Health and care. Digital transformation can improve local healthcare and lead to a barrier-free and inclusive society. Specifically, this concerns the topics of (early childhood) education, care and health as well as patient orientation. Mobile health will prevail as an answer to doctor and supply shortages. Patients can also be treated over the phone and online.
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The prescription and sick note will follow by email. Long journeys and waiting times become unnecessary and the burden on the health system is relieved. Health kiosks and telemedicine can provide care to people, particularly in rural areas and cities with strong social segregation, by providing low-threshold offers. The city of Wuppertal is providing a digital health kiosk with Minecraft.
In care, digital assistance systems and robotics can relieve the burden on nursing staff and relatives, enable self-determined and safe living in old age and connect caring neighborhoods.
Climate protection and digitalization belong together. The use of digital services and platforms currently causes almost four percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. More than twice as much as civil aviation. Just training an AI to recognize speech produces five times as much CO2 as a car emits during its entire lifespan. Sustainability is becoming mainstream in the digital economy. This also includes decentralized energy networks, autonomous, energy-efficient vehicles and a digital circular economy. The English capital London is expanding the rail network and constantly improving it with the help of big data analysis. The conversion will be financed by a city toll for all cars. The goal: By 2040, 80 percent of all journeys should be possible by public transport.
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The Netherlands and Denmark are arming themselves against floods with climate-resilient cities and are relying on the concept of “digital twins”. In Germany, too, more and more municipalities are using digital tools and systems to achieve global sustainability goals. Munich wants to use data to measure mobility and air quality and control the infrastructure with the help of citizen participation. The city of Münster is pursuing a preventive heat protection strategy with “City Temperature” and wants to create “cool places” in the future. The potential in the building, electricity and heating sectors is enormous. In the future, buildings, neighborhoods and infrastructure will communicate in real time. Networked and self-controlling buildings, cities and communities protect the climate and increase the quality of life.
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Social cohesion and democracy. Natural disasters, terrorist attacks and cyber attacks also put German cities and communities under stress and endanger trust in cohesion and democracy. A resilient city involves its residents. Modern participation processes and places turn citizens who want to prevent something into developers who change their city. This is how the city of Würzburg works together with the district “Social resilience – emerging from the crisis in a human way” and wants to improve the quality of life in the region, the city of Guben in Saxony is developing “Resi.Form”, a digital platform to test protective measures against floods. Digital tools and platforms improve the culture of discussion in the city and ensure a better social climate.
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“People make the city, not the houses,” said the Greek statesman Pericles more than 2,000 years ago when he had the Acropolis rebuilt in Athens. The most resilient material is the art and creativity of urban planners, architects and citizens. A city and a country are “smart” when their residents are networked not only with technologies and machines, but also with each other and people. Artificial intelligence and digitalization make cities and communities more livable, healthier and greener.
Dr. Daniel Dettling is a futurologist and heads the Institute for Future Policy that he founded (www.institut-zukunftspolitik.de). His current book is called: “A better future is possible. Ideas for the world of tomorrow” (Kösel Verlag, 20 euros).
Interview with Dr. Daniel Dettling, Futurologist:
Host: Good morning, Dr. Dettling. Thank you for joining us today. Our first topic is health and care, as we’ve seen rapid digital transformation in these fields. Can you elaborate on how this transformation has improved local healthcare and created barrier-free opportunities?
Dr. Dettling: Of course, healthcare and care are essential aspects that have experienced significant change due to digitalization. The use of mobile health, telemedicine, and remote patient monitoring has allowed doctors to treat patients more efficiently, especially in rural areas where access to healthcare is limited. These technologies reduce the need for long journeys and waiting times, lessening the burden on the healthcare system. Additionally, digital assistance systems and robotics can provide support to nursing staff and family caregivers, enabling self-determined and safe living for older adults.
Host: That’s fascinating. Can you share an example of how cities are utilizing digital tools to improve their healthcare systems?
Dr. Dettling: Absolutely, the city of Wuppertal provides a digital health kiosk with Minecraft to help people improve their health. This kiosk provides low-threshold offers and offers health education to the public in a fun and interactive way. The city of Münster has also implemented a preventive heat protection strategy called “City Temperature,” which aims to create “cool places” in the future. Cities are using digital tools to promote health and wellbeing, and this trend is likely to continue.
Host: Great insights. Moving on, climate protection seems to be another important aspect of digital transformation. Can you tell us more about how digitalization is helping combat climate change?
Dr. Dettling: Certainly. Digitalization plays a crucial role in climate protection. With the use of digital services and platforms, we can optimize energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Cities like London are using big data analysis to improve their rail network, while Denmark and the Netherlands are investing in climate-resilient infrastructure. The potential in the building, electricity, and heating sectors is enormous. Self-controlling buildings,networked cities, and communities can communicate in real-time, protecting the climate and
