Smarter Government for a Smarter Planet - IBM Pulse conference community blog

Why Pulse 2012 for Smarter Government?


Governments are facing increased challenges from budget constraints and lack of resources while service to citizens becomes more demanding. Pulse 2012 will explore these issues and more, to help attendees learn how to optimize government infrastructure and deliver ultimate business value to citizens.

Pulse 2012  attendees will hear from diverse clients like City of Cambridge, Boston College, Tulane University, City of Dubuque and NC State University who will discuss today’s government challenges, on topics ranging from leadership and innovation in smarter cities, to managing assets in a regulatory environment and moving to the Cloud to achieve significant benefits.

Pulse 2012  will also be featuring the newest technology initiatives and next-generation solutions offered by IBM and our business partners, including:
  • IBM Solutions for Smarter Cities demonstration which will show how IBM’s solutions can help improve city operations and incident response, reduce crime and traffic congestion, increase worker productivity and reduce water consumption.
  • IBM’s Smarter Buildings demonstration which focuses on IBM Intelligent Building Management. The solution provides key analytics through a consolidated, role-based view of data in two key areas — energy and facilities management — helping building owners, operators and managers increase building management effectiveness and energy efficiency, with lower operating costs.
  • IBM TRIRIGA Facilities Management solution is a visual interface to manage space used by enterprises to identify under-utilized facilities, increase space utilization and streamline move management.
  • IBM TRIRIGA Lease Accounting for Assets and Facilities which delivers advanced analytics and financial controls to accelerate preparedness and compliance for the new lease accounting standards.

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A Green Lesson From the World’s Most Romantic Cities I’m not one to say that the Interstate Highway System in the U.S. was a mistake. Far from it, the system of highways we now take for granted made intercity travel much more convenient for many more people. When I-40 was built from Asheville to Hickory when I was a kid, it meant we could visit my grandmother after my parents got off work and come back on the same night. But, within cities, they did a lot of damage, building the transportation equivalent of the Berlin Wall through neighborhoods and parks, frequently displacing the poor from their homes while doing so. In our book Once There Were Greenfields, my friend and co-author Don Chen wrote: “Indeed, many urban freeways were deliberately planned to run through low-income neighborhoods. Their construction was viewed as a win-win-win strategy of employing demolition and highway construction workers, providing access to growing suburban areas, and eliminating ‘urban blight.’ In effect, highway agencies were practicing their own program of urban renewal.” via chialynn: Source: The Atlantic

A Green Lesson From the World’s Most Romantic Cities


I’m not one to say that the Interstate Highway System in the U.S. was a mistake. Far from it, the system of highways we now take for granted made intercity travel much more convenient for many more people. When I-40 was built from Asheville to Hickory when I was a kid, it meant we could visit my grandmother after my parents got off work and come back on the same night. But, within cities, they did a lot of damage, building the transportation equivalent of the Berlin Wall through neighborhoods and parks, frequently displacing the poor from their homes while doing so. In our book Once There Were Greenfields, my friend and co-author Don Chen wrote: “Indeed, many urban freeways were deliberately planned to run through low-income neighborhoods. Their construction was viewed as a win-win-win strategy of employing demolition and highway construction workers, providing access to growing suburban areas, and eliminating ‘urban blight.’ In effect, highway agencies were practicing their own program of urban renewal.”

via chialynn:

Source: The Atlantic

(via chialynn)

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The top 20 urban planning successes of all time

A fascinating post just appeared on the Public Servant Blog:  “The top 20 urban planning successes of all time.”  Written by “L.G.,” the list includes the following:

  1. Amsterdam, Netherlands
  2. Billerica Garden Suburb, Massachusetts (“the country’s first garden suburb designed specifically for workers”)
  3. Camden Town, London (“There is no one age group, race, gender or socio-economic group that outnumbers another”)
  4. Chicago Boulevard System
  5. Eugene, Oregon (“plans to be carbon neutral with no waste by 2020”)
  6. Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri
  7. Granville Island, Vancouver (“possibly the most successful urban redevelopment ever seen in North America”)
  8. Greensburg Sustainable Comprehensive Plan
  9. High Line
  10. Lijnbaan in Rotterdam (“the first purpose-built pedestrian street”)  
  11. Lower Garden District, New Orleans (“vehicles do not dominate this neighborhood”)
  12. Marimont, Ohio (“charming historic architecture, lush foliage, award-winning schools and friendly, community-minded residents”)
  13. Nine Square Plan, New Haven, Connecticut (“following the principles of ideal cities gleaned from the Bible”)
  14. Ponce Center City, Puerto Rico
  15. Sanibel Island, Florida (“nine major ecological zones”)
  16. South Livermore Valley Specific Plan, California (“3,229 acres under permanent agricultural easement”)
  17. Taos, Pueblo, New Mexico (“Possibly one of the earliest high-rise towns”)
  18. The Law of the Indies (“instructions for site selection and the layout and construction of new towns”)
  19. The Miami Valley (Ohio) Region’s Fair Share Housing Plan of 1970 (“the first ‘fair share’ housing plan in the nation”)
  20. The Plan of Philadelphia (“the first large American city to utilize the grid street pattern, to provide dedicated land exclusively for open green public squares”)

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