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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”

How one San Francisco-area city found its own “cool”:: What does it take to make a dull city smart? Longtime San Francisco-area chief innovation officer has answers

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This post was originally published on Datadoodle on September 6, 2019

Imagine the moment your boss makes it clear why he hired you, and it’s not the reason he once gave you. You’re three months into your new job as chief innovation officer in a decidedly uncool suburban city near San Francisco. You’d been told the job was all about a new fiber-optic loop. Now, you hear, it’s all about making the place “cool.”

The moment comes at a city council meeting. The mayor bangs his fist on the dais and says to council members and staff, “Look, I just want this city to be cool.… Read the rest “How one San Francisco-area city found its own “cool”:: What does it take to make a dull city smart? Longtime San Francisco-area chief innovation officer has answers”

“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)”