Cities will drive some of the most significant technologies of the next several years, says IBM.

According to the latest annual "IBM 5 in 5" list of five technologies that Big Blue says will "change our lives within five years," cities will soon be capable of all kinds of interaction with citizens via analytics, cognitive computing, and cloud computing. (See the full list, including IBM's other 4 of 5 top innovations here.)

"Picture a city that knows not only when trains run, but also knows its citizens," states an IBM predictive infographic. "Cities will become less bureaucratic and more open to sharing of data and social feedback."

Read the rest of this article on Future Cities.

Mary Jander is managing editor of UBM's Future Cities. Previously, she was executive editor of Internet Evolution, site editor of Byte and Switch, and a longtime senior editor of Light Reading. She has spent over 27 years reporting and writing on information technology and networking, including nine years on the senior editorial team of Data Communications magazine.