People are drawn to cities because of the wide array of opportunities they offer, from employment to education to culture. The vast majority of Americans, approximately 84%, already live in urban areas and, before COVID-19, that percentage was expected to stretch to 89% by 2050.
But with the pressure points of current urban design painfully exposed during the pandemic and recent protests for racial justice, cities will need to transform into more livable, sustainable and affordable environments. If leaders want to build more equitable and just cities, an Urbanova/Gallup study reaffirms they will have to do one thing first: listen.
Weiterlesen: US: Washington: Spokane: Listening to Residents' Voices to Build More Equitable Cities
The systems supports noise and motion monitoring, gunshot detection, air quality, ice and snow detection, weather detection, traffic optimization, parking management, digital kiosks, and more.
Street lights have evolved to be more than just a way to illuminate roadways. Now they are considered strategic assets. Communities can utilize street light infrastructure to collect and share information and empower communities to make data-driven decisions. Think of:
An increase in mail-in voting this year will cost an estimated $2 billion, much of which will fall on local governments. Smart tech investments and security monitoring are key to doing more with less.
Election security is different from other IT issues because of the impact that public confidence can have on electoral integrity. This year, COVID-19 is driving changes to voter behavior and creating stress on existing election systems. The nation faces a perfect storm of factors: Increased demand for absentee/mail-in voting is leading to increased cost, complexity and heightened security risk, while the pandemic has dramatically curtailed state and local government revenue and other resources.
Weiterlesen: US: Is Local Government Ready for Vote-by-Mail?
Georgia Smart said it welcomes communities of any size within the state to apply for technical and financial assistance that will help them to envision, explore, and plan for their smart future.
Clayton County, and the cities of Sandy Springs, Savannah, and Valdosta have been named 2020 winning communities of Georgia Tech’s Georgia Smart Communities Challenge (Georgia Smart).
Weiterlesen: US: Georgia Smart Communities Challenge winners announced
Jobs that require some college education will tend to demand digital literacy, especially in the aftermath of COVID-19. A report suggests that states can play a bigger role in meeting the growing need for digital skills.
A new Benton Foundation report advises states to address digital skills training as part of regional economic development strategies in order to fill the middle-skill jobs of the future.
Weiterlesen: US: Report: States Should Target Digital Skills Gaps as Economy Transforms