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RESEARCHERS AT NUI Maynooth have been given €2.3m of funding for a major five-year project which will analyse how software and technology can influence life in a city.

Professor Rob Kitchin, director of the National Institute of Regional and Spatial Analysis at NUI, will lead the research which will focus on two cities: Dublin and Boston in the US. Boston is ranked number one on a global index of ‘smart’ cities while Dublin is a key tech hub in Europe and is home to IBM’s Smarter Cities Technology Centre.

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Dublin to be studied in its capacity as a ‘smart city’

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IBM100 - Colloquia – IBM Research – Smarter Cities Technology Centre The Science of Cities Dublin, Ireland October 26-27, 2011IBM Research & Development – Ireland, a Smarter Cities Technology Centre in Dublin, Ireland is bringing together esteemed leaders from academia, government, and industry to discuss and debate the most pressing issues of urbanisation and the future of science and technology required to address the challenges and aspirations of cities. Cities are vibrant hubs of life, engines that drive the global economy, and proving grounds for social and technological innovation. However, while cities offer the economies of scale needed to cope with the world’s increasing population, contemporary urban infrastructures are plagued by pollution, resource inefficiencies, unreliability, crime, and social inequities. The Science of Cities Colloquium is focused on bringing computer science and mathematical expertise to bear on the challenges of transportation, water, energy, and urban information systems. It will enable researchers and city leaders from diverse domains to make new connections, engage in thought-provoking conversations, and identify directions that will drive new progress. The Colloquium is being held at the IBM Technology Campus, Dublin, Ireland on October 26th and 27th, in conjunction with the Opening Ceremony for the new IBM Research and Development – Ireland facility.

IBM100 - Colloquia – IBM Research – Smarter Cities Technology Centre

The Science of Cities

Dublin, Ireland
October 26-27, 2011

IBM Research & Development – Ireland, a Smarter Cities Technology Centre in Dublin, Ireland is bringing together esteemed leaders from academia, government, and industry to discuss and debate the most pressing issues of urbanisation and the future of science and technology required to address the challenges and aspirations of cities.


Cities are vibrant hubs of life, engines that drive the global economy, and proving grounds for social and technological innovation. However, while cities offer the economies of scale needed to cope with the world’s increasing population, contemporary urban infrastructures are plagued by pollution, resource inefficiencies, unreliability, crime, and social inequities.


The Science of Cities Colloquium is focused on bringing computer science and mathematical expertise to bear on the challenges of transportation, water, energy, and urban information systems. It will enable researchers and city leaders from diverse domains to make new connections, engage in thought-provoking conversations, and identify directions that will drive new progress.


The Colloquium is being held at the IBM Technology Campus, Dublin, Ireland on October 26th and 27th, in conjunction with the Opening Ceremony for the new IBM Research and Development – Ireland facility.

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Learn about the new ways in which federal and municipal stakeholders are collaborating to promote the economic, physical, and social development of small- to mid-sized cities. Speakers will share their knowledge about successful strategies for economic and social development and discuss opportunities and challenges faced by their growing cities in these difficult economic times.

Conference topics will include economic development, the creative economy, sustainability, transportation, housing, education, etc. The conference will provide a forum for dialogue on these issues and offer participants a chance to contribute their thoughts toward concrete policy proposals. This is an opportunity to help shape an effective strategy for urban America.

Speakers from six cities will present best practices in use at each of their own municipalities:

  • Ann Arbor, Michigan
  • Asheville, North Carolina
  • Belfast, Northern Ireland
  • Lowell, Massachusetts
  • Milwaukee, Wisconsin
  • Portland, Oregon

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Let road users design their own roads

Recently a traffic junction on my drive home was changed from a roundabout (traffic circle or rotary) to a set of traffic lights. Sitting at this junction every day I am convinced the old road layout moved everyone through quicker, but who listens to me? I only pay for the road and use it daily. 

What I would like as a road user (cyclists, walkers, bus users etc also to be included) is to be able to have a real input into road changes. Currently I can visit the city offices and view large charts displaying proposed changes and make a submission. Realistically this is never going to gather very much input from road users. Software like Arcady is currently used by many planners, couldn’t these be developed further to interact with the public?

A smarter city will go further than fancy websites though. It will actively look for my input. It will show me the thinking behind road changes, ask me what I think or how I would do it differently.

My journey is one of multiple junctions, each effecting the other. Is anyone looking at everyone’s full journeys and crunching the numbers? Currently junctions on main routes are seen as connected when planning traffic flow - but the real picture for most journeys is way more complicated. I’d like my smarter city to listen to my car, tracking my journeys; telling me quicker routes, telling me what they are learning from my route and how that effects their planning; asking me to explain behavior that doesn’t seem logical but may make sense to me (I like driving past farms rather than industry for example).

Urban driving is a world-wide experience. We could do this better. Reduce journey times and fuel consumption, improve the road user experience for all involved. Harness the data that is out there and use cloud computing to crunch it up and make some better plans. A city that listens and learns from us. A smarter city.

Patrick Connolly, #gdchallenge

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  A Smarter hub for Dublin | A Smarter Planet Blog IBM opens its first Smarter Cities Technology Centre in Dublin, Ireland  A smarter city needs a smart hub – a place where experts and researchers from different disciplines can meet and collaborate with local authorities, central government and academia, developing and applying technologies that will help the city make more informed, better decisions for its citizens. For Dublin and its wider city region, this hub will be IBM’s newly announced Smarter Cities Technology Centre. 

  A Smarter hub for Dublin | A Smarter Planet Blog

IBM opens its first Smarter Cities Technology Centre in Dublin, Ireland

 A smarter city needs a smart hub – a place where experts and researchers from different disciplines can meet and collaborate with local authorities, central government and academia, developing and applying technologies that will help the city make more informed, better decisions for its citizens. For Dublin and its wider city region, this hub will be IBM’s newly announced Smarter Cities Technology Centre. 

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Greenlight for Stockholm

Of course we all know about the success of the introduction of congestion charging in Stockholm, but there is a lot more to Stockholm and it’s fascinating to look in more detail at the many initiatives Stockholm has for making this city even greener and more liveable, covering transport, water, energy, waste and other key city systems. Stockholm being nominated ‘The European Green Capital 2010’ is just one step on the way - there is a broad and ambitious vision in place for 2030, and by 2050 Stockholm wants to be carbon-free.

Susanne Dirks, IBM Institute of Business Value

Economic Development Centre, Dublin, Ireland

Twitter: @susannedirks

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