Revitalizing a City With Technology

The town of Holyoke, Massachusetts has hired Cisco to create a technology-led urban revitalization plan.

1 minute read

February 14, 2010, 9:00 AM PST

By Nate Berg


One of America's original planned industrial communities, Holyoke, Massachusetts is struggling to make ends meet today. Nearly a quarter of Holyoke's residents live below the poverty line, and over 12 percent are unemployed.

That's why the city has hired technology giant Cisco Systems to "transform the onetime mill town into a 'Smart+Connected Community' over the next six-to-twelve months.

From Cisco's point of view, the question is 'how are we going to fundamentally create sustainability in an existing neighborhood, and what role is technology going to play?'

Thanks to Deepa Mehta

Thursday, February 11, 2010 in Fast Company

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

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