Pssshhhhhhtttt. Like a shot of steam in your morning latte, the sound of train doors opening injects vitality into any urban commute. But imagine that at 7:18 a.m. on Monday in the London Underground the red doors stay open and quiet, and stay, and stay . To be fair to London, this experience is rapidly becoming extinct.

What is a smart city? There can be no useful vision of a city, smart or otherwise, that doesn’t place you at its center. To truly make the most of what a city can be, planners, companies, and urban dwellers need to understand three critical things: a city is layered, you are the centre of a vast network, and you can shape your experience.