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Calgary, Alberta already has a track record for innovation, thanks to its commitment to a long-term vision for a communication infrastructure that connects as many assets as possible to improve city services. And that commitment is yielding...
Article - 12/06/2018
Active Region(s): North America
Category: Economic development, Telecommunications, Analytics, Connectivity, Data management
The announcement this week that Kansas City is expanding its Smart City program didn't come as much of a surprise. The program, which kicked off two years ago in conjunction with its KC Streetcar project, was initiated in relatively small but...
Article - 06/07/2018
Active Region(s): North America
Category: Economic development, Transportation, Analytics, Connectivity, Data management
Dirty air has consequences — very serious consequences ranging from climate change to lung disease. In villages in India, clean-burning stoves are one key solution. The problem has been getting people to use them.Below, read about an innovative...
Article - 06/06/2018
Active Region(s): India, North America, Compassionate Cities
Category: Food and Water, Analytics, Citizen engagement
It sounds like a smart cities project: set up areas to serve as living labs so smart technologies and applications can be tested as solutions for local problems. There is no dominant city in the area, so San Mateo County and its partners are using a...
Article - 05/24/2018
Active Region(s): North America
Category: Analytics, Connectivity, Data management
It's frustrating when you want to use a city service only to find it's out of order. It may be out of the city's control, but it still reflects poorly on the service. But there are smart city technologies that can help cities improve the services...
Article - 04/19/2018
Active Region(s): North America
Category: Telecommunications, Analytics, Connectivity
This week I had the pleasure of leading a Readiness Workshop in Fairfax County, Virginia — a smart cities leader and one of the finalists in our 2018 Smart Cities Readiness Challenge. As you’ll read below, the county already has so much to celebrate...
Article - 03/22/2018
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Fairfax County, Analytics, Citizen engagement
It takes smart, highly skilled people to use and manage the technologies and systems that make smart cities operate efficiently and reliably. But as the majority of CIOs will tell you, it can be a challenge to find them — in part because businesses...
Article - 03/22/2018
Active Region(s): North America
Category: Analytics, Connectivity, Data management
Technologies that help cities manage their traffic better are going to save all of us time, whether we're driving a car, riding a bus or negotiating traffic on foot or on a bike. But a new study sponsored by Council Associate Partner Intel uncovered...
Article - 03/15/2018
Active Region(s): North America
Category: Health and human services, Public safety and security, Transportation, Analytics
A few weeks ago we published a story on Council Global Lead Partner Oracle's innovative strategy to provide a high-tech education program for high school students — as a way to help fill the talent gap in technology professions. A recently released...
Article - 12/27/2017
Active Region(s): North America
Category: Telecommunications, Analytics, Computing resources, Data management
Moscow city officials describe their My Street initiative as "the world's largest redevelopment project." Considering the scale and scope of the project outlined in the story below it might be hard to argue with them. While an urban makeover of this...
Article - 11/30/2017
Active Region(s): North America
Category: Built environment, Transportation, Analytics, Connectivity
The Smart Cities Council has always said cities shouldn't go it alone when developing their smart city planning and implementation strategies: learn from the successes of those cities that have already made the commitments and taken the risks to...
Article - 10/26/2017
Active Region(s): North America
Category: Energy, Telecommunications, Transportation, Analytics, Citizen engagement, Connectivity
If you haven’t struggled with a water shortage yet, your time is coming. And likely soon.There is only a tiny fraction of states that haven’t struggled with this issue yet, and that number shrinks a bit each year. That’s why it’s critical to make...
Article - 09/14/2017
Active Region(s): North America
Category: Water and wastewater, Analytics
All or at least most of us have probably done it — fought off drowsiness while driving. Driving late at night, after a long day, not getting enough sleep the night before or trying to get a few more hours of driving in during a long trip. The...
Article - 08/03/2017
Active Region(s): North America, Readiness Guide Online
Category: Transportation, Analytics
If the explosion of data hasn’t reached your city yet, it will soon. Cities are generating more data than ever, raising questions about how to store and process it all — and keep it secure. And Oakland is a great example of why more cities are...
Article - 07/06/2017
Active Region(s): North America
Category: Analytics, Computing resources, Data management
There's no one-size-fits-all approach to planning a smart city. Cities have different needs, capabilities, budgets, strengths and weaknesses. Some cities can and do start with major city-wide digital transformation projects. Others start on a...
Article - 07/06/2017
Active Region(s): North America
Category: Public safety and security, Transportation, Analytics
At the Council, we define a smart city as one that uses information and communications technology to make itself more livable, workable and sustainable. But what does that look like? You will soon find a model at the Cary, NC, headquarters of SAS....
Article - 06/29/2017
Active Region(s): North America
Category: Built environment, Energy, Analytics
There’s no question that the app-based, private vehicle taxi services Lyft and Uber have dramatically changed the way people get around cities. It’s been hard to quantify their impact, but San Francisco has made an incredible effort. San Francisco...
Article - 06/15/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America, Readiness Guide Online
Category: Transportation, Analytics
It's great when a city has a reputation for being among the best places to live. Business is booming and the economy is growing. But more people also create more traffic headaches. The blog post below describes a solution from Council Partner HERE...
Article - 05/18/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Transportation, Analytics
Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer confined to the realm of science fiction. It’s becoming reality, already playing a role in transforming some corporate call centers. But as the technology grows, it could also radically shape the way that...
Article - 05/18/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Computing resources, Data management
To make your city smart, you have to get smart about using data. At Smart Cities Week Silicon Valley, we brought together three data experts who offer strong advice for helping your city understand what your data is telling you and how to share that...
Article - 05/17/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics
We’ve said it before: data and the effective use of it is what makes a city a smart city. But that doesn’t mean that all of the data needs to be your data. Or that you even need to be the one to find the best and highest use for it.From inspiring...
Article - 04/13/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Citizen engagement, Data management
Data by itself doesn’t make a city smart. What makes a city smart is its ability to act on it immediately. The Internet of Things helps make data in the field a real-time tool, but you still need a strong backbone to carry and process it. That’s why...
Article - 04/06/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Computing resources, Data management
In an age where your smartphone can tell you exactly when you need to leave to arrive on time, for many people, the level of service they get from utilities can seem a bit ancient. After all, water utilities still occasionally surprise homeowners...
Article - 03/30/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Water and wastewater, Analytics, Instrumentation and control
Data — and the ability to act on it in real-time — is the very bedrock of a smart city. But what’s an efficient way to build the data infrastructure you need? San Diego provides a great roadmap.San Diego is using its street lights as a springboard....
Article - 03/09/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Computing resources, Instrumentation and control
Scroll down for quick news takes from Smart Cities Council partners.Transdev joins driverless car projectCouncil Associate Partner Transdev has signed on with the Renault-Nissan Alliance to develop an advanced driverless mobility system intended to...
Article - 03/09/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Energy, Transportation, Water and wastewater, Analytics
Your city may do a good job collecting data, but what do you actually do with it? To get at the insights that can help you truly advance your city, you need a strategy. Uncovering insights that truly make a difference doesn’t happen by accident.We...
Article - 03/02/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Data management
Smart cities are connected cities – and connected cities generate massive amounts of data. In some ways harnessing all that data, making sense of it and using it effectively is a headache. But more and more city leaders are realizing the value of...
Article - 03/02/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Connectivity, Data management, Citizen engagement strategies and tools
It’s easy to be swayed by anecdotes. If someone makes an impassioned plea based on a personal experience, it’s easy to give that view a strong weighting, especially in the absence of strong overall data.New York City’s Car Free Earth Day provides a...
Article - 03/02/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Data management
When an Illinois County public works department realized it needed to significantly expand the scope of its planned water meter reading upgrade to include improved customer billing and service, leak detection and water conservation – and cut costs...
Article - 03/02/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Water and wastewater, Analytics, Data management
When will we see driverless cars on our roads and streets? The estimates vary, but not by much. The consensus seems to be that autonomous vehicles will be in production within four years or so. But that brings a very big question to mind: What do we...
Article - 02/23/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America, Readiness Guide Online
Category: Transportation, Analytics
Violent crime is on the rise, jumping 3.9% in the U.S. in the most recent annual report. And people have noticed. More than half of Americans polled by Gallup say they worry “a great deal” about crime, the highest level of concern in 15 years. The...
Article - 01/19/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Public safety and security, Analytics
Traffic is already one of the biggest drains on a city’s economy — and it’s only going to get worse as cities house a bigger share of the world population. Congestion could cost the UK economy nearly £300 billion between now and 2030. The U.S. could...
Article - 01/12/2017
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Transportation, Analytics
The competition for technicians skilled in IT, Big Data and the other technologies smart cities require has been heating up for some time. A broad range of industries, from banking to manufacturing, need talented IT and analytics professionals, too...
Article - 12/01/2016
Active Region(s): Main, Europe, North America
Category: Built environment, Energy, Health and human services, Analytics
Predictive policing, the process of using data and analytics to anticipate where and when crimes will occur, has taken a lot of heat from critics who say it encourages discrimination against certain segments of the population and racial profiling....
Article - 11/10/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Public safety and security, Analytics, Data management
Wondering how the Internet of Things can deliver valuable benefits in your neighborhoods and downtowns? Then don't miss the new white paper the Council produced with Microsoft; it's loaded with examples of IoT in action in cities around the world....
Article - 11/03/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Citizen engagement, Connectivity
Simone Brody worked in high level occupations in the public and private sectors before heading up the What Works Cities initiative which, among other things, is committed to help cities accelerate their data use to help people improve their lives....
Article - 09/29/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Citizen engagement, Data management
During a game, a ballpark basically becomes a small city. But a few hours before or after it can practically be a ghost town. Those dramatic usage swings set up a tremendous opportunity for waste.In San Diego, however, the cost of running Petco Park...
Article - 08/25/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Energy, Analytics, Instrumentation and control
Funding is often one of the biggest obstacles to city improvement projects, but you don’t always have to find new sources of revenue to fund them. You may be able to do with the funding sources you’re already entitled to collect.We’ve rounded up a...
Article - 08/18/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Payments, Analytics
Building energy management systems figure heavily in ensuring sustainable and livable smart cities by reducing energy costs, reducing pollution (commercial buildings account for a lot of pollution—about 40%) and making the building environment more...
Article - 08/11/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Built environment, Analytics, Connectivity, Data management
If you’re a brand new city, what can you do quickly to make your residents’ lives better? Peachtree Corners, one of Georgia’s newest cities, went digital—digitizing its resources to more efficiently manage its operations and make the public safer.At...
Article - 08/04/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics
It was several years ago that I heard from a French company about a secret to their smart city success. "We always involve the local universities," they explained. "They are a source of innovative ideas, they understand local priorities and they are...
Article - 08/02/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Policy and leadership, Research, publications and web sites
Installing sensors to monitor air quality, traffic, public safety and other aspects of city life isn't a new idea. But Chicago's Array of Things project is different in ways that may give you ideas for your own city. First, the AoT is more than just...
Article - 07/19/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Built environment, Transportation, Analytics, Connectivity
At a time when the relationship between police and citizens in several cities is strained and calls for police accountability and transparency are getting louder, it's encouraging to see a department take the initiative and voluntarily provide...
Article - 07/19/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Public safety and security, Analytics
Standards aren’t just technical specifications to get one system to talk to another. They can also be a valuable tool to make sure your smart cities initiatives are on the right track — and to demonstrate that you’re a good steward of your taxpayers...
Article - 07/07/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Interoperability, Policy frameworks and tools
By Avinash S. Patwardhan and Ken Thompson, CH2MThe Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a technology trend well underway in machine-to-machine communication that is poised to radically change the business environment. It is estimated, by 2020,...
Article - 06/24/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Water and wastewater, Analytics, Security and privacy
By Kathryn Willson, Director, Microsoft CityNextOften we hear about the “public trust.” While its common-law roots refer to the air, rivers, and lands commons to be shared by all citizens, the term today also connotes an attribute of the...
Article - 06/24/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Data management, Security and privacy
By Mike Smith and Jennifer Robinson, SASIn a 2004 bid to make the Republic of Singapore the first “smart” nation, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong began deploying numerous sensors across the island to track everything from cleanliness to traffic....
Article - 06/24/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Data management
Winters in North America can be challenging for some cities. The cold weather drives-up energy consumption costs and snow accumulations can bring road networks to a halt. The 53,510 citizens of Blainville, a city located in the greater...
Article - 06/23/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Data management
Cities have many reasons to get smart. Climate mandates. Economic development. Operational efficiency. New research suggests that you can make gains on these and other goals by working towards smart buildings. First, by updating the city’s own...
Article - 06/22/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Energy, Analytics, Instrumentation and control
A few years ago, only big tech companies had positions like Chief Data Officer or Chief Innovation Officer. Now cities are finding value in the job — as they should.But the job requirements may not be exactly what you expect. Consider Ali Farahani,...
Article - 06/17/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Data management, Policy and leadership
If you live where clean water is plentiful, it may be hard to imagine life for the roughly 1.2 billion people in the world with severe water shortages. And the UN says an additional 500 million people will face similar shortages within a few short...
Article - 06/17/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics
In case you haven't noticed, the smart cities sector is awash in partnering initiatives. Companies are working overtime to pre-integrate their solutions, so cities don't have to take on that onerous challenge. Case in point: The announcement below...
Article - 06/08/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Connectivity, Interoperability
Cities really are in the customer service business. Thus, when it snows and residents can’t get to where they need to go, it’s the city’s problem. Just ask former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. According to Grist Magazine, he lost his 2008 re-election...
Article - 05/19/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Instrumentation and control
By Eric Spiegel, SiemensTwenty-five years ago, the U.S. was thought to have the best infrastructure in the world, but that’s no longer true. The American Society of Civil Engineers’ report card on the state of American infrastructure gave us a D+...
Article - 05/19/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Built environment, Transportation, Analytics
Many cities have energy efficiency at the top of their smart city project list. And no wonder — it improves the environment while saving money while setting an example for the private sector. But setting energy efficiency goals is the easy part. How...
Article - 05/18/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Energy, Analytics, Citizen engagement
As the world becomes more dependent on connectivity and the Internet of Things (millions of web-connected devices, sensors, automated systems, even smart appliances), the menu of targets for cybercriminals grows. But strategies and technologies to...
Article - 05/11/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Security and privacy
If you are not already struggling with a water crisis, you soon will be. Water supplies are already stretched, but they are being stretched among ever greater numbers of people. Old infrastructure is a big part of the problem. It’s tempting to cut...
Article - 05/05/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Water and wastewater, Analytics
Don't think that smart city innovations come only from big cities. Consider, for instance, what is taking place in eastern Washington and parts of Idaho. As you will read below, the regional utility is modernizing its electric and gas infrastructure...
Article - 05/05/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Instrumentation and control
If you’re like most cities, you pay a lot of attention to how much tax revenue you collect. But if you stop there, you could end up in serious budget trouble. A Washington, D.C., tax manager stole nearly $50 million from the city over a 15-year...
Article - 05/05/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Finance and procurement
Nearly a dozen people died in central Texas over Memorial Day weekend last summer when heavy rains triggered flash floods. But their lives likely could have been saved with a data analytics-based warning system that costs only about as much as a...
Article - 04/22/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Water and wastewater, Analytics