Urban Socio-Technical Systems: An Autonomy and Mobility Perspective

The future of the human race is urban. The world's population is projected to grow an additional 2.5 billion by 2050, with all expected to live in urban areas. This will increase the percentage of urban population from 55% today to 70% within three decades and further strengthen the role of cities as the hub for information, transportation, and overall socio-economic development. Unlike any other time in human history, the increasing levels of autonomy and machine intelligence are transforming cities to be no longer just human agglomerations but a fusion of humans, machines, and algorithms making collective decisions, thus complex socio-technical systems. This manuscript summarizes and discusses my efforts from the urban autonomy and mobility perspective to develop the urban socio-technical system.