News

Canadians use a lot of water. The country is ranked among the highest in the world for water consumption. So it's more than a little surprising that a small Alberta town has emerged as a role model for its efforts to reduce water use. Read our story to learn how they did it.

Louisville, Kentucky isn't a major metropolis but it has big city traffic problems. It's ranked as one of the top 50 in the country for traffic congestion. So the city's turning to technology solutions for help – and planning to tackle traffic snarls in a way that might appeal to other cities with similar headaches.

A city, a university and a major technology company are working with an innovative combination of technologies to improve traffic flows and reduce accidents and fatalities. And they're asking the public for help.

Smart bike sharing programs are proliferating throughout the world, but managing them presents a unique set of challenges. Partners in a Chinese field trial are hoping a combination of technologies can resolve them.

Schneider Electric and Microsoft collaborate… Panasonic's new China battery factory… Itron's natural gas upgrade project… Oracle expands cloud service partnerships… Daimler enters U.S. home energy storage market.

Advanced technologies help police in many ways, from improving operations to ensuring reliable communications and more. But Dubai Police took it a big step further with the introduction of a robot police officer.

Self-driving vehicles will drastically change urban mobility, and cities need to be prepared. But how? Our story shares insights from transportation professionals on what to expect and how to plan for the transition.

Smart transportation is about tech, but it’s about policy too. And it will take smart policy to get people out of their cars and into shared transportation, experts sharing insights at Smart Cities Week said Tuesday.

Hong Kong is taking steps to make its congested roads – and the city itself – safer and smarter with cellular-based technologies. Read our story for ideas your city may be able to use.

Middle school and high school students are collaborating with NASA research and development teams to build a global smart city platform. And they're performing extremely well. Read on to learn more.

Schneider Electric's USMC smart controls project... an ethics award for CH2M... Panasonic's residential roof solar panel and more. Click the links for details.

California, the state with the country's largest car market, may clear the way for driverless car testing on its public roads. Regulators are asking for public comment now. Read on to learn more.

Most of the buzz and about self-driving cars has focused on how they'll make driving safer and help traffic-congested cities. But what about the laws governing their use? And who's liable if something goes wrong?

IBM's military data centers... energy efficiency for hospital buildings... help for power utilities and their customers... Daimler partners with Uber on self-driving cars. Click the links for details.

Like many large cities, Miami is wrestling with the challenges of growing populations and aging infrastructure. But the coastal city has another big problem: increasingly frequent tidal flooding. If your city is facing similar challenges, Miami's action plan may provide ideas and solutions you can use.

While driverless vehicles are in various stages of development and testing, it's becoming abundantly clear that they will be part of the urban landscape in the future. Read our story to learn about a driverless passenger shuttle bus making the rounds in several U.S. cities

Smart cities offer a sustainable place to live and work. But if your city is like so many others it may not have the bucks to invest in the projects and technologies that make a city smart. Read our story to learn about financing models and sources (and a program that helps cities in developing countries improve their credit rating).

Self-driving cars may not be on your radar yet, but they certainly are for an increasing number of major technology and car companies. Read our story to learn about new—possibly surprising—developments in the industry.

Panasonic's new partnership... Itron's MDM recognized... IBM's hybrid cloud goes to sea... ZTE and Huawei boost 5G-ready mobile equipment production... Siemens wins federal government energy savings contracts... CH2M supports USAID humanitarian efforts. Click the links for details.

IBM and BMW will work together to build more intuitive driver support systems for passenger vehicles. The point? To make the cars of the future more convenient, comfortable, safe — and chatty. Read the story for details.

Oracle's $1.4B computer science education investment... a new water contract for Sensus... Schneider Electric's new IoT solution... Ameresco's solar canopy project... Daimler's big spend on EVs. Click the links for details.

A blockchain microgrid partnership for Siemens... Cubic Transportation wins UK contract... recognition for Transdev... Itron's Australia water distribution automation project and a clean energy company award for Schneider Electric. Click the links for details.

Connecticut was hit hard by massive storms (including Hurricane Sandy) that caused major power outages and extensive property damage a few years ago. That had a lot to with why the state quickly launched a program to fund microgrid construction: to limit outages and lessen the aftermath. Read our story for an update.

Until relatively recently, police work typically involved reacting to events as they happened or shortly after. And anticipating crime was largely a combination of officers' intuition and experience. Predictive policing is a different approach that could very well be changing the future of law enforcement. Read our story to learn how.

Cities are buzzing with excitement about what they can accomplish with their smart city projects and the technologies that enable them. But by overlooking or failing to take action on security vulnerabilities, IT professionals warn the benefits from those technologies could be short-lived.

With a smart street light pilot project successfully wrapped up, Washington, D.C. technology and transportation officials are moving ahead with partner Cisco on an ambitious citywide smart cities upgrade that will cut the district's operating costs and pave the way for a variety of smart city benefits.

A major energy system upgrade for a Boston-area community college will not only transform the school into a green campus and provide more comfortable facilities, it also is expected to save nearly $860,000 in annual energy costs. Read the story for details.

India's state of Maharashtra has taken the country's digital and manufacturing initiatives to heart in a big way. And to help the realize its ambitious vision, Cisco will deliver a new manufacturing hub, a smart city, education and training programs and more.

A city can’t be smart without a resilient, strong communications network to tie it together. But how does a city go about deciding the right path to success? Read the story to get advice on the topic from some of the experts speaking at Smart Cities Week.

After a long statewide budget impasse, several Pennsylvania school districts faced possible school closures. But one district, plagued with HVAC system failures and maintenance problems, decided to invest in a $3.4 million system upgrade despite the financial uncertainty. Read the story to learn why.

No one likes to see piles of trash on and around trash containers, and those unexpected overflows generate citizen complaints and unscheduled trips to empty them. Edinburgh, Scotland is trying out a sensor-based solution and city officials are liking what they see so far.

Finland, already known for its healthcare technology innovations, has ambitious plans to further improve the health of its citizens as well as its healthcare system. With help from IBM's cognitive computing technologies, the country envisions becoming one of the world's top data-led hospital systems.

As cities move away from fossil fuels and toward a smart energy network of renewable energy sources and distributed generation, the technologies needed to support those networks are evolving rapidly. Click to learn about a hybrid microgrid demonstration project that could increase the demand for microgrids as solutions for integrating renewables and backup power sources during outages.

Vehicle-to-grid technology, the concept of using electric vehicles to help manage the electric grid, could be a step closer to reality if Council Associate Partner Enel and its partners have anything to say about it. They have developed and installed a commercial system at a Danish utility and consider it a major step in addressing the technology's challenges.

Earlier this year Oracle announced it would invest $200 million in U.S. computer science education as part of a larger global initiative. But company leaders wanted to take their education initiatives further. The company is now building a public high school on its corporate campus to teach students problem-solving skills and more. Read the story to learn what's behind the strategy.

A total of 14 projects were recognized as the top smart city initiatives in Council Associate Partner IDC's annual Smart City Asia-Pacific Awards for 2016. Click to the site to learn about two of the award-winning projects and find strategies and approaches you can use for your own smart city transformations.

One of the biggest challenges cities face when considering smart city transformations is cost. Installing and integrating the technologies that make smart cities work is expensive and many cities are simply unable to afford them. Read the story for funding ideas that may help your city reach its goals.

IoT-based smarter building management systems can do a lot to increase energy efficiency (and reduce the power bill), enhance security and take advantage of data analytics to improve overall performance. But they can be expensive. Fortunately advances in the field are providing more options, like the one described in our story. Click for details.

A group of U.S. House members is collaborating on legislation to help cities make their smart city transformations work. The bill they're drafting focuses on the areas where cities usually need the most help: securing financing and the guidance and expertise they need to ensure successful projects.

A new partnership between technology and car companies expects to have a platform for self-driving cars in production by 2021. It's yet another indicator of what our connected transportation future will look like—and a reminder that cities will need to be ready for it.

Tweaking existing technologies to create new ones happens all the time. But borrowing 150-year-old technology to provide solutions for today's air quality problems is, well—a little different. Read the story to learn how (and why) Siemens is testing old street car technology to power today's new electric trucks.

Predicting how technologies will evolve (or if they will) is a difficult chore. But with millions of connected devices and sensors collecting massive amounts of new forms of data and new ways to use it, most analysts see substantial and continued growth in the number of cities moving toward Internet of Things technology as they work to make their operations more efficient and cost-effective.

Self-driving cars are said to be a few years away from appearing on city streets. But electric cars are here now and their numbers are growing. Is your city prepared—or preparing—to accommodate more EVs and, eventually, autonomous cars? If not, the trends in the story below explain why it should be.

Many cities are fortunate to have plenty of open, green public space for their citizens to enjoy. But what if your city doesn't have the land or the budget to do it? Read the story to learn about how the city of Fresno and local school districts are tackling the problem.

Just as drought has affected regions of the world that rarely if ever had a shortage of water, other areas are suffering from unexpected catastrophic floods. Council Lead Partner CH2M is working with government agencies in the UK to pinpoint risks and identify the best possible strategies to protect against floods well into the future. (There are economic benefits, too.)

The transit agency serving the greater Boston area is working on a long-range energy management plan to cut energy costs and reduce transportation-related carbon emissions at the same time. There are a lot of approaches and opportunities, but which ones offer the biggest bang for the buck? Read on for ideas your city could use.

The federal government has contracted with Siemens to install and operate a combined heat and power (CHP) plant at a U.S. Army command headquarters in Germany, part of a government effort to save energy and lower its power bill. At a time when clean energy sources are so much in demand, CHP may be an option for your city's smart energy strategy.

Many cities and regions around the world are experiencing water shortages. And while most cities would probably find land to build a water recycling plant, that's not the case in Beijing, China. The city's short on water but land is so valuable it's prohibitively expensive. That's why a water plant operator took a different approach — and is building a large water recycling plant underground.

Energy company Enel and Nissan, manufacturer of the Leaf EV, are taking their vehicle-to-grid show on the road — specifically to the UK. The technology adds a new twist to the role of electric cars by turning them into rolling energy storage systems. Read the story to learn more, and how it could help cities with energy management.

The United Arab Emirates wants to be one of the world's smartest countries, and its first move toward that goal is to make Dubai, the country's largest city, as connected as it can be by undertaking more than 100 separate smart city initiatives. While such a large project may not be right for your city, Dubai's transformation plan may give you some ideas for your own.

Kansas City has taken its next steps toward becoming a sustainable city able to provide a better, more livable city for its citizens. One of those steps is a smart street lighting pilot project because city leaders see it as a win-win — a safer, more convenient environment for their citizens and an effective, efficient tool to help them manage the city.

Many cities throughout the world continue to operate water distribution networks that are 70-100 years old. And while lost revenue from water leaks is staggering, it's not the only problem. Failing systems also can contribute to contaminated, poor quality drinking water. Read on to learn why your city should take a hard look at its water network -- and the available solutions.

The Edmonton Valley Line, a new light rail project in Edmonton, Alberta, is expected to help meet the growing needs of Canada's second fastest-growing city. It's also the first project for Bechtel's new Public-Private Partnership line of business. Read the story to learn more, and pay particular attention to the important role continuing public involvement has played.

The Canadian city of St. Albert has numerous smart city services and projects in place and an ambitious goal of becoming a "smart city centre of excellence." But in the beginning there was no plan of action, no roadmap to guide St. Albert's smart city transition. If your city is planning a smart city transformation, St. Albert's experience and how its city leaders chose to proceed may give you some ideas you can use.

Citizen engagement -- city residents participating in the decisions that affect their lives and future -- is an essential part of smart city planning. But if you're a little fuzzy on its importance, read what the deputy mayor of a mid-sized city said about the benefits of doing it well and the possible consequences of doing it poorly or not at all. We also share some tools to help you get to know your citizens better.

The quest for safer, better, more intelligent cars has already attracted car makers, technology companies and others to the connected car market. Now IT and networking company Cisco and car maker Hyundai have teamed to speed up development of next generation connected car technologies.

Many cities are counting on connected cars and their technologies to help them deal with traffic snarls, accidents and other transportation-related issues. And car makers are doing their best to make those connected cars safe and reliable. Their latest challenge? The DOJ wants those cars to be so secure they won't be vulnerable to terrorists, cybercriminals and other bad guys.

With so much hope focused on how connected cars and self-driving cars will help cities cut traffic congestion and reduce accidents, there's some good news from Toyota and Microsoft. The two companies are working together to develop more and better connected services for drivers -- services that will make driving safer and far more convenient at the same time.

We've said it before: smart street lighting networks are a practical, cost-effective first step toward a smart city. Now, Huawei has entered the market with its Connected City Lighting Solution. Read the story to learn about the company's new offering -- and why you should be taking smart street lighting networks seriously.

Smart cities need to be connected cities, as we explain in our story on the importance of connectivity in this special issue. Connectivity and Internet of Things are the buzz for smart cities right now, but maybe we're overlooking something. Is the Internet fast enough for us and what we need to do? Read on for some not so great news about the status of U.S. Internet service -- and some promising developments.

Cisco, a long-time investor in India, will spend an additional $100 million to support the country's move toward digitization and smart cities. The money will be invested in early-stage tech startups, innovation labs -- and a greatly expanded training and education program to ensure the country has the skilled tech professionals it needs.

As more drivers choose electric vehicles for city commutes, it raises interesting questions for energy managers working at buildings with parking garages. Among them: how do you get EVs to fit in with how the building operates, particularly its electrical system? Schneider Electric and AT&T are working on a solution that may answer those questions and more.

Smart grids. Smart cities. And a market coming into its own: smart buildings. It's fairly easy to see how smart grids and smart cities are intertwined. Progressive utilities and cities share many of the same technologies and goals. Smart buildings do too, as it becomes increasingly apparent the 21st century's commercial buildings need to be more than big energy-guzzling boxes.

GE's new energy company Current will take a lead role in a smart city intelligent lighting project in Tianjin, a major port city in northeast China. It is a key demonstration project in China's ambitious smart city plans -- and it will be about far more than lighting alone. Click to the site to learn more.

How can you have a smart city without smart energy and water technologies? It's hard to imagine. Read our story to learn how one industry insider describes the all-important roles energy and water utilities should have in your smart city plans.

Many cities that want a sustainable, reliable energy future are going with renewables, advanced metering, energy efficiency programs or a combination of those and other technologies. Many others are planning to do the same. Regardless of your approach, data analytics and sensors are key to making it all work. Read the story to learn why.