Smart Mobility in the Future City

ICTC’s Smart Mobility in the Future City Roundtable, held on February 2nd, 2021, and was the third event in a series on creating a vibrant and inclusive smart economy for Canada. The event engagement comprised two parts: presentations on Smart Mobility in Canada; and an invitation-only roundtable discussion.

Graham Cavanagh, Senior Planner at TransLink, and Marie-France Laurin, Director of Business Development at Stantec GenerationAV, presented during the first part of the event on smart mobility in the context of future urban spaces. Graham’s presentation focused on the evolution of public transit, and Marie-France’s touched on the many ways that autonomous vehicles can change the way we live, get around, and access goods and services. In the event’s second hour, a group of 30+ thought leaders from across Canada engaged in a roundtable discussion. Roundtable attendees came from industry, the public sector and local government, academic institutions, and the civil sector.

To ensure a fruitful and fulsome conversation, roundtable participants were broken into three smaller discussion groups and provided with series of challenge-based questions. Questions focused on three core categories, namely data, technology and infrastructure, and the human experience. Two key insights derived from this discussion are the following: data is the fulcrum of smart mobility for fuelling the development of products and services, and securing citizen engagement and adoption; there also exists a need for a national smart mobility roadmap and a framework to explore public and private partnerships. This brief distills the priorities outlined during this roundtable event and the implications and considerations for future mobility in Canada.