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How smart is “smart cities”? :: “Smart cities” is a sales gimmick for a vision with real benefits

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How do you explain the “smart cities” idea? How do you do it on a first date, as I had to do not long ago?

She asked, “So, what do you write about?” That I wrote about “smart cities” was already on the record. First, you sip your beer. Then you set out to jump over the gimmicky “smart” and into the noble “cities.”

I say “smart cities” because it’s widely recognized. But like many of us, I have to hold my nose when I say it. “Smart” sounds like another cheap dream, another little experiment by people eager to flaunt their tech while they conceal its frailties and hide your personal data’s murky destination.… Read the rest “How smart is “smart cities”? :: “Smart cities” is a sales gimmick for a vision with real benefits”

Coaxing a city into the digital age :: Architecture leader at GE Digital, a mom, born in Pakistan, and the first woman of color to be elected to the San Ramon (CA) city council (republished from August 2019)

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Take a look at the San Ramon City Council’s official portrait and see what you notice. What’s hard to miss is four white men of about Boomer age standing shoulder to shoulder — and in line with them one young woman rising just above their belly height. She’s about to shake things up there by coaxing the city into the digital age.

She’s Sabina Zafar, architecture leader at GE Digital, a mom, born in Pakistan, and the first woman of color to be elected to the city council. She knew from the start her job wouldn’t be easy, as she’s found out since being elected in November 2018, later as vice-mayor.… Read the rest “Coaxing a city into the digital age :: Architecture leader at GE Digital, a mom, born in Pakistan, and the first woman of color to be elected to the San Ramon (CA) city council (republished from August 2019)”

“Dean of Big Data” Bill Schmarzo: “smart” takes a community :: Cash-strapped cities get help from volunteer coders (Reposted and updated)

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“I love civic tech,” says the data industry’s “Dean of Big Data” Bill Schmarzo, renowned data science and data monetization strategic advisor. He loves it, and he has ideas about how to make it work. It takes more than love to bear fruit.

Civic tech is possibly the most exciting aspect of “smart cities” today. Think of it: Cities want the technology to make them work better, but they have no money. What’s slightly more plentiful are talented young and not so young coders willing to help. Many of them are millennials, and they see a world that needs fixing.… Read the rest ““Dean of Big Data” Bill Schmarzo: “smart” takes a community :: Cash-strapped cities get help from volunteer coders (Reposted and updated)”

The infuriating quirks of local-government procurement :: Fascinating too, the mixed feelings like of training a puppy

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If you must ask why “smart cities” are more interesting than “data driven” business, just ponder the quirks of city procurement. Though infuriating to tech vendors, they are a mix of infuriating and fascinating to those with a wider view. It’s the kind of mix you feel when your puppy poops on the rug.

Transportation consultant Bob McQueen tells of one case in which “smart” takes a messy path. It starts with freeways in dense fog, common in the California Central Valley. The almond, apricot, cherry, peach and pistachio orchards thrive, but drivers sometimes die. For one driver after another, a car or semi trailer they didn’t know was there appears just a few feet ahead.… Read the rest “The infuriating quirks of local-government procurement :: Fascinating too, the mixed feelings like of training a puppy”