Peter Madden, CEO of Future Cities Catapult – the Government supported UK centre of excellence in urban innovation – is warning that UK cities are vulnerable to cyber-attacks, flooding, robots and far-right politicians.
Setting out his thoughts for urban innovation in 2017 in a HuffPost blog, in the context of ‘black swans’ - improbable but not impossible events – he asked whether 2017 could be the year when torrential rain causes billions of pounds of flood damage in the centre of a major city.
He also questioned if 2017 could be the year a major cyber-attack cripples the infrastructure and functioning of a leading UK city, or the year a populist far-right politician becomes mayor of a combined authority. This could even the year displaced workers take direct action against automation by destroying robots.
The Future Cities CEO went on to suggest that tackling inequality will be a greater focus for cities – a theme already identified in the elections of Sadiq Khan in London and Marvin Reese in Bristol.
Suspecting that financial constraints will bite hard in 2017 as local authorities adjust to further tightening, Peter Madden is questioning how cities will pay to get stuff done. Highlighting how pioneering cities are experimenting in how to decrease costs, earn money and attract investment, he has drawn attention to initiatives in Wolverhampton, Cheshire East and Aberdeen that demonstrate municipal entrepreneurialism.
Enpure Ltd and Clean TeQ Water Ltd have announced a collaboration agreement to bring Clean TeQ Water's Moving Bed Ion Exchange-based nutrient removal technologies to water utilities across the UK.
Near-real-time microbial monitoring of wastewater discharge and bathing waters is now possible thanks to the BactoSense ID solution created by Swiss-based bNovate Technologies.
ABB has launched AquaMaster+™, a digital platform for smart water network management, designed to help water utilities monitor, analyze and manage their water networks, preventing pipeline water losses and optimizing operations.
Craig Nienaber, Business Development Manager for Safe Access Solutions (SAS) at HUBER Technology, explores why the company is seeing a growing level of interest in its safe access solutions for critical infrastructure providers, including their application in wastewater treatment assets.
Southern Water has released film and images showing what it’s like to walk inside Hampshire’s expanded Yew Hill underground reservoir for the very last time, before it gets filled with water.
Hear how Scottish Water has completed its £235 million Ayrshire Glasgow Resilience Project - customers across Greater Glasgow, Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire will now benefit from a more secure and resilient water supply.
Hear how United Utilities is accelerating its investment to reduce spills from storm overflows across the Northwest.