Last year was the first one in a while that made Americans stop, pause, and ask themselves if they could survive the end of the world. Whether you're a Silicon Valley billionaire or a regular schmo making minimum wage, it's worth considering a bug out bag in 2018—some insurance against the apocalypse.

If you're an entire American city, however, your prepper sack needs more than batteries and a good knife. Things are shifting quickly in the world of urban mobility. Getting from A to B has never been easier for those with a smartphone and extra cash. But American cities have yet to figure out how to capitalize on the travel revolution and make it work for all their residents, no matter their work schedule, neighborhood, or annual income.

The stakes are serious, both in terms of the general happiness quotient—how nice would it be if your city had a fast, efficient, traffic-free functional transportation system?—and monies. A recent McKinsey report estimated that dense, high-income cities like Chicago, London, or Singapore could save $7,400 per resident if they managed to build electric, on-demand transportation options, with a strong public transit system as the whole thing's backbone.

But to get there, cities have to start working now, and the new year is the perfect time. So we asked transportation experts from academia, the private sector, and public agencies: If you’re a city building a survival kit, what do you pack? And what do you do with it?

A Calculator

Cities know more about you—yes, you!—right now than at any other time in history. Public agencies use WiFi to track your movement throughout subway platforms. They record traffic flows with sophisticated software systems. Some have even convinced private companies, like Uber and Lyft, to hand over information about where they’re taking passengers, and when. So it’s unfortunate that most don't know how to put that info to good use.

“Cities need to get a better handle on their data,” says Ashley Hand, a former strategist with LA’s Department of Transportation who now works for the transportation and tech consulting firm CityFi. “Figuring out not just what you’ve got and how to use it more effectively, but then building the capacity to actually look and understand that data is something cities just aren’t ready for.”

For an example, look to Boston's smart city data operation. One open-source system uses 22 city performance metrics—311 call center performance, on-time trash pickup, EMS response time, and stabbings, to name a few—to produce a measure of urban success called CityScore. The city has launched an initiative to track inequality throughout its agencies via hard numbers (like long-term info on race, educational attainment, and generational wealth). But getting these programs running means hiring data scientists, folks who generally make $125,000 annually nationwide. You can't fit too many of those onto a government payroll, and most will head for the more lucrative the private sector. That's why cities need to get savvy about recruitment, and figure out ways beyond appeals to civic duty to attract candidates.

Spray Paint

The curb may sound snoozy, but it’s due for a serious reckoning. Curb space is the new urban ground zero, the place where parked cars, public buses, ride hailing services, delivery trucks, and cyclists all compete for real estate often reserved for private citizens parking private cars for extended periods of time. “In the post-ridesharing-and-microtranist-and-Amazon-eating-the-world world, my curbside is in chaos now,” says Ali Vahabzadeh, the CEO of the commuter van service Chariot, which Ford acquired in 2016. “The answer is probably a little bit more than street signs and new paint on the curb. There needs to be a paradigm shift.”