2020 Recap on Urban Innovation and Turning The Page in The New Year
A look at significant developments in urban innovation that defined advancements in the space this year and opportunities in 2021.
We are at the end of the year and to say 2020 has been an unprecedented experience would be an understatement. It feels bizarre that this newsletter launched back in July to spotlight the innovations, ideas, and individuals defining the best solutions for sustainable, equitable, and resilient cities.
During this unparalleled time, it has become increasingly clear that urban environments require rapid investment. Over the past few months, I have had the opportunity to connect with and interview leaders in the space and highlight how we might all work together to turn a new and cohesive page in planning for the future of our cities. Below is a look at some key highlights related to the industry including investment, projects, initiatives, and deals:
Global venture capital investment in urban tech surged from virtually nothing in 2010 to some $20 billion in 2015 and $70 billion in 2018
The United States ranks second to China in urban technology, controlling 35% of global investment compared to China’s 40%
San Francisco Bay Area accounts for $34 billion of urbantech investment, about 16% of the global total, coming in after Beijing (at the top of the list) with $56 billion in investments.
The City of Oakland paved the way for other cities through its Slow Streets Program was launched in April 2020 as part of the City's Covid-19 response.
Aurora, run by a former Google autonomous executive, acquired Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group for $4 billion (and the car-sharing giant is investing $400 million in the company).
Vertical farming technology provider iFarm raised a $4 million seed round, led by Gagarin Capital, an earlier investor in the startup.
Via, the New York-based carpooling startup raised $200M from 83North, Broadscale Group, and further investors.
Leap raised $8 million from Union Square Ventures, Silicon Valley Bank, Congruent Ventures, National Grid Partners, Powerhouse Ventures, Elemental Excelerator, and FJ Lab.
Lime raised $170M from Ajax Strategies, Alphabet, Bain Capital Ventures, further investors.
Young World Leaders Summit: A Conversation with Arlan Hamilton
The incredible Summit team asked me to facilitate an interview with Arlan Hamilton of Backstage Capital last week during the Young World Leaders Summit about how she is challenging the status quo in VC, best practices for scaling, and managing a remote team in light of the pandemic, how the industry can continue to meaningfully support underestimated entrepreneurs, her upcoming conversation with Will Smith and the launch of Arlan’s Academy.
Earlier this year I interviewed Arlan for Her Agenda. You can read the full interview here.
Below are recent readings/listens I highly recommend to round out your year including infrastructure, energy efficiency, and federal appointments for the incoming administration:
I enjoyed this podcast highlighting energy-efficient buildings featuring Wanda Dalla Costa, who holds a joint position at Arizona State University between The Design School as Institute Professor and the School of Construction as Associate Professor. She is a member of the Saddle Lake First Nation and has spent nearly 20 years working with Indigenous communities in North America. Her current work focuses on re-operationalizing Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and connecting in contemporary architecture education and practice. Her interests include co-design methodologies, Indigenous place-keeping, and climatic resiliency based on regional architectures. Fingers crossed you’ll be reading a feature on her and her work in Urban Underpinnings sometime soon (introductions are welcomed).
Building on earlier points and statistics related to a need to invest in our cities particularly as it relates to infrastructure, this article examines the importance of research in moving the ball forward. In the United States, critical city, state and federal infrastructure is falling behind. While heavy investment, planning, and development have gone into the U.S. infrastructure system, much of it is not keeping up with the pace of new technology, and some of it hasn’t had a proper update in decades, instead just adding new systems onto old systems.
President-elect Joe Biden has picked 2020 presidential candidate and former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg to be secretary of the Department of Transportation, Biden's transition team announced Tuesday.
Thank you to all who joined me on this ride to explore urban innovation in 2020, I’m looking forward to all that 2021 holds. Enjoy the holiday season and keep an eye out for 2021 features!