A year after he unveiled his list of North America's top "Smart Cities" based on a new metric meant to bring clarity and measurability to the discussion, Boyd Cohen is back with a refined methodology and a new ranking.
"Today's cities demand 21st century solutions to accommodate their growing populations in ways that not only maintain the quality of life, but also improve it. That's where smart cities come in," writes Cohen. "Smart cities find ways to become more efficient, to deliver more services via mobile technology, to optimize existing infrastructure, and to leverage citizen participation to create better land-use decisions and to break down bureaucracy in order to stimulate a creative, entrepreneurial economy. In short, smart cities are innovative cities."
By refining his methodology to include information from the cities themselves, Cohen has developed an updated ranking for 2013. The result is a new top dog: Seattle.
FULL STORY: The 10 Smartest Cities In North America
Ranking North America's Smartest Cities
For those of you who've been anxiously waiting since Boyd Cohen published his list of Europe's smartest cities last month...wait no longer, North America's top 10 smartest cities have been revealed.
Could an ‘Urban Innovation Lab’ Spur Downtown Revitalization?
In his fifth article for GeekWire, Chuck Wolfe asks whether an onsite “living lab” could spur more entrepreneurship and impact downtown regeneration in Seattle.
Forget 'Smart'—We Need 'Context Cities'
Frequent Planetizen contributor Charles R. Wolfe reflects on reconciling global forces and local context in cities across three continents.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.
The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.
Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.
As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.
With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)