Smart Cities

This collection looks at the idea of using technology to build "smart" cities. Smart cities can seem an odd concept, as it sounds as if the city by itself will improve; the reality is that cities are not just made from concrete, steel, and sensors but are mostly made of people. I'm interested in exploring how technology can help connect people and data to build towards the “'triple bottom line' of economy, environment, and social equity," as one of the articles suggests. 

New York's Bryant Park is tracking visitor behavior
"As AdAge reports, PlaceIQ and several other similar companies gather their information from mobile app location data (which most users allow access to when they download free mobile apps) or from geo-targeted mobile ads. Although the data is anonymized and not tied a specific user's phone, it still creates a surprisingly complete picture of the visitors to the park." 

Same Strategy, Bigger Problem
"better neighborhood seems to matter and moving to areas of opportunity can increase income by 31% annually."

How Smart Cities Save Money (and the Planet)
"Cities around the world are getting bigger, fast. By 2015, there will be 22 metropolitan areas with populations of more than 10 million people. Around the world, some 180,000 people move into cities every day."

An Exclusive Look At Airbnb's First Foray Into Urban Planning
"Is it naive to think that you can simply drop a building onto a community and expect them to reorient their lives around it? Gebbia answers that community centers have always been a strong part of Japanese culture; this effort, in fact, is simply piggybacking on government efforts to build new ones." 

Tools for Sustainable Cities
The effort builds on IBM’s Smarter Cities initiative, which is focused on how the strategic use of data and technology can drive sustainable growth and prosperity.