When it comes to accessibility and inclusion, there are steps local and state agencies can take — and others that should be avoided — to provide an equitable government service experience across populations.
As more government services move online, some agencies have taken concrete steps to improve the accessibility and inclusivity of digital services and resources.
From revamping websites to hosting virtual town halls, how can agencies establish or maintain an inclusive government during this sea change?
Weiterlesen: US: How Can Government Make Digital Services More Inclusive?
Long Beach’s smart city challenge program delivers tech solutions to problems city staff face in their jobs.
For three years running, Long Beach, Calif., has hosted a smart city challenge, hatching pilot projects that may result in a contract.
Details on what the fourth challenge – to kick off this summer – will hold are still in the works, said Ryan Kurtzman, Long Beach’s smart cities program manager, but past programs have had success.
Weiterlesen: US: California: Long Beach: Smart city pilots target workflow, analysis challenges
The infrastructures that keep cities running efficiently should go nearly unnoticed to the people who pass through them every day. Things like smart lighting, smart traffic management, smart parking, intelligent waste management and more are such ingrained parts of daily life that the only time people take note of them is when they're malfunctioning.
These systems, like virtually everything else today, require high-speed broadband to operate; they rely on digital input for automation and functionality. Companies like Mobile Smart City operate behind the scenes, developing and implementing technologies that allow users to go about their lives with ultimate convenience.
Weiterlesen: US: Smart Cities: Innovative Tech for Convenience & Safety
But lower latency and the capacity to support more devices brings increased supply chain and cybersecurity risks.
Though 5G and 6G networks could help first responders and smart city projects with more reliable communications, faster data transfer and new capabilities like intelligent edge computing, they also could introduce new threats, according to a federal report.
Many people welcome the prospect of their city becoming a “smart city”? One poll suggests that 3 in 5 people in the U.S. would be interested in their city becoming a “smart city” and 58 percent would be interested in moving to one. Whereas, of the existing population 60 percent of people would be interested in seeing their city become a smart city.
Whether we have ‘true’ smart cities yet is open to debate. Some would say yes, others would take the view that some cites are progressing towards the goal. Such questions and answers are bound up with definitions of ‘smart cities’.
Weiterlesen: US: Most people will welcome the smart city, provided its designed by Apple