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The new architecture of Smart Cities
(Photo of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing by Trey Ratcliff) I’ve been preparing this week for the next stage of work on Birmingham’s Smart City Commission; our task on the...
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Tea, trust, and hacking – how Birmingham is getting Smarter
(The Custard Factory in Birmingham, at the heart of the city’s creative media sector) As I described in my last article on this blog, the second meeting of Birmingham’s Smart City Commission last week...
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Open urbanism: why the information economy will lead to sustainable cities
(Delegates browsing the exhibition space in Fira Barcelona at the World Bank’s Urban Research and Knowledge Symposium “Rethinking Cities”) On Monday this week I attended the World Bank’s “Rethinking...
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Why Open City Data is the Brownfield Regeneration Challenge of the...
(Graphic of New York’s ethnic diversity from Eric Fischer) I often use this blog to explore ways in which technology can add value to city systems. In this article, I’m going to dig more deeply into my...
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Should technology improve cities, or should cities improve technology?
(Photo of the Queens Arms in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter by Ian Edwards) I was honoured this week to be invited to join the Academy of Urbanism, a society of professionals, academics and policy...
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The six steps to a Smarter City; and the philosophical imperative for taking...
(Photo of digital lights in “The Place” in Beijing by Trey Ratcliff) (This article originally appeared in September 2012 as “Five steps to a Smarter City: and the philosophical imperative for taking...
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Inspirational Simpli-City
(Recycling bins in Curitiba, Brazil photographed by Ana Elisa Ribeiro) In the past few years, terms such as “Smart Cities” and “Future Cities” have emerged to capture the widespread sense that the...
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No-one is going to pay cities to become Smarter
(The Bristol Pound, a local currency intended to encourage and reinforce local trading synergies.) It’s been a busy week for cities in the UK; and we should draw important insights from its events. On...
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Smart ideas for everyday cities
(Artist’s impression of the new Birmingham City University campus, currently under construction alongside Millennium Point and the new Eastside City Park. Image by Birmingham City University.) The...
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The six steps to a Smarter City; and the philosophical imperative for taking...
(Birmingham’s new Eastside City Park, opened late last year as a public space and walking route, adjacent to Millennium Point and the new Birmingham City University campus) (This article originally...
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An address to the United Nations: science, technology and innovation for...
I was honoured this week to be asked to address the 16th session of the United Nations’ Commission on Science and Technology for Development in Geneva on the topic of Smarter Cities. I was invited to...
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Smarter City myths and misconceptions
(A good example of a technology dilemma: do smartphones encourage social interaction, or inhibit it?. Photo by LingHK) Part of my job is to communicate the ideas behind Smarter Cities, and to support...
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Seven steps to a Smarter City; and the imperative for taking them (updated...
(Interior of the new Library of Birmingham, opened in September 2013. Photo by Andy Mabbett licensed under Creative Commons via Wikimedia Commons) (This article originally appeared in September 2012 as...
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Can Smarter City technology measure and improve our quality of life?
(Photo of Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, at night by David Yu) Can information and technology measure and improve the quality of life in cities? That seems a pretty fundamental question for the...
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12 simple technologies for cities that are Smart, open and fair
(Fritz Lang’s 1927 dystopian film Metropolis pictured a city that exploited futuristic technologies, but only on behalf of a minority of its citizens. Image by Breve Storia del Cinema) Efficiency;...
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4 ways to get on with building Smart Cities. And the societal failure that...
(William Robinson Leigh’s 1908 painting “Visionary City” envisaged future cities constructed from mile-long buildings of hundreds of storeys connected by gas-lit skyways for trams, pedestrians and...
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