[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/08\/08\/can-cities-close-the-citizen-experience-gap\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/08\/08\/can-cities-close-the-citizen-experience-gap\/","headline":"The citizen experience gap: How cities of the future can thrive","name":"The citizen experience gap: How cities of the future can thrive","description":"To close the citizen experience gap, cities must become solution-enablers, allowing businesses and citizens to access and share data to co-develop\u00a0new, better ways of living and working.","datePublished":"2019-08-08","dateModified":"2024-04-12","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/ursa-mihajlovic\/#Person","name":"Ursa Mihajlovic","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/ursa-mihajlovic\/","identifier":321,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0f21cdb0a8c6763ac3d62c153bdc41bdba480fbb9a593d9e3897602ca0ec026?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0f21cdb0a8c6763ac3d62c153bdc41bdba480fbb9a593d9e3897602ca0ec026?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/citizen-experience-gap-3.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/citizen-experience-gap-3.jpg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/08\/08\/can-cities-close-the-citizen-experience-gap\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/","name":"Customer Experience","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_experience","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q984142"]},"Government + Public Sector",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/commerce\/industries\/","name":"Industries","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Industry","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q2976602"]},"Industries",{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/customer-experience\/public-sector\/","name":"Public Sector","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Public_sector","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q294217"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/sustainability-in-business\/","name":"Sustainability in Business","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sustainable_business"]}],"wordCount":845,"keywords":["Citizen Engagement","Future City"],"articleBody":"We\u2019re living in an era of unprecedented\u00a0urban expansion. One in which the\u00a0rise of \u2018mega cities\u2019, featuring 10 million inhabitants or more, is becoming the norm around the globe – and there is a big problem looming: the citizen experience gap.According to the United Nations, 55 percent of the global population currently lives in cities. By\u00a02050,\u00a0that number is expected to reach 68 percent.\u00a0And these urban\u00a0centers\u00a0are\u00a0set to become\u00a0important power houses for future\u00a0national and regional economic growth.For governments trying to steer cities into the future and improve livability for the populations they serve, embracing intelligent digital technologies and solutions will be the key to dealing with a whole host of potential issues on the horizon.Everything from\u00a0addressing a range of infrastructure, transit, and connectivity challenges to harnessing data driven intelligence to identify appropriate priorities\u00a0\u2013 so they can get the\u00a0right services to the right\u00a0citizens, at the right time.And that\u2019s not all.Creating\u00a0healthy, sustainable and happy places for people to live\u00a0and work\u00a0will also require\u00a0a\u00a0major shift in mindset.Because, while\u00a0leveraging\u00a0a\u00a0digital technology\u00a0is important,\u00a0the ability to truly connect with citizens will\u00a0vital to understanding what urban life means for those who live and work in their municipalities.The citizen experience gap: From government to governanceThe 21st\u00a0century has witnessed a growing acceptance that it\u2019s time to take a new approach to urban policy and governance\u00a0in relation\u00a0to the way cities are run.One\u00a0in which\u00a0the aspirations and views of the millions of people who live, work, and seek entertainment in\u00a0cities\u00a0can be captured, so that policies\u00a0and programs\u00a0can be created that truly meet\u00a0citizen\u2019s\u00a0needs.It\u2019s a movement\u00a0fueled\u00a0by the\u00a0rise\u00a0of tech savvy and digitally connected\u00a0\u2018global\u2019\u00a0citizens,\u00a0who increasingly expect to participate in, and shape, the public discourse on how they live and work.Against a backdrop of growing resource scarcity and rapid climate change, addressing the well-being, basic needs and happiness of\u00a0urban\u00a0residents and workers will require a truly collaborative and co-operative approach to problem solving.And it\u2019s this engagement with all stakeholders that\u00a0is the key to both attracting business and creating\u00a0vibrant and\u00a0livable\u00a0environments that\u00a0appeal to\u00a0high-caliber\u00a0talent.Co-designing new ways to live, work, and do businessThe smart city concept isn\u2019t a new one. Around the globe,\u00a0initiatives\u00a0to transform the lives of citizens\u00a0and deliver city-wide innovations that allow industry\u00a0to\u00a0accelerate\u00a0sustainable growth\u00a0are already underway.To create cities that are\u00a0both\u00a0prosperous and livable, they\u2019re connecting local government, businesses, and citizens to facilitate\u00a0better decision making and generate creative ideas.\u00a0For example,\u00a0enabling people to contribute to urban planning and development initiatives, or\u00a0empowering people\u00a0to share ideas on how to address\u00a0environmental sustainability challenges.For this to happen, the city needs to become\u00a0a platform that enables multiple stakeholders to exchange, collaborate and interact\u2014making it\u00a0possible to\u00a0crowdsource\u00a0ideas,\u00a0create digital\u00a0communities that can deliver solutions, or\u00a0enable\u00a0ecosystems where businesses, citizens, and academics can co-innovate to solve urban problems.Cities need to become solution-enablers that allow businesses and citizens to access and share data to generate\u00a0and co-develop\u00a0new, better ways of living and working.It\u2019s a big challenge. One that depends on being able to listen to people and their data to proactively model how services will look in the future,\u00a0as well as\u00a0identifying\u00a0gaps in citizen satisfaction with existing services or day-to-day urban issues\u00a0\u2014like transportation\u00a0and\u00a0mobility\u00a0challenges or\u00a0concerns about\u00a0living and working conditions.Citizen engagement \u2013\u00a0mind the citizen\u00a0experience\u00a0gapDelivering satisfying citizen experiences\u00a0means cities\u00a0will\u00a0need to find\u00a0ways to enable\u00a0the services that citizens want and need.\u00a0To achieve this, city administrators\u00a0must first understand and elevate\u00a0citizen\u00a0sentiment,\u00a0using\u00a0these learnings\u00a0to guide\u00a0future efforts in the right direction.The good news is that\u00a0the technology is now available to extract citizen sentiment from different sources, at multiple levels of granularity\u00a0\u2013 and combining that information with insights gleaned from operational data –\u00a0to\u00a0identify\u00a0exactly\u00a0which services will most improve citizen value outcomes\u00a0and engagement.\u00a0It\u2019s an approach that\u2019s\u00a0enabling\u00a0the\u00a0City of Orlando\u00a0to\u00a0better understand the citizen experience and\u00a0improve citizen trust and satisfaction\u00a0with the services it delivers.For smart cities to reach their full potential, they\u2019ll need to focus\u00a0intensely\u00a0on the\u00a0needs of the citizens that work and live\u00a0in them\u00a0and promote\u00a0a bottom-up community-driven approach\u00a0to addressing the problems and issues that directly impact\u00a0on all interested parties.Taking a citizen-centric approachCities of the future\u00a0seeking\u00a0to enable\u00a0safer communities, improved transportation,\u00a0a\u00a0reduced environmental footprint, or increased digital equity\u00a0will need to improve\u00a0their\u00a0local development and services in accordance with people\u2019s needs.Achieving this will require a citizen-centric approach that both closes the communication gap between citizens, the city ecosystem, and the municipality \u2013 and enables access to consumer-grade digital services.  Ready to become an intelligent enterprise?Get started\u00a0HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2019","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"08","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/\/08\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"08","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/\/08\/\/08\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"The citizen experience gap: How cities of the future can thrive","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/08\/08\/can-cities-close-the-citizen-experience-gap\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]