
Smart Cities
What’s a ‘smart’ city? There’s no one definition. For many city leaders — and especially the private sector — the term has become a shorthand for technology that makes cities work better or more efficiently.
Scroll down to see all of Meeting of the Minds blog posts, talks, and upcoming events related to smart and sustainable cities.
Recent Events Related to Smart Cities
Webinar: Innovating and Managing Transit in the Era of New Mobility
On November 14, 2018, Meeting of the Minds hosted a free, live webinar featuring AJ O’Connor of TriMet and Adrian Pearmine of DKS Associates. We discussed the emergence of new mobility technologies, partnerships and opportunities in the transportation sector.
Webinar: Sacramento’s Urban Innovation Agenda
The City of Sacramento recently announced a $100M partnership with Verizon making Sacramento the first city in the country with commercially available 5G. The move will provide robust broadband infrastructure for a host of new smart city technologies and strategies to be deployed.
Recent Blog Posts Related to Smart Cities
Middle-Mile Networks: The Middleman of Internet Connectivity
The development of public, open-access middle mile infrastructure can expand internet networks closer to unserved and underserved communities while offering equal opportunity for ISPs to link cost effectively to last mile infrastructure. This strategy would connect more Americans to high-speed internet while also driving down prices by increasing competition among local ISPs.
In addition to potentially helping narrow the digital divide, middle mile infrastructure would also provide backup options for networks if one connection pathway fails, and it would help support regional economic development by connecting businesses.
Digitally Connected Campuses Offer Enhanced Experiences
Following such a tumultuous school year where change was the only constant, perhaps there is no greater opportunity for colleges and universities to reimagine their campuses than there is today. To stay relevant in today’s increasingly competitive educational marketplace, schools must embrace the smart technologies that will enhance the collegiate experience and ensure seamless operations regardless of the next crises. By being proactive and planning now, schools can install the robust communications backbone and agile infrastructure necessary to support emerging technologies and create the connected campus of the future.
How Cities Are Preparing for the Future of Work
Given the rapidly changing “future of work” space and the impact on our cities over the last 15 months, I decided to catch up with Robert Hoyle Brown to get the latest trends and insights on where we are now and where we are headed next.
Their new report “21 Places of the Future” touches on the key drivers for the creation of jobs in relation to place. We discussed how architectural heritage is tied to jobs and place. We also discussed how people matter and the future role of philosophers and ethicists in our data-driven world. Given the recent cyber attacks on US companies, we discussed the role of cybersecurity as a driver for the creation of jobs, including the jobs of cyber attack agent and cyber calamity forecaster. And we discussed the future of virtual workplaces. Here to stay, go, or evolve? Take a look.