Technology
A broad category of content focused on technology in cities.
Examples: IoT, privacy, software, hardware, innovation, connectivity
Leveraging Big Data & Analytics to Revitalize Brownfields
Brownfields are sites that are vacant or underutilized due to environmental contamination, real or imagined. There are brownfields of some kind in virtually every city and town in the U.S., usually related to a gas station, dry cleaner, auto repair shop, car dealership or some other ubiquitous local business that once benefited the community it now burdens with environmental hazards or old buildings.
In addressing this issue, technology has not been effectively deployed to promote redevelopment of these sites and catalyze community revitalization. We find that the question around the use of technology and data in advancing the redevelopment of brownfields is twofold:
How can current and future technology advancements be applied to upgrade existing brownfield modeling tools? And then, how can those modeling tools be used to accelerate transformative, sustainable, and smart redevelopment and community revitalization?
Bridging Divides in International Transportation Planning
Featuring Chris Zegras
Meeting of the Minds took a few moments to talk with Chris Zegras about the use of technology in interactive urban planning, multi-disciplinary transportation education, and Bus Rapid Transit Oriented Development. He is Associate Professor of Transportation and Urban Planning at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP). He teaches, leads large-scale research, and consults on a range of topics, from data collection to behavioral analysis, integrated land use transportation planning and modeling, and project and policy analysis. He is also Lead Principal Investigator for the Future Urban Mobility Interdisciplinary Research Group under the Singapore MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), an Executive Board member of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Centre of Excellence, and the lead for the Mobility Futures Collaborative.
In Cleveland, Bridging the Digital Divide and Workforce Training Gets a Boost
I don’t consider myself a techie. I don’t know how to code, I couldn’t tell you the first thing about how my iPhone works and although I grasp the idea of data science, I’m by no means a practitioner. Despite this and the fact that my educational background is in...
Tangled up in Blockchain: Blockchain, communities and their global implications for a new energy paradigm
The promise: Off grid communities producing and sharing resilient, cost-effective solar energy without an electricity supplier, and generating a SolarCoins as added income…. Communities in major cities choosing the price or type of electricity generation moment by...
San Jose Tackles Challenge of Digital Equity
As the Capital of Silicon Valley, San José is the “center of the universe” for innovation and disruptive technologies powered by the Internet economy. The San José metro area is the most connected region in the United States according to the 2015 American Communities...
Why Cities Should Operate Their Own Top Level Domains
When we think of destinations on the Internet, we think of web addresses that often end in “.com” or “.net” or even “.us”. These strings to the right of the dot are called “top level domains” (TLDs) and until recently the choices of available TLDs was limited. There...
Connecting the Dots Towards Well-Being
Every year, the U.S. Census Bureau fields more than 130 surveys, collecting literally hundreds of millions of data points that tell us how people in our country of nearly 320 million are faring. This is not counting other public, non-governmental and private data...
SCE Replaces Nukes and Gas with Renewables + Storage
Southern California Edison (SCE) serves 15 million people in Southern California. SCE’s power generators and over 12,000 employees keep on the lights and charge 100,000 electric vehicles. SCE delivers reliable electricity in the face of enormous challenges. Two large...
Coaxing Us into the Shared, Autonomous and Electric Future
“Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window… but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.” – Mark Twain Many of us in sustainability and smart cities circles often dream of a future where people can get everywhere they need to go with great...
Autonomous Vehicles: Where Are We Now, and Where Are We Headed?
Editor’s Note: The following article is a synopsis of Workshop #4 from Meeting of the Minds 2016. The author, however, has done a thorough job of researching the most current status of the technology, deployment, and regulations surrounding autonomous vehicles....
Internet of Things (IoT) Smart Cities: Emerging Standards and Guidance
While we are increasingly aware of threats to our personal information, the reach of such threats really can be baffling. Who would have guessed that one day your refrigerator may put your identity information at risk? As the Internet of Things’ (IoT) reach continues...