local government

Increasing safety used to mean finding budget for additional personnel, vehicles, equipment, radio networks, and other traditional IT. But thanks to an influx of connected technology, cities all over the world are reimagining what’s possible. One question that is on the minds of many government lead…

Safety is a prerequisite for a healthy city economy. Businesses and families move to safer cities. Tourists think about it when deciding where to go for vacation. Events organizers heavily weigh safety when selecting venues. Increasing safety used to mean finding budget for additional personnel, veh…

If we ask why we have traffic, we find that studies show roughly 30% of all traffic congestion in urban areas is caused by drivers circling and struggling to find a parking spot. With cities growing at an estimated 10,000 people per hour, the situation isn’t going to get any better unless cities ma…

What if… …You have access to unlimited computing power at a reasonable price… …Everything is connected to everything else… Then… Would you run cities the same way? Would you live your life the same way? I think you’ll agree that the answer is no. The Internet has already radically changed the way m…

What If… …You have access to unlimited computing power at a reasonable price… …You have access to unlimited storage and bandwidth at a reasonable price… …Everything is connected to everything else… Then… Would you still provide healthcare and education in the same ways? Would you run cities the same…

With the annual New Cities Summit coming up in Dallas, Texas, June 17-19,  we’re kicking off a new thought leadership blog series to explore the transformation of cities through the power of technology and the Internet of Everything (IoE). The series will feature posts with an in-depth look at the j…

One of the great challenges every municipality faces is how to deliver higher quality services to its citizens and businesses while their budgets consistently seem to shrink. Several of Canada’s leading communities are taking a pro-active role and are experimenting with shared services (an outsourci…

The Taiwan city of Taichung was in the spotlight twice this year.  Not bad for a place few had heard of in most parts of the Western world – at least until the Academy Awards broadcast in February.  During that event, Asian-born director Ang Lee, after being named the recipient of four Oscars…

One of the questions I was asked about the awards given by the Intelligent Community Forum is what does it take to become an intelligent community.  I’ll try to summarize what I’ve learned from participating in the ICF as a keynoter, juror and (before Cisco) a leader of a Top 7 community…