When a water audit found 39% of the water coming through the Town of Olds' supply line couldn’t be accounted for, it appeared leak repairs might recover enough water to delay the need for expensive infrastructure expansion.
If you've wondered how self-driving cars would fare on city streets, this video is your chance to take a look. Google is testing its self-driving cars on the streets of Mountain View, California where its headquarters are located. For more on self-driving cars, click the links underneath the video. And if you have thoughts on how soon we'll really see them on city streets -- and if that's even a good idea -- use the Comment form at the bottom of the page to tell us what you think.
Read about driverless cars…
The utility serving Madison, Tennessee used to read its water meters manually every other month, estimating usage in intervening months. Even so, the process took eight to 10 readers, in four to five cars, more than 20 hours.
London's famous Underground rail system has been around since 1863 but it remains today one of the world's most progressive. Watch the video below to learn how Telent, the company that governs the Underground's operation, is working with Council Lead Partner Microsoft and other vendors to bring the latest innovations, including Microsoft's Azure cloud platform, to the transit system to streamline maintenance and operations in multiple ways.
The IBM Intelligent Water Platform for Water Efficiency Management helps public or private water utilities unite siloed data for a holistic, singular view of their entire water infrastructure. It's a proactive approach to maintaining an aging network while operating on an ever-tightening budget.
In the video below, Harvard University economist Edward Glaeser discusses his new book, "Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier." Glaeser, who studies the economics of cities, segregation, crime and innovation, shatters the bad rap cities often get and suggests they are the healthiest, greenest and richest -- in cultural and economic terms -- places to live.
Officials with the San Antonio, Texas Municipal Court system wanted to ease courtroom congestion with virtual transactions identical to that of the municipal court.
Dallas Primary School in Melbourne, Australia decided to explore how Web 2.0 teaching and learning tools might help improve literacy skills. In one project, teachers devised an alternative learning program using Microsoft Research’s Kodu –a video game production tool – to engage students facing particular reading and writing challenges.
Cities everywhere are challenged by congestion, pollution, crime, aging infrastructure, falling budgets and many other issues. They need new strategies and new technologies to address those challenges.
Certainly smart technologies are a solution. But they come with a price tag.
This video introduces the Smart Energy Solutions program that SCC Global Partner National Grid developed and is now piloting in the city of Worcester, Massachusetts. It covers the smart electrical meters, apps, and customer controls available to the 15,000 National Grid customers participating in the pilot.