smartercities: What Exactly Is A Smart City? | Co.Exist Having worked in the smart cities space for several years now, I am encouraged by the growth of the sector and the pace of technological advancements being developed for urban environments. However, I believe that the smart-cities movement is being held back by a lack of clarity and consensus around what a smart city is and what the components of a smart city actually are. While some people continue to take a narrow view of smart cities by seeing them as places that make better use of information and communication technology (ICT), the cities I work with (and most of the participants in the #smartchat, a monthly Twitterchat about smart cities held on the first Wednesday of each month) all view smart cities as a broad, integrated approach to improving the efficiency of city operations, the quality of life for its citizens, and growing the local economy. Later this year, I’ll publish my annual rankings of smart cities here on Co.Exist. In order to improve them, I have been working on a new rubric for smart cities, that I call the Smart Cities Wheel.

smartercities:

What Exactly Is A Smart City? | Co.Exist

Having worked in the smart cities space for several years now, I am encouraged by the growth of the sector and the pace of technological advancements being developed for urban environments. However, I believe that the smart-cities movement is being held back by a lack of clarity and consensus around what a smart city is and what the components of a smart city actually are.

While some people continue to take a narrow view of smart cities by seeing them as places that make better use of information and communication technology (ICT), the cities I work with (and most of the participants in the #smartchat, a monthly Twitterchat about smart cities held on the first Wednesday of each month) all view smart cities as a broad, integrated approach to improving the efficiency of city operations, the quality of life for its citizens, and growing the local economy.

Later this year, I’ll publish my annual rankings of smart cities here on Co.Exist. In order to improve them, I have been working on a new rubric for smart cities, that I call the Smart Cities Wheel.

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partneringeminence:

IBM Smarter Planet

Are you feeling unsure how a big, lofty idea such as Smarter Planet ties into what you are doing on a day-to-day basis as an IBM Software Business Partner?

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Read Jacqlyn Levy’s blog “What the IBM Software Story Means for Business Partners ” as she explains how the IBM’s Smarter Planet vision and strategy can help you generate new business opportunities.

Follow the Smarter Planet and related conversations on Tumblr:

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Amsterdam’s ZonSpots to Provide “Green” WiFi Around the City The City of Amsterdam is about to install so-called Zonspots (‘Sun Spots’) — small open air sun-powered desks with a shelter on top. There will be power to plug-in laptops and Wi-Fi, free of charge. The ZonSpots have a main goal in informing people about alternative energy and are supported by the Amsterdam Smart City program.

Amsterdam’s ZonSpots to Provide “Green” WiFi Around the City

The City of Amsterdam is about to install so-called Zonspots (‘Sun Spots’) — small open air sun-powered desks with a shelter on top. There will be power to plug-in laptops and Wi-Fi, free of charge.

The ZonSpots have a main goal in informing people about alternative energy and are supported by the Amsterdam Smart City program.

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At IBM we recognise that a sustainable future is most likely to be achieved when sustainability produces tangible business benefits. That’s why we’re so excited about the Start initiative - it’s about taking positive steps to create a world that works better, just like our Smarter Planet agenda.

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Make: Online : Top ten “internet of things” videos

Deane Rimerman, of ReadWriteWeb, put together a top ten list of YouTube’s most popular videos introducing the concepts behind the “internet of things” (basically sensors and microcontrollers connected to the internets). Our “Introduction of Arduino” video, from 2007, starring Bre Pettis and Joe Grand, is #2 on the list.

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IBM and Columbia Univ. Prepare Students for Green Job Market

An increasing number of businesses, communities and governments around the world are undertaking transformation projects to make aging infrastructures such as buildings, electricity grids and transportation systems more sustainable. To ensure students have the right skills to take on these challenges, the Center for Technology, Innovation and Community Engagement (CTICE), part of Columbias Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS), and IBM (NYSE:IBM) are launching a new joint initiative to provide technology resources to college students that will prepare them for the emerging green economy

(via jgluckibm)

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Join The SeeClickFix Challenge on the Smarter Cities Scan

SeeClickFix empowers residents to actively care for and improve their neighborhoods.

Welcome to the SeeClickFix Challenge: Feb 8-21 on the

Smarter Cities asked if this great new service wanted to use our platform to share user suggestions and success stories on its citizen-powered service. So here’s the SCF challenge: over the next two weeks share your SeeClickFix story.

How can communities and towns put SCF to new uses. Got a question? Use the Ask feature and you shall be answered.  Got something fixed via SCF? Post a story. Fixed something? Do tell.

Already have a Tumblr site? Tag your post “scfchallenge” and we can reblog your contribution straight into the collaboration.

About SeeClickFix. SCF enables anyone to:

  • See - spot a non-emergency issue in your neighborhood
  • Click - open a ticket describing the issue and what can be done to resolve it
  • Fix - publicly report the issue to everyone for resolution

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SmarterCities New York City: October 1/2 2009 Shanghai: 2010

IBM will host two unique gatherings, SmarterCities, in 2009, on June 23-24, in Berlin, and October 1-2, in New York City. SmarterCities will explore how progressive cities are modernizing to spur economic development, drive greater innovation, transform for competitive advantage and meet the pressing demands of a more engaged and intelligent citizenry. These are the first two in a series of SmarterCities gatherings hosted by IBM in collaboration with major partners across the globe.

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Much ado has been made about smart grid energy management, but what about smart water management? IBM and the Netherlands city of Rotterdam are collaborating on a forecasting system for water and energy management. The dashboard-based system—the first of its kind—will collect and analyze real-time data on ocean, rivers, and weather, all in a move to make Rotterdam the first Smart Delta City. (via Rotterdam: The Smart Delta City of the Future | Sustainability | Fast Company)

Much ado has been made about smart grid energy management, but what about smart water management? IBM and the Netherlands city of Rotterdam are collaborating on a forecasting system for water and energy management. The dashboard-based system—the first of its kind—will collect and analyze real-time data on ocean, rivers, and weather, all in a move to make Rotterdam the first Smart Delta City. (via Rotterdam: The Smart Delta City of the Future | Sustainability | Fast Company)

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Rotterdam and IBM to Build First Smart Delta City BERLIN, June 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — At the SmarterCities forum today in Berlin, the city of Rotterdam, one of the main hubs of the Dutch economy and the largest port in Europe, announced a collaboration with IBM (NYSE: IBM) to design and test a monitoring and forecasting system for smarter management of water and energy. The advanced information integration system will bring together multiple data streams from currently unrelated sources in the region, rivers and estuary to provide an overview of current and developing conditions.

Rotterdam and IBM to Build First Smart Delta City

BERLIN, June 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — At the SmarterCities forum today in Berlin, the city of Rotterdam, one of the main hubs of the Dutch economy and the largest port in Europe, announced a collaboration with IBM (NYSE: IBM) to design and test a monitoring and forecasting system for smarter management of water and energy. The advanced information integration system will bring together multiple data streams from currently unrelated sources in the region, rivers and estuary to provide an overview of current and developing conditions.

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L.A: Accessing GIS data to protect the community

Los Angeles replaced its legacy database to provide a more comprehensive set of data to improve critical decision-making in emergency situations.

IBM - IBM & ESRI Case Study

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Olympic transport measures in Beijing were a great success, but the British capital may still have some important lessons to teach the Chinese capital about managing traffic. Worldchanging: Bright Green: Can Congestion Charging Soothe Beijing’s Woes?

Olympic transport measures in Beijing were a great success, but the British capital may still have some important lessons to teach the Chinese capital about managing traffic.

Worldchanging: Bright Green: Can Congestion Charging Soothe Beijing’s Woes?

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