Modern cities need to find answers to countless question. How many people commute in and out of which district on a daily basis? How to determine where recreational areas are most urgently needed? And where to build the next e-bike lane? In the past, gathering this data was arduous work. Volunteers or employees, for example, would have to interview pedestrians to feel the city’s pulse. Thanks to modern technology and the overall trend of digitalisation, managing a city has become much easier. “Our start up enables cities to analyse vast amounts of data,” explains Dan Gildoni, CEO & Co-founder of PlaceSense. “They can for example gain insights into specifically busy streets and compare different areas to each other in real time. We hope to facilitate the planning, decision making and innovation potential of cities around the world,” he says.
Data is the key to an efficient future
Multinational companies such as Google and Amazon have achieved success by gathering and analysing data to gain valuable information about their customers, which have informed their decisions and strategy. Today, the world’s smartest cities also rely on data - and the trend is here to stay. “Cities of the future are well-timed and structured in the most efficient way for their residents. A smart city is all about data; the collection and utilisation of data to make decisions that result in a better way of life,” says the start-up’s co-founder.
Winning the sustainability race
So how can urban planners make an impact and improve a city’s environmental footprint? One example can be found in the facilitation and provision of efficient transportation services. Over the past two decades, traffic congestion has become one of the most pressing challenges of the transportation industry. “When cities are adequately equipped with information about congested, unreachable or inaccessible areas, they can make decisions and implement lasting solutions to create a better traffic flow,” explains Gildoni. With the rise of electric vehicles and many other novel ways of transportation, the transportation industry also relies on data to develop even more innovative solutions to pressing mobility challenges.
Paving the way into a digital future
What will the future look like? Several start-ups and established companies have also developed algorithms that can make predictions. The models take different points of interest into consideration and support urban planners in their decision-making processes. And Dan Gildoni is convinced that the best is yet to come: “A city is an asset that facilitates humans’ lives. The best cities of the future will provide the best services to their citizens,” he concludes.
About the Greentech Festival Berlin
Nico Rosberg, the 2016 Formula 1 champion, became Julius Baer’s brand ambassador in 2021. In 2018, alongside two co-founders, Rosberg launched the annual Greentech Festival, now a leading platform for green technologies, ideas and products. The objective is to showcase some of the most forward-thinking sustainable innovations and create a global community of change-makers and innovators. As Excellence Partner, we interviewed Dan Gildoni at the Greentech Festival 2021.