In an interview following his appearance at the 2011 World Business Forum, Anthony Townsend, Research Director at IFTF, discusses his research on the future of smart cities with a professor from IESE, a business school based in Barcelona. More than half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas and the numbers continue to grow. As the landscape of the world transforms, so must our perception of urban spaces. New technologies and increased public access to data have revolutionized what we consider to be possible. Anthony addresses the surge of “citizen hackers,” individuals interested in solving the problems of cities using technology. Citizen hackers have fueled an innovative movement that strives not to improve the systems we have, but to create a new norm and transform the urban experience. In this interview, Anthony envisions an ideal world in which these grassroots efforts join together with industry to create smarter urban realities.

Read Anthony's blog to learn more about how he views cities, technology, futures, and innovation.