A/CEO - General Manager Innovation, Growth and Development Services at City of Darwin in Australia - Tim Kobe, Founder & CEO of the global strategic design firm Eight Inc. - Zachary Wang, the Founder & CEO of Neuron Mobility, a leading rental e-scooter company and micro-mobility technology developer operating in cities across Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, South Korea and Canada. For simplicity's sake, view it this way. Zach represents the tech innovator's supplying Smart City solutions, Josh represents the market demand, and Tim the planning and design side that has to liaise between the supply and demand side.  Show Notes: 01:20 Guest Intros 03:40 Smart Cities have not lived up to the hype. What types of challenges have you encountered that are holding back innovation? 07:35 Mega-blockers for the adoption of AI / Facial Recognition: how to overcome citizen's concerns over data privacy 15:00 Mega-blockers for the adoption of Urban Mobility: eScooters, eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft - aka Flying Taxis), etc. 20:50 Mega-blockers for the adoption of Sustainability solutions: balancing ROI and social impact 27:40 We have the technology to deliver transformative solutions, but sometimes people and processes hold us back. What do we need to do as humans to become Smart City enablers instead of blockers? 34:00 Rapid Fire round Do we need more government regulation to drive innovation? What is the one thing that needs to happen to the Smart Cities ecosystem to drive more innovation? What's the biggest risk that Smart Cities face in 2022? What's your personal wish list?  - Tim - name one client you would like to work with - Josh - if you could lead any city's Smart City initiatives, which would it be? - Zach - if Neuron could "win" one new city in 2022, which city would it be? Let's close on a positive - tell me something that you are proud of that happened during the pandemic.