In a 2018 report completed by the Eden Strategy Institute, 12 of the globe’s 20 smartest cities were located in the USA. Founded upon a spirit of innovation, it is perhaps no surprise that many of the country’s smart cities are so high-ranking, providing inspiration to other cities all over the world. Following our exploration of 4 up-and-coming North American Smart Cities in Part 1, we’ve chosen to take a brief look at 4 of the most prominent smart cities in the country in Part 2. From 2018’s highest ranking smart city worldwide, New York, to its start-up hub, San Francisco, we’ll take you through some of the smartest initiatives the US has to offer.
Topic: blockchain
11 MIN. READ
Leading North American Smart Cities to Watch in 2019
By Lily Maxwell on Sep 25, 2019 10:55:27 AM
Topics:
Smart Government
Smart Mobility
Open Data
Civic Engagement
Smart Planning
Blockchain
New York City
IoT
Smart Infrastructure
Urban Infrastructure
Seattle
Big Apple
San Francisco
Boston
Smart Transportation
12 MIN. READ
Bob Bennett on the Role of Technology in Smart Cities and the Benefits for Citizens
By Lily Maxwell on Jul 10, 2019 10:46:02 AM
Bob Bennett, the former Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) of Kansas City talked in our Smart City Leader Interview Series - while he still was the CIO of Kansas City - about the importance of smart cities and smart citizens. He emphasized the role of technology and the benefits for citizens.
Topics:
Broadband Connectivity
Innovation
Smart City
Public Private Partnership
Smart Citizens
Digital Inclusion
Blockchain
Future Cities
Civic Participation
CIO
Infrastructure
Smart City Initiatives
Knowledge Sharing
New Technologies
Urban Infrastructure
Smart Water
Kansas City
PPP
Urban Data Platform
Sensors
Data Privacy
11 MIN. READ
Rob van Gijzel on the Importance of Smart Cities & Smart Citizens
By Lily Maxwell on Jun 10, 2019 8:12:22 PM
Rob van Gijzel, the former Mayor of Eindhoven and current Chairman of the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) Foundation in New York and National Ambassador for the Blockchain Cities Coalition speaks about the importance of smart cities and smart citizens.
Topics:
Smart City
Intelligent Community Forum
Eindhoven
Inclusivity
Urban Innovation
Blockchain
Future Cities
Regulation
Sustainable Urban Development
Smart City Initiatives
New Technologies
Rob van Gijzel
Smart Society
Humanize Data and Technology
Smart City Strategies
Socially Beneficial
13 MIN. READ
Boyd Cohen on the Future of Smart Cities: Sustainability, Technology & Citizen-Centricity
By Lily Maxwell on May 28, 2019 12:56:28 AM
The importance of smart cities & smart citizens: In our interview series, smart city leaders comment on the future of smart cities, the role of technology, and the benefits for citizens. In our second interview of the series, we have asked urban strategist and smart city expert Boyd Cohen to share his expertise, thoughts and insights with us on a number of important smart city topics.
Topics:
Co-Creation
Smart City
Internet of Things (IoT)
Sustainability
Renewable Energy
Smart Citizens
Urban Innovation
Blockchain
Blockchain Cities
IoMob
Urban Mobility
Regulation
Citizen-Centric
Smart City Initiatives
5 MIN. READ
Estonia: Smart Nation on the Baltic Sea
By Mike Barlow and Cornelia Levy-Bencheton on Feb 13, 2019 3:07:32 PM
What does it take to turn a national bureaucracy into a smart government? It’s not too often a country is given a clean slate from which to start. But for Estonia, a small nation on the Baltic Sea, that is exactly what happened.
A combination of pragmatism and instinct led Estonia to develop an e-government in the 1990s, soon after the country regained its independence from the Soviet Union. The Estonians didn’t pursue a digital future because they thought it would be cool or trendy. They followed their common sense, which told them it would be better to expend their limited resources on servers and networks, rather than on grand buildings and government palaces.
Topics:
Smart Government
Transparency
Blockchain
Smart Cities, Smart Future
E-Government
Smart Nation
Estonia
X-Road
E-Estonia
Digital ID
9 MIN. READ
Blockchain Technologies: The Next Frontier of Smart Cities - Part 2
By Lily Maxwell on Aug 20, 2018 10:06:01 AM
As we discussed in our previous article (Blockchain: The Next Frontier of Smart Cities - Part 1), blockchain has the potential to transform our communities, making the places we call home more collaborative, democratic and sustainable places. It is no surprise then, that a whole bunch of cities - from Santiago de Chile, Toronto, Tel Aviv, Oslo, and Milan, to London, and Stockholm - are already developing blockchain-based projects. Dubai is going even further, aiming to become the world’s first fully ‘blockchain-powered city’ by 2020. Lofty ideals aside, as we examined in part 1, blockchain does actually seem to offer some concrete benefits for communities, as we shall see below.
Topics:
Smart City Solutions
Collective Intelligence
Transparency
Smart City
Internet of Things (IoT)
Smart Cities
Decentralized Governance
Democratic Participation
Blockchain
Data Security
Data Control
Blockchain Cities
IoMob
Security
Behavioral Change
Trust
Safety
10 MIN. READ
Blockchain: The Next Frontier of Smart Cities - Part 1
By Lily Maxwell on Aug 10, 2018 12:06:36 PM
Blockchain is a hot topic. Until very recently, it was associated almost exclusively with cryptocurrency - bitcoin, ethereum etc. However, the power of blockchain to revolutionize the way we exchange goods and services, and transform how we govern - above and beyond the cryptocurrency hype - is increasingly being recognized. When it comes to cities, the transformative potential of this technology is enormous. From enabling P2P energy-sharing systems, as in New York’s ‘Transactive Grid’, which allows local residents to generate, buy and sell their own solar energy, to encouraging behavioral change - for instance through SocialCoin’s blockchain and AI-based ‘social good’ currency (see e.g. the Citibeats solution) - and much more - blockchain is offering new opportunities to create more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable communities. As such, blockchain is likely to be an increasingly central enabler of smart city innovation worldwide. In this article, we will explore the potential benefits of blockchain in an urban context.
Topics:
Collective Intelligence
Smart Collaboration
Smart City
Smart Cities
Decentralized Governance
Democratic Participation
Blockchain
Shared Ownership
Data Security
Data Control
Blockchain Cities
IoMob
CityMapper