Nikolas Badminton on Future Cities Africa

Daniel Claassen speaks to futurist speaker Nikolas Badminton on Future Cities Africa podcast about smart cities and humanity.

Daniel and Nikolas discuss the type of future city that Africa needs, explosive growth expected in Africa, lessons from global smart city initiatives, the world in 400 years, cities in 2040, and shifting mindsets from “what is” to “WHAT IF…”.

Discussion highlights

• Shifting mindsets from ‘’what is’’ to ‘’what if’’.
• His definition of a Smart City: Designed for people, is equitable and egalitarian, supports culture, is programmable and optimizable.
• Global smart city initiatives that Africa can learn from Nikolas expand on initiatives in Barcelona (technology with a human basis to it), Songdo (South Korea’s smartest city), Paris (the 15-Minute City).
• The type of Smart City that Africa needs.
• Can technology destroy us?
• Nikolas explains the H-E-A-R-T acronym for cities. Human-Centric Design; Entrepreneurial spirit; Asset development; Renewable, replicable, repeatable; Technology-enabled connections.
• Explosive growth expected in Africa.
• Removing the idea that we have to be at war to progress.
• Wealth distribution in a way that is less ‘’Us and Them’’.
• The world in 400 years. (What if…)
• Cities in 2040. Getting there using H-E-A-R-T.
• To live on Mars is a terrible idea.
• Looking back can be an inspiration for the pathway forward.
• Love, humanity, equality are some of the most important things that everything else is built on.

About Nikolas Badminton

Nikolas is a world-renowned futurist speaker, researcher, futurist consultant, and media celebrity. He leads the team Exponential Minds, an expert advisory firm that helps organizations, trillion-dollar companies, progressive governments, and Hollywood shift their mindset from “what is” to “WHAT IF…” The result is empowered employees, new innovative products, and incredible growth that leads to more revenues and a more resilient future.

He has worked with amazing clients, including United Nations, NASA, UK Home Office, Government of Canada, United Way, Google, Microsoft, Rolls Royce, DISCOVER, HSBC, Heineken, Procter & Gamble, AT&T, Young Professionals Organization (YPO), Ellen MacArthur Foundation, IDEO, Singularity University, and hundreds more.

Nikolas advised Robert Downey Jr.’s team for the ‘Age of A.I.’ documentary series, starred in ‘SMART DRUGS – a Futurist’s journey into biohacking’, and features on CTV, Global News, Sirius XM regularly. His mind-expanding research and opinion have also been featured globally on BBC, VICE, The Atlantic, Fast Company, Techcrunch, Business Insider, Huffington Post, Forbes, Sputnik, and Venturebeat. He is also writing a chapter for a 2021 book called ‘The Future Starts Now: Expert Insights into the Future of Business, Technology and Society’ for Bloomsbury.