CES 2022: To Merge Physical and Digital Infrastructure, Leaders Need Community Input

LAS VEGAS, January 6, 2022 – Fremont, California’s mayor Lily Mei told CES participants that when considering infrastructure projects, her office considers the benefits to the city and the community’s needs.

Public-private partnerships can accelerate the shift toward “smarter” cities and communities. Mei said she looks for private partners to become “more than a product partner,” but instead prefers to collaborate with organizations “on a long-term basis.”

Fremont, a city very close to California’s Silicon Valley, has large tech industry presence. Since job growth near Silicon Valley surpassed housing development, the city is investing in new traffic technology and find alternative solutions for mobility. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the city used autonomous vehicles to deliver food to the homeless.

“Many communities are dependent on roadways and cars, and I want to accommodate that,” Mei said. Since the implementation of its Bikeway Improvement Plan, the city’s bikes shops are selling out of equipment.

Jonathan Reichental, founder of technology consulting and education firm Human Future, celebrated the innovation and echoed the ambition to merge physical infrastructure with digital trends. “Think about the impact of adopting a bicycle infrastructure, the health benefit, what it means to have quiet city streets. It begins to change the nature of the community,” he said.

“With public-private partnerships to building smarter communities, that involves a deep element of technology. In addition to physical infrastructure, you have the layering of added value by merging digital infrastructure,” he added. “But of course there are issues around inclusion and equality,” which Reichental said presents barriers to full adoption across the community.

Lily Mei and Jonathan Reichental delivered comments at Thursday’s “Merging Physical and Digital Infrastructure” CES session.