Elysium City: Spain's "Smart" City

With the current trajectory of technological advancement, it's only logical that the future in smart technology would include smart cities. Well, tourism development company Alpha Cora agrees and plans to begin construction this year on the first entirely "smart" city in Badajoz, Spain, named Elysium City. The smart city is intended as a tourist destination, complete with its own theme park, high-speed railway system, hotels, football (soccer) stadium, and more. The city will be entirely powered by solar energy and will be the first city built around the 17 Sustainable Goals of the United Nations.

The construction of Elysium City will take place in two phases, the first of which is slated for completion in 2023 and will include the Disney-like theme park, hotels, and major tourist attractions. The second phase will include more hotels and a Formula One racetrack and should be complete in 2028. Upon completion, the city will include smart kiosks with maps and transportation schedules, free gigabit WiFi across the city, and other "smart street" infrastructure, such as smart light poles. While Elysium City is only primarily meant as a tourist destination, the developers of the project hope that it will spark other similar environmentally friendly projects in cities across the world, and I would not be surprised if this is the future towards which we are all headed.