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Opening Plenary
Smart cities are not about technology — they are about people. Leaders from cities throughout Silicon Valley, an area known for being at the forefront of technological innovation, shared how they’re using technology to better serve their people.
City Readiness Hub: San Miguel de Allende
San Miguel de Allende is a nearly 500-year-old city in Mexico that’s struggling to balance tremendous growth in tourism with the need to protect its past. The city, named a World Heritage Site, got tips from Las Vegas, a much younger city that’s also driven by tourism.
City Readiness Hub: West Sacramento
West Sacramento, California, has elected officials that see the potential of using smart cities principles, but it’s early in its journey. Chula Vista, CA, which recently completed its action plan, shared tips and best practices for building a flexible plan that focuses on meaningful results.
Cities As Complex Systems/Readiness Challenge Grants
Cities are complex systems with complex challenges. Luis Bettencourt, a leading urban science researcher, gave tips to help cities build platforms to facilitate change. Also, our five winners of our 2018 Smart Cities Council Readiness Challenge talked about their key initiatives that helped them win the prize — and what they’re going to do next! (Also, don’t miss our huge announcement that will provide the winning cities funds to advance their efforts!)
City Readiness Hub: Centennial, Colorado
Centennial, Colorado, is a very young city — established in 2001 — that’s now trying to find its identity. Between transportation challenges caused by unusual commuting patterns and an aging population that has new needs, the city is looking to smart cities principles for answers. Cary, NC, one of our 2018 Readiness Challenge winners, provided advice to help the city chart its future.
Well-being
How do you measure the success of smart cities initiatives? Consider using well-being as your yardstick. Based in part on the innovative work in Santa Monica, CA, get tips on truly understanding the problem that you are trying to solve, building a data culture to create solutions, and find the balance between hype and reality.
City Readiness Hub: Salinas, CA
Two Californian cities — Salinas and Los Angeles — paired for an interactive mentoring session. Learn why your smart cities initiatives need to begin with a culture shift because “culture eats planning for breakfast.” The cities also discussed the benefits of open data and how you may not need new technology to be successful — you may just need to fix a process.
City Readiness Hub: Tahoe Transportation District
Smart cities aren’t just for cities — the Tahoe Transportation District is looking to adopt the principles to benefit the region it serves. With mentor city Orlando, the two discussed their approaches to supporting economies that are substantially driven by tourism, and also why sometimes you should forget tech and build relationships.
