Metropopular (by brainpickings)
An animated short film about what American cities would say to one another if they could talk.
More: http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/08/31/metropopular/
LivingSocial Now Offers Daily Deals For 52 Cities – 25 More Than Yesterday
LivingSocial
, the daily deal site that is often referred to as the main competitor to Groupon (see our extensive guide on group-buying sites in the United States and beyond here), is experiencing fast growth.
Rather than launching in one new city on a regular basis, like Groupon tends to do, the company this morning announced that it has added 25 live markets to its roster, nearly doubling the amount of cities it offers daily deals in.
The social commerce startup is now effectively live in 52 markets and 3 countries (the U.S., UK and Canada), now that it has added cities like Sacramento, Miami, Las Vegas, Toronto, Memphis, Buffalo, Detroit and Vancouver to the fray.
Even if you attended or viewed some of the videos from our New York City Smarter Cities event in October, you’ll find that last week’s first-ever Smarter Cities Virtual Forum affords a deeper dive into some of the key issues and smarter solutions that cities from Richmond, Virginia (public safety) to Las Vegas, Nevada (transportation) are undertaking today. One of the nice features of hosting the event virtually is the ability to deliver the presentations to you, in their entirety, on demand.
IBM’s new General Manager for North America, Bridget van Kralingen opened the forum with an update on our Smarter Cities initiatives and on what we’re seeing come out of these important conversations, as more people understand and embrace its vision.
Cities are taking their first steps, piloting projects to improve efficiency and lower costs: The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA) is working with IBM to analyze and revitalize its aging water and sewer system.
Relationships are deepening: IBM completed an automatic metering project with Houston-based Centerpoint Energy, and now the utility is engaging with us for a Smart Grid project.
Understanding and awareness are growing: Fordham University in New York has developed a new business analytics curriculum, preparing students with the needed skills to address key challenges – from reforming healthcare, to making buildings more energy efficient, to improving delivery of public services.
Cross-industry connections are being made: Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is partnering with grocery retailer Kroger developing charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
(via A Smarter Planet Blog)
IS IT GREEN?: Las Vegas CityCenterIt looks great but in the desert can anything be green and sustainable? Six LEED Gold certificates - does it call in to question the criteria for LEED?
CityCenter, Las Vegas: If Not a City, then What? | By David Littlejohn - WSJ.com
What it is is a handsome, varied, occasionally ingenious, occasionally even beautiful piece of very expensive, very dense urban planning for 67 acres of short- and long-term housing, luxury shopping, eating and drinking, gambling and other entertainment in a conurbation unique in the world. Presuming it survives, perhaps even helps to turn around that place’s’s near-disastrous recent decline in visitors and revenues, its greatest contribution may be what it has to teach visitors and other observers about the value of fine art, decoration and architecture, careful planning, and sustainable design.
