Urbanisation, population growth, shifting demographics and climate change are already having a profound effect on the way that people live. By 2020, it is predicted that 56pc of the world’s population will live in urban areas.
By 2045, the urban population is expected to surpass six billion. This presents huge challenges for the construction, manufacturing and technology sectors charged with finding solutions to issues that are set to become ever-more acute in the years ahead.
Of particular concern is the way that rapidly growing cities, many with outdated infrastructures, are being shaped and developed, and this will become increasingly critical to a sustainable future. Cities of the future will have to be more resource-efficient, navigable, and environmentally friendly.
Many believe that the answer lies with “Social Innovation’’, a novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, and sustainable than current solutions.
To be economically viable in the long term, this innovation must be based on a solid business foundation that will benefit both society and business for years to come.
It is also about more than simply making technological improvements that produce more effective solutions, instead putting the focus on the transformation of entire social systems, and increasing the social value of safety and reliability.
One industry where many of these factors already play a key role is construction. Hitachi is a major supplier of plant and expertise for the sector, and offers cutting-edge manufacturing and construction expertise via engineering and electronics solutions.
And it’s here where the giant believes it can drive innovation in major construction and infrastructure development designed to serve the needs of growing urban environments.
Indeed, as cities around the world continue to expand at a rapid rate, urban environments are coming under increasing pressure to cope with not only the demands of the current population, but also those of future generations.
Opening the floodgates: water is a key area of developmen
Creating cities is about far more than simply the act of putting a building up, and designers, architects and city planners are taking greater efforts to understand a structure’s long-term use.
Here, IT on a project, district or city-wide level can help bureaucrats and construction managers gain insight into developments affecting entire populations.
That requires complex data collection and communication networks, sophisticated software and analytics, control system implementation, and low-cost data storage and flexible cloud hosting.
But there are real human impacts to the work. Hitachi has focused recent efforts on improving the flow of people inside buildings, for instance, applying its lessons to a range of building spaces, from small retail shops to large-scale commercial facilities, and even entire cities.
The business has been working on the optimisation of urban areas to make them more comfortable and convenient for their inhabitants.
A key area of development is water. Some parts of the world have abundant supplies but many population centres experience critical shortages that have a profound effect on people's lives.
Ensuring a more even distribution of water resources requires pumps capable of moving water across longer distances.
Here, Hitachi has been developing new pumping and water treatment technologies for securing water resources, for drinking water and sewage treatment, and for recycling and reusing water.
The business has been developing its global pump business by advancing massive projects in the US and in countries and regions in the Middle East and Asia.
Social Innovation has a crucial role to play in addressing the global challenges presented by urbanisation, including sustainability, connectivity and energy efficiency.
Achieving a sustainable society whose economic and environmental needs are addressed in a balanced way will require the leveraging of technology.
The future is in the hands of organisations that not only innovate, but also do it socially and strategically, and can strike a balance between profit for stakeholders and improved lives for individuals, and progress for both business and global society.
