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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
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
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
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
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
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
In a lot of cities, open data isn’t very open. The data may be available, but those who want to use it have to poke around what are often complicated websites to identify exactly the right data set and find their analytical tools that can make sense...
Article - 02/05/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Citizen engagement, Computing resources
We've all been predicting that Open Data and other smart city technologies would lead to a new era of government transparency and accountability. But let's be honest -- many cities just give lip service to the concept. Others put up Open Data, but...
Article - 02/05/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Citizen engagement, Data management
Contributed by Neptune Technology GroupIn the fourth year of a severe drought, without runoff, Mammoth Lakes, California, was in danger of running dry. But a switch from monthly to hourly data gave water planners valuable insight to stop water waste...
Article - 01/21/2016
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Water and wastewater, Analytics, Citizen engagement
Between drought, pollution and population growth, water is the new gold in many cities. If you can’t easily find more, then you have to get citizens to use less. How do you do that? Give them precise information about how much they are using and...
Article - 12/04/2015
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Water and wastewater, Analytics, Citizen engagement
Everybody wants to talk when things are going well, but a new report on smart cities successes uncovers some valuable insights by looking deeper at the underachievers. One key lesson: forgetting who your smart cities initiatives are for will put you...
Article - 06/24/2015
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Citizen engagement, Computing resources
When talking about smart cities, it’s easy to get caught up in the technical wizardry. But Schneider Electric's Charbel Aoun says the real story is what it actually does for people.Schneider Electric is a Council Lead Partner. Aoun, its president...
Article - 06/17/2015
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Citizen engagement, Computing resources
What began as a class project could provide inspiration for cities that are looking to become smarter. Four college students in California studied the state’s cities to see how smart they are -- and what the smartest cities have in common. The...
Article - 06/10/2015
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Citizen engagement, Policy and leadership
There’s never been a time when it has been so easy for cities large and small to buy technology and expertise. But for the investment to be a success, it’s not just what they buy — it’s how they buy it.Council Lead Partner IBM conducts an annual...
Article - 05/20/2015
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Citizen engagement, Finance and procurement, Financing and procurement tools
The latest initiative from Bloomberg Philanthropies aims to help mid-size cities better use data and evidence to make government more effective and improve people's lives. U.S. cities with populations between 100,000 and 1 million people are invited...
Article - 04/24/2015
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Citizen engagement
Many cities have big ideas. Few cities have the big resources needed to make them reality. But rather than sitting back and watching the world pass them by, some are finding enterprising ways to take on projects that would seem to be beyond their...
Article - 04/22/2015
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Built environment, Economic development, Analytics, Citizen engagement, Citizen engagement strategies and tools
As technology rapidly improves, the services that citizens need and expect from their cities also grows. But even cities that use technology to make incremental improvements may soon be left behind -– if they haven’t been already. A new report finds...
Article - 04/15/2015
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Smart City Concepts, Analytics, Citizen engagement, Policy and leadership
It’s been said that water is the new gold. California just imposed its first statewide water restrictions in response to a historic drought. Australia, which for a decade suffered from a severe drought it called the Big Dry, is still struggling to...
Article - 04/03/2015
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Water and wastewater, Analytics, Citizen engagement, Instrumentation and control
A city in southwest England will soon be covered by a wireless umbrella designed to connect everything, allowing enterprising researchers to find new uses for the data that’s generated. The goal is to turn the city of Bristol into a hotbed of smart...
Article - 03/13/2015
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Analytics, Citizen engagement, Computing resources, Connectivity, Interoperability, SCC Spotlight Cities
As cities around the world face climate change mandates, energy efficiency should be a no-brainer. It's something everyone can help with, including everyday citizens as this story illustrates.If you were to ask most people, they would probably tell...
Article - 01/23/2015
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Energy, Analytics, Citizen engagement
Council Lead Partner IBM has launched a series of humanitarian efforts to help contain the spread of Ebola in Africa. They include:A citizen engagement and analytics system in Sierra Leone that enables communities affected by Ebola to...
Article - 10/29/2014
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Health and human services, Analytics, Citizen engagement, Connectivity
By Eric WoodsNavigant ResearchThe latest report on smart cities from Navigant Research forecasts that annual smart city technology investment will reach $27.5 billion by 2023. Total cumulative investment over the next decade...
Article - 07/16/2014
Active Region(s): Main
Category: Energy, Analytics, Citizen engagement, Interoperability
Smart grids and smart cities share many things, including a common mistake. Executives often think they can't get "smart" until they install a whole bunch of sensors. In fact, most grids and most cities already have mountains of data. For instance,...
Article - 09/25/2013
Active Region(s): Main
Category: Public safety and security, Analytics, Citizen engagement, Data management, Policy and leadership
You will want to skim this Economist article on smart cities for its warnings about what could go wrong; for its hints on the things that are stalling the market; for its anecdotes of cities doing it right; and for its optimistic conclusion that the...
Article - 09/11/2013
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Public safety and security, Analytics, Citizen engagement, Data management, Policy and leadership
In theory, getting people onto bicycles can solve many of a city's congestion and emissions problems. In practice, cities often spend far too much on "soft" campaigns that try to talk people into giving up their cars. Far too often cities pay lots...
Article - 07/23/2013
Active Region(s): Main, North America
Category: Health and human services, Transportation, Analytics, Citizen engagement, Connectivity
This news from IBM described below illustrates several important trends:Health and human services heavily impact livability. Health and human services are an often overlooked but increasingly important part of the smart cities equation. Cities that...
Article - 04/18/2013
Active Region(s): Main
Category: Health and human services, Analytics, Citizen engagement, Data management, Policy and leadership
Building smarter, more sustainable cities requires the support of public, private and civic stakeholders. Envision Charlotte is charting a new course. By taking a holistic and integrated approach to engaging these disparate groups and demonstrating...
Resources - 07/04/2014
Active Region(s): Main, North America, Readiness Guide Online
Category: Built environment, Energy, Water and wastewater, Analytics, Citizen engagement
If any company has carved out mind share as a smart cities thought leader, it is IBM. And the man responsible for IBM's smart cities messaging worldwide is Rich Michos, Vice President Marketing, Smarter Cities. There's a lot underneath that...
Resources - 05/14/2013
Active Region(s): Main, North America, Readiness Guide Online
Category: Analytics, Citizen engagement, Data management, Interoperability, Policy and leadership