public services . Abundant green spaces make the city a pleasant place to live and a highly modern waste management system means that Songdo needs only seven waste management employees to serve a city with 35,000 residents . However , Songdo also has its drawbacks : its ultra-modern style gives the city a plain appearance that does not take cultural aesthetics and expectations into account . As sociologists have noted , this type of “ one size fits all ” city can create serious problems , among them an increased crime rate and heightened class divisions .
What does the future hold for smart cities ? It ’ s safe to say that the popularity of smart cities is increasing exponentially . In most cases , however , governments are opting to work with existing city structures instead of building brand new cities using ultramodern technologies . In India , Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently set plans in place to transform 100 Indian cities into smart cities by the year 2020 . The selected cities would receive well over US $ 15 million towards development . Existing smart cities like Copenhagen , Vienna , Vancouver , Helsinki and Brisbane are working towards new developments to increase efficiency and make life easier and more comfortable for residents . A number of American cities , including San Francisco — New York , San Antonio , Chicago and Miami — are increasing their use of cutting edge technology to improve traffic , safety and other services . However , the idea of building a smart city from scratch refuses to die , as evidenced by the fact that Google is making plans to build its own municipalities .
Technology ’ s rapid developments makes it impossible to foresee exactly what smart cities will look or behave like in five or ten years . However , recent trends indicate that smart cities will become both more popular and more abundant . The world ’ s metropolises will inevitably continue looking for ways to use technology to create a safe , eco-friendly , efficient environment for residents . However , the fact that privacy and hacking concerns have not been addressed at length means that even the world ’ s smartest cities will remain vulnerable to serious disruption .
21