5 Ways The Smart City Will Change How We Live In 2012

‘A city’s infrastructure is comprised of a number of systems, including transportation, sewage, utility, and public and private buildings. Urbanization and proliferation of these systems are key to quality of life, but also create a significant toll on the sustainability, energy efficiency and capacity level of a city. Smarter buildings technologies can help the government make it possible to better “listen” to the abundance of information emitted from buildings. This includes thousands, if not millions, of data points produced each week from a proliferation of embedded technologies in data centers, water delivery systems, heating and air-conditioning, security devices, and office equipment.’

Read more about Co.Exist’s 5 top trends for smarter cities

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RedZone Robotics - Saving time, money & the environment in an industry that needs it more than ever

One of our biggest and least recognized problems in the U.S. is with our aging sewer infrastructure. The EPA estimates that between $300-500 billion is needed to rehabilitate our infrastructure. The average age of a U.S. pipeline is 76 years and today this is leading to big problems for municipalities. RedZone Robotics is a leading innovator in Robotic Inspection platforms for wastewater infrastructure. They give the tools necessary to make informed and important decisions about a city’s assets so that the limited funds available are used in the right way. RedZone’s robots are able to inspect more feet in less time collecting more detailed and accurate data using Sonar, Laser, H2S gas, digital CCTV, 3D Lidar, V-360, and air temp sensors. The small diameter inspection robot, SOLO, is the world’s first truly unmanned sewer inspection robot and can also be used in environmentally protected areas where big CCTV trucks (most used method for inspection) could not ever go and can be deployed from a vehicle as small as a motorcycle.

President Obama met with RedZone and spoke highly of what the company can do to save municipalities millions and get the job done more efficiently and safely. If critical pipes are not addressed the consequences mean huge structural damages to cities and roadways as well as unimaginable costs in repairs. This company is a small step toward a more efficient and manageable sewer infrastructure, something that we may not realize the importance of but could affect cities on a huge scale. 

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smarterplanet: Designing and Funding a Bicycle Revolution in our Cities Source: This Big City The Los Angeles Department of Transport said “for the bike to catch on we need a revolution in our (bicycle) infrastructure”. This is true, but infrastructure – of any type – is expensive. Governments, contractors and financiers around the world are increasingly ‘cash strapped’. Not only do we need a revolution in the type of bicycle infrastructure we design and build but also in the way we fund and finance infrastructure projects. A revolution in thinking about the way we design bicycle infrastructure After being awarded the 2008 AITPM Janet Brash Memorial Scholarship, I was able to facilitate focus groups with those often underrepresented as cyclists; women, children and seniors. In addition to this, visiting 24 of the world’s ‘cycling cities’ allowed me to develop a revolutionary concept for bicycle infrastructure; ‘Cycling Super Highways’ – a network of 7.7 metre wide dedicated cycle paths completely separated from parked/moving vehicles which are wide enough, safe enough, and practical enough for everyone to use, regardless of age or ability (you can download the full study here).

smarterplanet:

Designing and Funding a Bicycle Revolution in our Cities

Source: This Big City

The Los Angeles Department of Transport said “for the bike to catch on we need a revolution in our (bicycle) infrastructure”. This is true, but infrastructure – of any type – is expensive. Governments, contractors and financiers around the world are increasingly ‘cash strapped’. Not only do we need a revolution in the type of bicycle infrastructure we design and build but also in the way we fund and finance infrastructure projects.

A revolution in thinking about the way we design bicycle infrastructure

After being awarded the 2008 AITPM Janet Brash Memorial Scholarship, I was able to facilitate focus groups with those often underrepresented as cyclists; women, children and seniors. In addition to this, visiting 24 of the world’s ‘cycling cities’ allowed me to develop a revolutionary concept for bicycle infrastructure; ‘Cycling Super Highways’ – a network of 7.7 metre wide dedicated cycle paths completely separated from parked/moving vehicles which are wide enough, safe enough, and practical enough for everyone to use, regardless of age or ability (you can download the full study here).


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ragtag: JournalLive - News - Environment - Newcastle wins praise for ‘visionary’ planning NEWCASTLE has topped a table of Britain’s greenest cities for the second year running. The city’s investment in green industry and its role in developing infrastructure for electric cars have been singled out as key reasons behind its place at the top of the Sustainable Cities Index. Described as “visionary” by the organisation behind the list, Forum for the Future, Newcastle has been praised for innovation in science and growing its economy while benefiting the environment. After coming first last year in the list, which tracks the progress of the UK’s 20 largest cities across three areas of environment, quality of life and future proofing, Newcastle City Council increased its lead in 2010. It scored highly for number of allotments, recycling, public transport, conservation and green spaces. Barry Rowland, chief executive of Newcastle City Council, said: “Our commitment to a sustainable future is underpinned by our innovative work with partners. “For example, we are working closely with Newcastle University to develop their centre for research and sustainability, Shepherd Offshore to help transform the banks of the Tyne into a central hub of the UK renewable energy technology sector and seeking to make the city a home for the UK’s leading scientists through our Newcastle Science City Partnership.” The Sustainable Cities Index rates Britain’s 20 biggest cities based on factors such as air quality, household rubbish and the impact that services, housing and transport have on the environment. It is based around actions which councils can take to make their city more sustainable, from green-themed initiatives like cutting climate change and increasing the variety of wildlife, to economic boosts like improving education, cutting unemployment. While scoring highly on environmental categories, Newcastle does less well on economy, as well as health and education, which fall into the bracket of quality of life. Anita Lower, deputy leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “We are delighted to receive this recognition once again underlining how hard the council is working to put the environment at the heart of its agenda as we seek to make the city greener and work towards a zero carbon future.” Wendy Taylor, executive member for environment, sustainability and transport, said: “We continue to promote new technology as we strive to move towards a more sustainable transport future. “It is gratifying to have our progress on this and all other aspects of sustainability acknowledged.” Peter Madden, chief executive of Forum for the Future, said: “Cities are having to count every penny so it’s essential that they invest wisely for long-term success. “Leaders like Newcastle and Leicester are developing plans to run services in smarter ways, tackle challenges like climate change and secure the jobs of the future.” Leicester is in second place in this year’s Sustainable Cities Index, with Brighton, Bristol and London making up the rest of the top five. Visit www.forumforthefuture.org  for more information. Read More 

ragtag:

JournalLive - News - Environment - Newcastle wins praise for ‘visionary’ planning

NEWCASTLE has topped a table of Britain’s greenest cities for the second year running.

The city’s investment in green industry and its role in developing infrastructure for electric cars have been singled out as key reasons behind its place at the top of the Sustainable Cities Index.

Described as “visionary” by the organisation behind the list, Forum for the Future, Newcastle has been praised for innovation in science and growing its economy while benefiting the environment.

After coming first last year in the list, which tracks the progress of the UK’s 20 largest cities across three areas of environment, quality of life and future proofing, Newcastle City Council increased its lead in 2010.

It scored highly for number of allotments, recycling, public transport, conservation and green spaces.

Barry Rowland, chief executive of Newcastle City Council, said: “Our commitment to a sustainable future is underpinned by our innovative work with partners.

“For example, we are working closely with Newcastle University to develop their centre for research and sustainability, Shepherd Offshore to help transform the banks of the Tyne into a central hub of the UK renewable energy technology sector and seeking to make the city a home for the UK’s leading scientists through our Newcastle Science City Partnership.”

The Sustainable Cities Index rates Britain’s 20 biggest cities based on factors such as air quality, household rubbish and the impact that services, housing and transport have on the environment.

It is based around actions which councils can take to make their city more sustainable, from green-themed initiatives like cutting climate change and increasing the variety of wildlife, to economic boosts like improving education, cutting unemployment.

While scoring highly on environmental categories, Newcastle does less well on economy, as well as health and education, which fall into the bracket of quality of life.

Anita Lower, deputy leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “We are delighted to receive this recognition once again underlining how hard the council is working to put the environment at the heart of its agenda as we seek to make the city greener and work towards a zero carbon future.”

Wendy Taylor, executive member for environment, sustainability and transport, said: “We continue to promote new technology as we strive to move towards a more sustainable transport future.

“It is gratifying to have our progress on this and all other aspects of sustainability acknowledged.”

Peter Madden, chief executive of Forum for the Future, said: “Cities are having to count every penny so it’s essential that they invest wisely for long-term success.

“Leaders like Newcastle and Leicester are developing plans to run services in smarter ways, tackle challenges like climate change and secure the jobs of the future.”

Leicester is in second place in this year’s Sustainable Cities Index, with Brighton, Bristol and London making up the rest of the top five.

Visit www.forumforthefuture.org  for more information.


Read More 

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Smarter citizenship – the foundation of smart cities | Julian Dobson



On Wednesday I hosted a round table event in Manchester in partnership with strategists Wood Holmes to look at what we mean by ‘smart cities’ and – more importantly – what we want from them. The event, part of New Start magazine’s series on the future of regeneration, included a mix of people from technology backgrounds (including IBM and Cisco); experts in innovation and governance; transport and policy leaders.

Part of the discussion focused on the infrastructure needed for a digital world. But while we agreed that we needed to think of digital infrastructure as a utility like water or electricity, it was the use of that utility that interested us.There are four broad ways of thinking about digital places. One is the infrastructuralist approach, which tends to be centrally driven and involve big contracts with big corporations. It involves digging trenches and laying cables, or creating software applications that can handle unimaginable streams of data and interpret them.

The second, more in tune with the zeitgeist, is to think of the endlessly networked self-directed infrastructure of savvy individuals. These are the developers, the creators of data mashups, the open sourcists and social media connectors. They collaborate and innovate; they are the kind of people who believe that whatever the problem, there’s an app for that.

The third approach, which most of us adopt one way or another, is as consumers. We increasingly expect high speed broadband so we can watch on-demand TV or share videos or pictures. We grumble when the service isn’t working or costs too much, but don’t spend a lot of time imagining what we could do with it. It’s just there to respond to our wants.

The fourth way is not to think of it at all – to consider it irrelevant or something for educated, technical people, or something that simply doesn’t address the important issues about people and the places they live in.The second group are most likely to drive change, and the fourth most likely to be sidelined. This could be bad news. Democracy and citizenship that relies on regular cycles of meetings and annual or triennial elections looks increasingly out of touch with ‘smart’, real-time decision-making. Smart citizens will demand much more responsive, immediate approaches – the kind pioneered by applications like FixMyStreet. As that grows you can see how the traditional role of the local councillor, and especially their party political role, might start to look increasingly archaic.

(Read full post)

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New lab seeks ways to make cities smarter than ever | Smart Grid Can smart technologies make the cities of the future safer, smarter and more energy efficient? A new collaborative research lab in the US is being launched to seek potential answers to that question. IBM and Pennsylvania’s Carnegie Mellon University have teamed up to create the new laboratory, set to begin operations this fall, as part of the Pennsylvania Smart Infrastructure Incubator (PSII). The incubator is a state and industry initiative aimed at developing advanced technologies for managing building, energy, water and other infrastructure elements that are critical to the functioning of cities. “Making the infrastructure of our cities, communities and industries more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent can make it more sustainable from both an economic and an environmental perspective,” said Wayne Balta, vice president of corporate environmental affairs and product safety for IBM. The IBM Smarter Infrastructure Lab at Carnegie Mellon will work on technologies that are consistent with both organisations’ existing sustainability initiatives, including IBM’s Smarter Planet program and the university’s work at its Centre for Sensed Critical Infrastructure Research. 

New lab seeks ways to make cities smarter than ever | Smart Grid

Can smart technologies make the cities of the future safer, smarter and more energy efficient? A new collaborative research lab in the US is being launched to seek potential answers to that question. IBM and Pennsylvania’s Carnegie Mellon University have teamed up to create the new laboratory, set to begin operations this fall, as part of the Pennsylvania Smart Infrastructure Incubator (PSII). The incubator is a state and industry initiative aimed at developing advanced technologies for managing building, energy, water and other infrastructure elements that are critical to the functioning of cities. “Making the infrastructure of our cities, communities and industries more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent can make it more sustainable from both an economic and an environmental perspective,” said Wayne Balta, vice president of corporate environmental affairs and product safety for IBM. The IBM Smarter Infrastructure Lab at Carnegie Mellon will work on technologies that are consistent with both organisations’ existing sustainability initiatives, including IBM’s Smarter Planet program and the university’s work at its Centre for Sensed Critical Infrastructure Research. 

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City of Denver Dives Into the World of Open-Source The city and county of Denver, Co. is taking a big dive into the world of open-source - another sign of a global trend by government organizations to adopt open practices to benefit its citizenry and to better improve often archaic technology infrastructures. For the city of Denver, moving to an open-source infrastructure has been an ongoing effort. It most recently adopted Alfresco Software as its document management system, replacing 14 environments of all shapes and sizes, including EMC Documentum and Microsoft Sharepoint. 

City of Denver Dives Into the World of Open-Source

The city and county of Denver, Co. is taking a big dive into the world of open-source - another sign of a global trend by government organizations to adopt open practices to benefit its citizenry and to better improve often archaic technology infrastructures. For the city of Denver, moving to an open-source infrastructure has been an ongoing effort. It most recently adopted Alfresco Software as its document management system, replacing 14 environments of all shapes and sizes, including EMC Documentum and Microsoft Sharepoint. 

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“In the last three years alone, more than 9,400 of the nation’s 25,000 sewage systems — including those in major cities — have reported violating the law by dumping untreated or partly treated human waste, chemicals and other hazardous materials into rivers and lakes and elsewhere, according to data from state environmental agencies and the Environmental Protection Agency … It is not clear whether the sewage systems that have not reported such dumping are doing any better, because data on overflows and spillage are often incomplete.”

Sewers at Capacity, Pollution Spills Into Waterways - Series - NYTimes.com

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Planetizen: Planning, Design & Development … a public-interest information exchange provided by Urban Insight for the urban planning, design, and development community. It is a one-stop source for urban planning news, commentary, interviews, event coverage, book reviews, announcements, jobs, consultant listings, training, and more. Planetizen prides itself on covering a wide number of planning, design, and development issues, from transportation to global warming, architecture to infrastructure, housing and community development to historic preservation. (via About Planetizen | Planetizen)

Planetizen: Planning, Design & Development … a public-interest information exchange provided by Urban Insight for the urban planning, design, and development community. It is a one-stop source for urban planning news, commentary, interviews, event coverage, book reviews, announcements, jobs, consultant listings, training, and more. Planetizen prides itself on covering a wide number of planning, design, and development issues, from transportation to global warming, architecture to infrastructure, housing and community development to historic preservation. (via About Planetizen | Planetizen)

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