Preliminary Maturity Model for a Citiplex
A few weeks ago I thought about the idea of creating peer groups of cities that band together to share ideas, data, and ultimately analytics to make them smarter individually and collectively. I was inspired by the work IBM is doing in Dubuque, and later by what I saw at the Smarter Cities event in NYC.Tonight, I started to think about what the connections between these cities might look like and how the collaboration process might evolve. I decided that I should post a draft model and open it up for discussion rather than wait until I had a fully baked, hence this note. (You can register for the site and respond, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it me, or catch me on Twitter)
I'll use the term citiplex to refer to such a community of cities, with similarities in several of the following basic properties:
o Population size (similar educational, safety and healthcare issues)
o Population density (similar housing and transportation issues)
o Climate (energy requirements)
o Natural resources (agricultural potential, energy sources...)
o Government (easier for culturally similar groups to make a conscious effort to share)
At first, it may appear that the more that is shared the better. However, I believe that nature teaches us the value of diversity, so I'd like to see several such citiplexes emerge for each global peer group, and learn from each other without creating too many dependencies (fault tolerance is important for operational continuity and safety).
Smarter Cities Require Leadership + Technology
IBM hosted a 2-day Smarter Cities symposium in NYC last
week, and for me it was a transformational event. It was an extraordinary opportunity to hear and interact with leaders from government
and industry, all assembled to discuss the need for smarter cities – where
planning and operational decisions can be made in real time, based on data and
advanced analytics. I have been teaching and writing about the use of ubiquitous IP-enabled
devices and sensors with predictive analytics enabling better flow of
everything from ideas to traffic, for years. Now, in one venue, I could hear from governors, mayors,
CEOs, school chancellors, healthcare, energy and transportation experts who
share and extend my view for the future. As the global population continues to concentrate in urban areas, this
becomes more than a quality of life issue, it becomes an issue of national and
global security. And, at a time where much of the news is depressing, this was
truly uplifting. It was a dizzying experience, and I wish every minute was
available for viewing on YouTube. (24 hours after I posted this note, I found that someone was listening: all sessions can be found here)
Some highlights:
Mayor Bloomberg of NYC noting that in business, capital flows from failing projects to those that are succeeding, while in government the flow is backwards because politicians are rarely willing to acknowledge that not every project works. His scientific approach – it isn’t a failure if we learn from it – was refreshing.
A brief chat with Joel Klein, Chancellor of the NYC schools, where we talked about the fact that I am qualified to teach at SUNY, NYU and other universities, but not in the public schools in NYC despite a critical shortage of STEM resources (see my note: Green Skills). That one will result in follow-up and likely in some volunteer work, too.
Hearing a passionate description of solutions to healthcare issues by Dr. Denis Cortese, CEO of the Mayo Clinic. That presentation definitely needs broader public exposure.
Getting insights into the job creation benefits of investments in the National Endowment for the Arts, and a primer on how to carry that message forward. I will take that as another personal action item.
By the end of the event, it was clear that although we can
expect exciting new technologies that will aid in the enlightenment of the
metroplex of the future, that is neither necessary nor sufficient.
A need for new technology is not the bottleneck at
this point, leadership is the sine qua non of smarter cities.
We need public and private leaders willing to take chances. They must be able to explain effectively why taking a portfolio approach to new investments in infrastructure - including information-based infrastructure to improve the ability of cities to serve their residents - makes sense. Only with an educated population will we realize the full potential of smarter cities.
IBM demonstrated leadership by laying out a people-oriented agenda rather than a technology-focused expo, and delivering such high quality speakers. My only hope is that the lessons learned will find a much wider audience. These messages are too important to keep to ourselves.
Adrian Bowles
10/04/09
SIG Notes
