Most "smart city" projects to-date are somewhat isolated and are not part of a more comprehensive network.
"Smart Cities" are a catchall phrase for using technology to make cities more resilient, responsive, and financially solvent. A recent piece in Scientific American notes that it doesn't always work out that way, at least not yet, as efforts often fail to account for local, government and socioeconomic conditions.
A smart lighting system here and a traffic signal timing system there are isolated, not part of a comprehensive, integrative system. Kendra Smith writes:
"The current reality of smart cities is that there aren’t any. At the end of the day, most so-called smart cities are just cities with a few or several standout smart projects."
The article asks important questions like how a smart city affects social justice, what is its true cost, and who decides what the city really needs before any switches get flipped?
Read the full story: The Inconvenient Truth about Smart Cities
7 'Smart Cities Challenge' Proposals
The Washington Post details each of the seven proposals competing for $40 million in the U.S. Department of Transportation's Smart Cities Challenge.
Smart Cities, at What Cost?
Kansas City, Missouri, wants to be a smart cities leader, but it also needs to address concerns about data collection and privacy, say critics.
Kansas City to Expand its 'Smart City' Tech
The 1960s had the space race, the 2010s has the smart cities race. Kansas City means to win this one.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Housing is the top priority of Seattle’s sole new councilmember
Jenks campaigned on building 1,000 new units of affordable housing.
New tax cuts may slash $1.5 billion in funding for Miami transit, public parks
Amendment 3 will save Miami-Dade homeowners $2,700 in 2028.
Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania hope to finally advance climate goals post-midterms
The three states have spent years under Republican or divided control.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority