Automation and cities: How will cities cope with increasing automation?

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• December 8, 2022

Insight summary

As automation expands across economic sectors, more employment opportunities are being created while old ones become obsolete. This disruption is being felt acutely in major global cities that have become the ideal testing hubs for automation technologies. However, some cities may fare worse than others. 

Automation and cities context

As cities strive to build economic and environmental resilience, municipal governments are investing more in automation and innovative technologies. Increasingly, public sector systems interpret real-time analytics and big data collected from interconnected devices to administrate the services of sprawling cities that support millions of residents. Global cities are being digitized at an increasing rate, with autonomous cars, robotic chefs in local fast-food restaurants, and drones delivering parcels. Urban areas also act as testing grounds for experimentation with robots in public places. 

As of 2021, large cities like Seoul, Tokyo, Shenzhen, and London have been used to conduct autonomous vehicle experiments. Meanwhile, automated ports and warehouses are being designed to better service increasing commercial activities. Delivery robots and drones are continuously modified and perfected outside the warehouse gates.

On the streets, automated traffic lights powered by the Internet of Things (IoT), sensors, cameras, and artificial intelligence (AI) are discovering ways to manage traffic better and avoid accidents. Whereas in healthcare, wearables are developed to monitor patients 24/7 and provide remote diagnoses and consultations. With increased automation, even farming is possible in urban areas through vertical farming systems that use apps and hydroponics (the method of growing plants without soil).

Disruptive impact

A 2018 Northwestern Kellogg School of Management study showed that automation might affect employment in cities. The study stated that automation might significantly impact smaller towns and communities. According to the researchers, a lack of jobs may cause an exodus of people and greater income inequality in small cities, as robots may hollow out the middle class. For example, Las Vegas has two million residents in its metropolitan region but is heavily reliant on an industry that is anticipated to be automated.

The team looked at other potential US cities that might be less susceptible to automation. Boston is one example of the availability of many hospitals and research universities. Other cities that will probably be less affected are Washington, DC, and the heart of Silicon Valley – San Jose, California.

Meanwhile, smaller cities typically have more citizens in employment opportunities that can be replaced by automation, such as cashiers, retail salespeople, receptionists, and food-service workers. Las Vegas, which has less than half the population of Boston, could see 68 percent of its employment performed by robots. The predictions are even worse for small cities like Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, where 73 percent of the workforce is likely to be replaced by automation. The researchers suggested that governments invest in upskilling programs in small communities or create incentives to attract new industries requiring human engagement. 

Implications of automation and cities

Wider implications of automation and cities may include: 

• An increase in broad unemployment. This trend may lead to community displacement and increased houselessness.


• An increase in worker migration from small towns to large cities. This migration may cause stress on social services in large cities while reducing tax revenues and social services in smaller townships.


• Increasing public resentment toward automation, as well as increased rates of vandalism against workplace robots and autonomous vehicles. 


• Increasing deployments of robots, whether autonomous mobile models that deliver packages or self-serve restaurant staff.


• More investments in smart technologies, particularly in city infrastructure (e.g., faster Internet connectivity), traffic management, and public security (e.g., facial recognition scanners).


• Semi-autonomous vehicles becoming more common as these systems replace the transport-as-a-service industry, leading to more job displacement for human drivers.

Questions to consider

• How might smaller municipal governments act to minimize unemployment rates as automation technologies mature? 


• If you live in an urban community, how are robots and automation changing the way you live and work?