EY is joining the Smart Cities Council, an advocacy group for smart city policies and projects. EY will become a global lead partner in the organization. The company said in a statement that it plans to bring its expertise to the organization including lessons learned from smart cities work it has already done in municipalities in the US and abroad.
EY is making a push into the global smart cities market. Earlier this year the company announced that it would be expanding its global “innovation centers”, which are effectively technology incubators. EY has already used its innovation center model to develop typical smart city business processes like those around smart parking, transit times and mobility.
EY is also part of the 100 Resilient Cities platform, which is focused on helping cities build resiliency plans that incorporate responses to environmental, social and structural issues. Resiliency planning is typically a step beyond technology modernization.
“Cities around the world are growing at an unprecedented pace and this higher level of urbanization brings both opportunities and risks to businesses, governments, and society at large. Technology is crucial for connecting disparate urban systems, but technology alone cannot solve the social, environmental and logistical issues that growing cities face,” says George Atalla, EY Global Government & Public Sector Leader. “The future belongs to governments, businesses, and entrepreneurs who work together to create citizen-centric, resilient cities.”
