Images: MIT predicts tech to jump-start economy

Smart cities
Imagine a city where people drive electric cars that wirelessly communicate with each other to avoid accidents or traffic jams. Via geographically distributed systems, the city also generates and stores "green" energy for residents, without dependence on oil. Sensor technology and actuators throughout the urban environment help the city respond to environmental changes. For example, if rain were detected, it could automatically shut off watering schedules.

That approximates the vision of William Mitchell, an MIT professor of architecture and media arts. He predicts that the next great boom will come from rebuilding intelligent, sustainable cities with ubiquitous networking technology. The effect "will allow cities to respond like intelligent organisms to dynamic changes in the needs of their inhabitants."

"As with the Internet, the revolution will not result from a single technology, but from the timely convergence of multiple streams of technological development," Mitchell said.

Shown here is a stackable car, a concept being developed under MIT's Smart Cities program, which Mitchell oversees.