Cities around the world are grappling with unprecedented challenges as populations surge, municipal budgets shrink, and the demand for building livable cities intensifies. The World Bank projects that urban populations will grow by 2.5 billion by 2050, and with the construction industry accounting for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, the critical question isn’t just how we build more—it’s how we build smarter, more vibrant, sustainable communities.
At South by Southwest (SXSW), Autodesk Chief Marketing Officer Dara Treseder and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan tackled this issue in a conversation moderated by TechCrunch Senior Reporter Rebecca Bellan. Their discussion focused on sustainable housing, climate resilience, and economic opportunity. Here are the key takeaways:
As the world needs nearly 100,000 new affordable homes built daily to keep up with demand, cities face a complex challenge: expanding housing supply while minimizing environmental impact and enhancing quality of life. The discussion featured The Phoenix in Oakland—a 316-unit public housing project leveraging Autodesk’s AI-driven design tools and industrialized construction methods—to demonstrate how technology can drive smarter urban development.
Autodesk’s AI-enabled technology is helping the project optimize noise reduction, natural lighting, parking efficiency, green spaces, and more – ensuring a high-quality living environment just off the I-880 freeway in West Oakland. Most notably, The Phoenix will be built in half the time, at half the cost, and with half the carbon footprint of a typical multi-family building in the San Francisco Bay Area. This scalable, tech-driven approach could transform how cities around the world tackle the housing crisis.
The Phoenix will be built at about half the cost, time, and carbon footprint of a typical multi-family building in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Aging infrastructure and the increasing frequency of natural disasters pose serious risks to cities. Current estimates show that operation and maintenance account for more than 60% of U.S. public infrastructure spending, which means cities must prioritize climate resilience and long-term sustainability.
The panel featured a robust discussion of the role of digital twins—virtual models of real-world cities that allow planners to better manage city infrastructure day to day and prepare for natural disasters by simulating climate impacts, testing solutions, and optimizing resources before disasters strike.
Following a devastating flood in 2017 in San Marcos, Texas—one of the most flood-prone cities in the U.S.—Autodesk’s digital twin technology helped map the city’s entire storm drain network. By simulating decades of potential flood scenarios, officials identified vulnerabilities, prioritized improvements, and ultimately saved millions in infrastructure costs.
“There are not enough people or resources for cities to build or rebuild all of the infrastructure that is required to address population growth and climate pressures. Under this added pressure, technology can help cities reduce the costs and carbon footprint – helping them achieve their goals.”
– Dara Treseder, CMO, Autodesk
TechCrunch’s Rebecca Bellan, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and Autodesk CMO Dara Treseder participate in a Featured Session at SXSW on March 11, 2025.
The future of cities depends on the availability of a skilled future workforce that can help tackle urban challenges. Yet, Design and Make industries face a triple workforce crisis:
Bridging this gap is crucial to economic growth and urban development, and preparing the next generation for the future of work is a shared responsibility. That’s why Autodesk is committed to providing its industry-grade software for free to students and educators around the world. To date, 100 million students across 160,000 schools benefit from this offering.
Mayor Mahan featured San Jose’s leadership in addressing this same crisis, announcing the City’s new grant applications that will incentivize AI startups focused on tackling civic challenges to move to downtown San Jose. Programs like San Jose’s and investments like Autodesk’s will support the development of a high-skill workforce – generating more tech-powered jobs and helping communities thrive.
“It’s so important that we give our people, particularly young people, access to these tools, and one of my concerns with AI is that there can be barriers to entry – up-front costs around having access to the computing power and the data. How can we lower barriers for our young people?” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, “Whether it’s at our K-12 schools or our public universities or our tech museum to be able to actually play around with and start to familiarize themselves with what a large language model is or how machine learning works.”
The takeaway from SXSW is clear: digital transformation is no longer optional for governments.
AI-powered technologies can make communities more livable, resilient, and prosperous for future generations. Autodesk supports investment in tech-driven cities and public infrastructure, helping communities thrive.
Explore Autodesk’s policy recommendations for driving economic growth, fostering innovation, and promoting sustainability.
Onstage at SXSW, TechCrunch’s Rebecca Bellan, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and Autodesk CMO Dara Treseder discuss technology’s role in shaping sustainable cities.
Sources:
*Autodesk’s Career Readiness Report was conducted by third-party analytics firm GlobalData: GlobalData surveyed 1,500 students ages 14 to 23 across high school, university, community college, and vocational/trade school.