All cities are unique, however they all face common challenges maintaining economic growth, managing population shifts, maximizing resources and supporting the social and cultural ecosystem that attach residents to community. At the same time, 49% of the world’s population is connected online and an estimated 8.4 billion connected things are in use worldwide. By 2025, approximately 80 billion devices will be connected to the Internet and an anticipated 180 zettabytes of data created. …there are likely more devices connected to the Internet than people in the world today.
A ‘Smart City’ harnesses digital technology and intelligent design to create sustainable solutions to challenges. The “smartness” of a city is not about technology per se, but how well technology is integrated into the solutions that address these common challenges. Resident engagement and a city governance model that enables residents, private enterprise, philanthropy and civic leaders to collaborate and co-create engaging visions for the future of their communities is required.
Session Two will focus on implications for participants and ethical questions.
Zoom Link