#annei design

I always advocated approaching the urban design issue in city with improving public spaces and pedestrian areas. There’s a lot that can be achieved just by focusing on few important elements such as the people who flood our streets.

In the past years we sadly witnessed the death of innocent people by the hand of radical Islamic terrorists who used vehicles to fulfill their nefarious plans. Public security is at its highest alert since the events of September 11 2001 in the United States, and perhaps we can now help cities both ways in terms of security and decor.

Governments can continue to spend millions on local security among hot-spots some cities might be vulnerable; police and army personnel are siding to keep communities safe across Europe during this wave of radical terror. However, we can make cities safe when we decide to use simpler approaches to limit traffic and potential threats in specific areas.

Common cement road barriers downtown Milan resemble Checkpoint Charlie in post-WW2 Berlin.

We don’t need to turn roads and intersections into Cold War security checkpoints, we just need to use urban landscaping tools and reshape them into spots that can blend within blocks and avoid any uncomfortable and insecure atmosphere among people. It’s important to create smart urban solutions that don’t trigger the population into believing there’s any threat.

A heavy cement flower pot is the best way to combine decor and security feature in one object.

Cities can safely implements large gardening objects like flowerpots made of cements to be placed where sensible gateways needs to be protected. The decor element of nature will play the advantage point while enhancing the security methods where needed.

These important and hefty pots are already everywhere used as decorative elements in many cities across Europe, some even have horizontal planks functioning as bench-element for pedestrian to use. This system is both eye-friendly and it doesn’t stand out as something alienating for the user to experience.

Any of these objects comes with a considerable weight that can improve the security of those city spots in need of safety; they act as dead weight to stop any moving vehicle by acting as physical barriers defending people. The plus side is they can be arranged to fit the decor and theme any city sports by changing pot size, weight, flora, pattern.

A selection of these pots placed according to the city’s strategic need has the full potential to stop any commonly driven vehicles to create disaster. People will be protected without knowing enforced barriers have been placed.

Yes, there’s a big scare of the upcoming years where automation will be the protagonist of the next industrial revolution. AI and labor simplification are going to shift the way we value production through the markets and how we understand modern capitalism.

The next years will be characterized by the 5G network advancing which will pull a whole new line of smart devices onto production, and therefore onto sale with their relative marketing and digital content sale through the web, press, and television. This alone will spark new interest in the next major change society will face towards the technological front.

5G network will unfold the potential of remote business opportunities.

But what’s next? After smartphones and similar we will see more automation in terms of car manufacturing, which doesn’t directly mean self-driving cars invading the streets, but more electronic components being manufactured and installed into our cars driving us to work. Phone features will be heavily integrated into car systems. 

We shouldn’t be surprised if our next car will be ready for McDonald’s drive-through payments just like our transponder when paying to ride certain highways. The vehicle of tomorrow is based on our current behavior we develop thanks to the smartphone in our hands.

AI will manage our behavior when they will govern payments through cars. 

Augmented reality is already playing it’s part with enriched User Interfaces which provide a better User Experience. Cars interiors are becoming futuristic for the need to implement new-found technology and to put it to good use, but also to market it so automakers can develop new standards.

Brands will invest into the car industry to propose custom solutions to make vehicles original. Your next car interior will feature patterns nobody else will have, thus making the brand experience more unique and long-lasting. Here 3D printing of different kinds will help making this into a reality to the point even local artisan shops will have their impact.

Individualism will be the key element in the next market change towards Industry 4.0

But what does it mean? It means we will have very soon a different approach on our product creation. We are going to upset the very fabric of how we understand social behavior in the first place; thus we will have to deal with a shift in the way individuals in the workplace interact between.

Industry 4.0 is going to reshape market habits all the way to our simple daily interaction, creating new behavior with the prospect of a new set of rules for society to absorb. The next decade will be about the user and a tailored marketing experience to fit his/her needs.