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Tekes Witty City Case Studies - USA Master Long List Final Selection 25 September 2013
Tekes Witty CityCase Studies - USA
Master Long ListFinal Selection
25 September 2013
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 1Living Building Challenge: Cleantech Innovation Horizon for Buildings, Neighborhoods & Communities
- Living Building Challenge (LBC) is a philosophy, advocacy tool & certification program that promotes the most advanced measurement of sustainability in the built environment possible today. Currently [2012], there are more than 140 Living Building Challenge projects spread across eight countries and 28 U.S. states.
- LBC is administered by the International Living Future Institute, with offices in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, in the USA, and Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada.
- Key parties/contacts are:- International Living Future Institute: http://living-future.org/ - Cascadia Green Building Council: http://living-future.org/cascadia - The Natural Step Network USA:
http://www.naturalstep.org/en/usa/members-natural-step-network-usa - LBC “…is comprised of seven performance areas: Site, Water, Energy, Health,
Materials, Equity and Beauty. These are subdivided into a total of twenty Imperatives, each of which focuses on a specific sphere of influence...it defines the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment possible today and acts to diminish the gap between current limits and ideal solutions..." for buildings, parks, campuses, infrastructure and communities.
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 1 continued
- LBC “…provides a framework for design, construction and the symbiotic relationship between people and all aspects of the built environment.” Project typologies are: - Renovation: Does not form the substantial portion of a complete building
reconstruction – e.g., single floor tenant improvements. - Infrastructure + Landscape: Does not include a physical structure as part of its
primary program; projects may be as diverse as roads, bridges, plazas, sports facilities or trails.
- Building: Any project that encompasses the construction of a roofed and walled structure created for permanent use – either new or existing.
- Neighborhood: Any project that contains multiple buildings in a continuous campus, neighborhood, district or village.
- The socio-economic impact of LBC is best captured by the following comments.- “The Living Building Challenge is…much more than building green. It describes
the end game; the ultimate vision of where we want to get to...””, says Jerome Partington, Jasmax (New Zealand). “It’s much,
- Says Julian Huggins, Arrow’s Auckland Manager. “… this is the future. It’s where innovative developers, planners and construction companies should be looking...“
- “LBC seeks to lead the charge toward a holistic standard that could yield an entirely new level of integration between building systems, transportation, technology, natural resources, and community.”
- See FinNode USA Trendwiki Signals or contact Michael Lovejoy at: [email protected]
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 2Building Smarter Cities: Integration of Smart Grid & ITC Networks with Other Forms of Urban & Social Infrastructure in Houston, TX.
- In March 2011, the City of Houston deployed the first municipal 4G wireless communications network in the USA as part of its ongoing Smart City project. [The City had already been recognized for a number of years as one of the leading cities in the USA for its eGovernment Center: http://www.houstontx.gov/]
- Major anticipated benefits from the City’s 4G network are as follows.• Improving Public Service: Improving customer service and reducing cost by
connecting the city’s mobile AMR system to the WiMAX network to remotely monitor 550,000 water meter accounts; Improving traffic safety and congestion throughout the city through remote control of 2,500 traffic intersections and 1,500 school zone flashers
• Reducing Costs: Reducing multi-million dollar annual commercial T1 costs by replacing these connections with WiMAX service at over 500 city facilities (such as water/wastewater plants, maintenance and libraries); Affordably expanding connectivity service to facilities and operations (i.e., SCADA, video surveillance and parking pay stations)
• Serving the Public Good: Making excess bandwidth available to enable free Internet service for more than 300,000 residents in underserved, underprivileged communities (such as public computer centers for children offering free Internet access and a safe environment to stay and learn; 20 centers are already operating today)
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 2 continued- As an important node in the global economy, Houston requires smart solutions:
http://www.houstontx.gov/abouthouston/houstonfacts.html - In terms of sustainability, the city already has important features:
- Green Space: http://smartercities.nrdc.org/city-stories/city-profiles/large/houston-texas#tk-city-profile
- Green Building: http://blog.kirksey.com/houston-a-green-building-leader.html - The commercial sector is doing its part: Houston was selected by both AT&T and
Sprint to be among the first five metropolitan areas in the USA to receive their 4G wireless telecommunication services; local electricity distribution utility, Centerpoint, is ranked 5th nationally in the number of installed smart electricity meters; Houston’s local electricity retailer, Reliant, is ranked first in the USA in social media usage – i.e., Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/reliantenergy
- In August 2011, the City established the seven division Department of Neighborhoods to serve as a “one-stop” for residents seeking assistance with neighborhood issues: http://www.houstontx.gov/neighborhoods/
- In March 2012, Houston was the first Texas city of among eight U.S. cities to receive a Smarter Cities Challenge grant from IBM, which looked at ways the City can provide greater access to information, services and resources for residents. Specifically, the project focused on how the City can better connect school-aged students to public services that strengthen families and schools.
- In August 2012, IBM presented its findings & recommendations: http://www.houstongovnewsroom.org/go/doc/2155/1523483/
- Houston offers good insight into the hype and realities of smart city progress.
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 3Smart Parking: San Francisco, California’s SFpark Pilot Study
- City of San Francisco is pioneering an advanced parking management system, utilizing new meters, sensors and demand responsive pricing (SFpark). In the current pilot, 7000 meters have been outfitted, which allows drivers to conveniently identify parking availability on a realtime map located either on the SFpark.org homepage or via freely distributed apps for smart phones (iPhone or Android) or the region’s 511 phone system.
- The system is being developed by City of San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), with support by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Federal Highway Administration – both offer Project funding, support and evaluation. [Note: futures trials planned in Los Angeles, Washington, DC, and NYC.]
- Key parties/contacts are:- Donald Shoup, Professor, Urban Planning, UCLA: http://shoup.bol.ucla.edu/ - Edward Reiskin, Director of Transportation, SFMTA, City of San Francisco:
http://www.sfmta.com/cms/acontact/indxcont.htm - In addition to identifying available parking via mobile apps, customers can pay for
parking at City meters by phone, receive a reminder message when time is almost up, add time without returning to the meter, and receive a receipt via email.
- UCLA professor Donald Shoup estimates that 1/3 of the traffic on downtown U.S. streets is due to drivers looking for parking spots. This consumes time & fuel, causes frustration, and it contributes to green house gas emissions.
- For full details see: http://sfpark.org/
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 4Promoting Safe & Appealing Walkable Urban Environments: San Francisco, California’s WalkFirst
- In December 2010, the City of San Francisco adopted the Better Streets Plan, a comprehensive set of pedestrian-oriented policies and design guidelines for San Francisco's public streets and sidewalks that coordinates with other efforts to improve the City's streets and transportation system. Building on this, the City initiated the WalkFirst project to improve pedestrian safety and walking conditions, encourage walking as a mode of transportation, and enhance pedestrian connections to key destinations.
- WalkFirst is a collaborative effort between the San Francisco Department of Public Health (lead agency), San Francisco Planning Department, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, and San Francisco County Transportation Authority.
- Key parties/contacts are:- Megan Wier, SF Department of Public Health, Email: [email protected] Lily Langlois, SF Planning Department, Email: [email protected]
- San Francisco’s efforts provides citizens with an Internet forum for community involvement in walkable urban street planning (http://www.sfbetterstreets.org/) as well as online maps for planning safe and appealing pedestrian trips (http://www.sfplanning.org/index.aspx?page=2568#products).
- WalkFirst initiative promotes pedestrian involvement & confidence and actively supports walking as an alternative to motorized fossil fuel transport.
- For full details see: http://www.sf-planning.org/ftp/files/Citywide/WalkFirst/WalkFirst_Final_Document_102711.pdf
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 5Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS): New York City’s Midtown in Motion Project
- In June 2012, the Intelligent Transportation Society of America recognized the City of New York’s Midtown in Motion project’s commitment to “smart” technologies that allow engineers to respond to traffic conditions in real time. The pilot project has been a success, and the program is being expanded.
- Midtown in Motion is initiated by the City of New York’s Department of Transportation (NYDOT) with support by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration.
- Key parties/contacts are:- Janette Sadik-Khan, Commissioner, NYDOT, Email:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/maildot.html - Bruce Shaler, Trafic & Planning, NYDOT, Phone: +1 212 839 6662- Cordell Schacter, IT & Telecom, NYDOT, Phone: +1 212 839 8163
- In this intelligent transportation system (ITS) application, real-time traffic data is transmitted wirelessly through the city’s network and made available to motorists and to app developers to use on smart phones, tablets and PDAs. The system allows Department of Transportation engineers the ability to conduct real-time analysis and change signal patterns at the touch of a button, helping to alleviate congestion before it worsens.
- In addition to intelligently managing traffic flow, Midtown in Motion reduces greenhouse emissions and air pollution on the city’s most congested streets.
- For full details go to: https://www.dot.ny.gov/index
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 6Connected Cars in Urban Traffic: Dedicated Short Range Vehicle Communications Pilot in Ann Arbor, Michigan
- As of August 2012, 3,000 vehicles in Ann Arbor, Michigan are taking part in a 12-month pilot, whereby cars can communicate with each other, traffic signals, and share data to a central platform. [Note: General Motors & AT&T announced in February 2013 a commercial 4G development project for connected cars.]
- The project is being run by the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), whose partners also include Michigan Department of Transportation, City of Ann Arbor, Texas Transportation Institute, AAA of Michigan, and ESCRYPT.
- Key parties/contacts are:- Dr. Peter Sweatman, Director, UMTRI, Email: [email protected] - Dr. James R. Sayer, Project Lead, UMTRI, Email: [email protected] - John Hieftje, Mayor of Ann Arbor, Email: [email protected]
- Connected vehicles are a subset of the intelligent transportation system ecosystem (ITS), and the Ann Arbor pilot involves dedicated short range communications (DSRC) and video recording facilities.
- Concept offers vehicle operators and city traffic managers a platform for optimizing the potential negative impact of traffic hazards, which in turn enables a more secure and pleasant quality of life for urban drivers.
- For full details see: http://www.umtri.umich.edu/divisionPage.php?pageID=505 and also http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/B01_-_Michigan_Connected_Vehicle_Working_Group_2012-01-30_379092_7.pdf
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 7Driverless Vehicles on City Streets: Google’s Demonstration/Pilot in Las Vegas, Nevada
- In May 2012, The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles announced that it had approved Google's application to test autonomous (‘driverless’) vehicles on public streets in Las Vegas, Nevada, which is believed to be the first license in the USA. Utilizing Toyota Prius hybrids and Lexus RX hybrids, the vehicles are outfitted with Laser radar mounted on the roof and in the grill detects pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles, creating a virtual buffer zone around the obstacles that the car then avoids.
- The pilot is run by Google; however, another test by Continental is the first by a commercial automobile manufacturer.
- Key parties/contacts are:- Dr. Chris Urmson, Head of Engineering, Self Driving Car, Google Inc.
- Autonomous vehicles are a subset of the intelligent transportation system ecosystem (ITS), and the technology works like auto-pilot to guide a car with little or no intervention from a human operator.
- Las Vegas experiences a large number of visitors, who rent cars for a limited time and who are not familiar with city streets. The autonomous car concept could ease traffic situations for both visitors and locals as well as minimize fuel usage and GHG emissions for needless driving. It also offers the visually impaired the potential means to independently utilize personal transportation technology.
- For full details see: http://www.dmvnv.com/autonomous.htm and http://businessprnews.com/google-driverless-car
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 8ZNE Pilot Program / Architecture at Zero: PG&E Net Zero Energy Building Initiatives, San Francisco, California
- Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) Zero Net Energy (ZNE) Pilot Program was launched in 2010, and it is focused on achieving maximal energy efficiency and load reduction by leveraging advanced design, construction and building operations before the addition of on-site renewable energy generation. PG&E ZNE Pilot Program in collaboration with the San Francisco Chapter of the American Institute of Architects has developed an annual zero net energy building design competition, Architecture at Zero.
- ZNE Pilot Program is run by California energy utility, PG&E, who also join AIA San Francisco and University of California at Merced for the Architecture at Zero awards.
- Key parties/contacts are:- Peter Turnbull, PG&E ZNE Pilot Program, Email: [email protected] - Margie O’Driscoll, AIA San Francisco, Email: [email protected]
- ZNE Pilot Program supports the 2008 California Long Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan, requiring that all new residential & commercial construction be ZNE compliant by 2020 and 2030, respectively.
- ZNE Pilot Program & Architecture at Zero is an active outreach effort to stimulate innovation in net zero energy building construction. The State of California’s ZNE mandate helps set a goal horizon.
- For full details see: http://www.pge.com/mybusiness/energysavingsrebates/rebatesincentives/znepilotprogram/us.htm and http://architectureatzero.com/
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 9Net Zero Energy LEED Platinum Campus: SMUD East Campus Operations Center, Sacramento, California
- Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), which has taken a leading role in net-zero home building in Northern California, is building the most energy-efficient corporate yard of any U.S. electric utility, SMUD’s East Campus-Operations Center, which will be completed in 2013, with the expectation that it will receive the U.S. Green Building Council's top award, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification. The new center, employing 700 persons on 51 acres, will include a six story office building, equipment repair shops, maintenance and warehouse buildings, storage space and parking for fleet vehicles.
- SMUD is a publically-owned municipal utility. - Key parties/contacts are:
- Mr. Farres Everly, Communications, SMUD, Email: [email protected] - Photovoltaic and thermal solar panels will be the source of on-site renewable energy.
Techniques for low-energy heating and cooling and lighting include displacement & evaporative cooling, external shading, daylighting, ceiling fans, geothermal energy storage, radiant slab heating and cooling, use of building exhaust air to precondition incoming air, and a heat recovery heat pump system.
- SMUD campus is seventeen years ahead of California’s ZNE mandate for commercial buildings.
- For full details see: https://www.smud.org/en/about-smud/news-media/news-releases/2011-09-26.htm
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 10Building/Modeling Replicable Zero Energy District: FortZED Project , Fort Collins, Colorado
- Mission of FortZED is to transform the downtown area and the main campus of Colorado State University into a net Zero Energy District through conservation, efficiency, renewable sources and smart technologies. The downtown area of Fort Collins currently supplies 45 MW of peak demand electricity to 7000 residential and commercial customers.
- FortZED is a public-private partner community initiative, which includes the City of Fort Collins & its municipal-owned utility, Fort Collins Utility, and members of the Colorado Clean Energy Cluster and also Colorado State University.
- Key parties/contacts are:- Ms. Katy Bigner, FortZED Coordinator, Email: [email protected], Phone:
+1 970-221-6317- FortZED is ‘jump started’ through ‘Smart Grid’ & ‘Smart Projects’ – i.e., 5MW Smart
Grid Technologies Pilot & Renewable and Distributed Systems Integration – which is matched with eleven ongoing ‘Smart Building’ demonstrations/pilots as well as a community energy challenge, designed to promote ‘Smart People’, who are inspired to make their homes more energy-efficient, cost-effective, and comfortable.
- FortZED brings together government, university and companies in a combined effort to create local innovative net zero energy know-how by achieving a replicable model net Zero Energy District, which can be introduced/sold to other communities.
- For full details see: http://fortzed.com/
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 11Public-Private Community Effort to Building a Smart City & County: Greenprint Denver, Denver, Colorado
- In 2007, the City of Denver created an office of sustainability, Greenprint Denver, and established the cities sustainability policy. The mission of Greenprint Denver is to provide leadership and contribute practical solutions to deliver a prosperous, world class community where people and nature thrive. City of Denver was ranked second for sustainable competitiveness in a study completed by The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation. In July 2012, City’s Mayor unveiled ‘Smart City’ plans for creating a vibrant, world-class city attracting new residents and businesses.
- Greenprint Denver is a city initiative, but its intent is to actively involve the community to achieving the mission.
- Key parties/contacts are:- Ms. Cindy Bosco, Office of the Mayor, [email protected]
- Greenprint Denver addresses energy, air & emissions, water, land, transportation & waste. There are a variety of ongoing community programs: The Denver Energy Challenge, Certifiably Green Denver, Watts-to-Water, Non-profit Energy Efficiency Program, etc.
- Greenprint Denver philosophy is knowing the entire community has a role to play in building a world-class city where everyone matters. Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock states: “Even if the City of Denver took every action possible to retrofit its buildings and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 97 percent of the problem is still in the hands of the community and in need of a solution.”
- For full details see: http://www.greenprintdenver.org/
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 12Systems Dynamic Modeling for Smart City Development: Portland Plan, Portland, Oregon
- Working with IBM, the City of Portland, Oregon, has developed a 25-year plan for becoming a “smarter” city. IBM chose Portland with idea of using simulation for smart city planning because of the City’s reputation: Portland has consistently ranked as the ‘greenest’ city in the USA, with an initial sustainable urban plan dating back to more than thirty years.
- In creating the simulation model, IBM and the City of held sessions with more than 75 Portland-area experts in a wide variety of fields in order to learn about how city systems interact. Portland State University and Forio Business Simulations contributed to the project and IBM collected ten years of historical data.
- Key parties/contacts are:- Ms. Susan Anderson, Director, Bureau of Planning & Sustainability, City of
Portland, Email: [email protected] , Phone: +1 503-823-7700- Plan uses computer simulation designed to help city leaders see how municipal
systems work – i.e., the economy, housing, education, public safety, transportation, healthcare/wellness, government services, utilities, etc.
- IBM states: “…City of Portland has served as a living laboratory…to explore how complex city systems behave over time...While other analytical approaches rely on breaking a problem down into smaller and smaller pieces, the model we’ve created recognizes that the behaviour of a system as a whole can be different from what might be anticipated by looking at its parts.”
- For full details see: http://www.portlandonline.com/portlandplan/
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 13Mobile Urban Food Culture: U.S. Food Truck Revolution
- Jonathan Gold writes in his article How America became a Food Truck Nation in March 2012 Smithsonian magazine: “At a time in America when finances are shaky, yet even modest big-city restaurant spaces involve multimillion-dollar build-outs, when consumers have wearied of giant chains but still demand food that is novel, inexpensive and fast, food trucks are the new incubators of culinary innovation”
- Food trucks are a phenomenon that exploded across the USA in 2011, with its origins in Los Angeles, California, this new form of the Urban Street Food Movement, has its own urban geography.
See: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2012/11/geography-americas-best-food-trucks/3987/
NOTE: Cities across the USA are dealing with the Food Truck Revolution differently – some positively; some negatively. Los Angeles, California, is best for analysis.
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 13 continued
See: http://www.cityofboston.gov/business/mobile/schedule-tabs.asp
Incredible Flying Soup MobileCity: Atlanta, GeorgiaCuisine: Soup and other dishes from Souper Jenny CafeTwitter: @souperJennySample Tweet: "Mobile truck will be parked in front of Murphy's for Summerfest Sat & Sun Selling Lobster Rolls and other yummies!"
Once the purview of immigrant cooks, food trucks are now often art-designed and run by culinary school grads, celebrity chefs…they serve food (often fusion) to go, they’ve lowered the financial bar for becoming a restaurateur, and they use electronic media to connect to their loyal followers, either by public or their own means.
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 14Building the World’s Leading Digital City: City of New York’s NYC Digital Project
- Established in January 2011, the mission of NYC Digital is to realize New York City's potential as the world's leading digital city. With 80 percent of its objectives complete, NYC Digital demonstrates the strides the City has made to achieve its goals, driven by a vibrant technology industry, a strong media presence, infrastructure improvements, and historic investments in education. See: http://www.nyc.gov/html/digital/downloads/pdf/digitalroadmap2012.pdf
- NYC Digital is part of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment- Key parties/contacts are:
- Ms. Rachel Haot, Chief Digital Oficer, NYC Digital, Mayor’s Office, City of New York, New York, Email: [email protected]
- International Requests, NYC Digital, Email: [email protected] - NYC Digital’s approach is focused on initiatives that span five core pillars: Access to
Technology, Education, Open Government, Engagement and Industry.- The status of the program through 2012 is as follows:
- Free Wi-Fi through public spaces, including 26 park locations, 6 subway stations and 11 payphone kiosks. Through the City’s cable franchise agreements, Wi-Fi will grow to an additional 32 public parks through a $10 million commitment by Time Warner Cable and Cablevision. In addition, the City is also supporting more broadband choices for residents, serving 80,000 low income families with high-speed internet.
- Open all of the City’s data by 2018, releasing nearly 900 data sets in real-time APIs, and hosting two ‘hackathons’, resulting in 5000 person-hours dedicated to solving civic challenges & nearly two dozen website prototypes and applications.
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 14 continued
- Status of the NYC Digital program continued:- Increasing the City’s digital reach each month to more than 5.4 million individuals through
social media, smartphone apps, SMS programs, newsletters and NYC.gov. In addition, the redesign of NYC.gov is underway and will be designed with a user-centric approach, making the site more intuitive, usable and efficient than ever before.
- Introducing two new Applied Sciences campuses, including the Cornell NYC Tech on Roosevelt Island, the new NYU/NYU-Poly Center for Urban Science and Progress, and the Academy for Software Engineering – all together, a $2 billion capital investment for building more STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) instruction in New York City. The City has partnered with the public and private sector on these groundbreaking education initiatives that will create an estimated 400 new businesses, 22,000 construction jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity.
- Supporting New York City’s digital sector through recognition of homegrown startups, expansion of the City’s broadband connectivity for businesses to 600 buildings in the next two years and partnerships with technology companies like Facebook, Buddy Media and Shapeways to develop youth employment programs that encourage diversity in the workforce and help young students discover careers in the industry. This includes the launch of the Made in NY Digital Map, highlighting nearly 1000 local technology companies hiring.
- NYC is already a leading node in financial services and media/communications commerce. These information technology intensive industries provide a firm base for NYC to achieve its digital city goals.
- For full details see: http://www.nyc.gov/html/digital/html/home/home.shtml
- The City of Boston is implementing the Innovation District initiative, which is a new approach to spur economic development along the city's waterfront. It is based upon the idea that people in clusters innovate at a quicker rate, sharing technologies and knowledge easier, offering small firms the ability to generate ideas and intermingle with larger firms who have the access to capital and the ability to scale and grow those ideas.
- Boston’s Innovation District was initiated by the City of Boston’s Mayor in 2010. - Key parties/contacts are:
- Mr. Kristopher Carter, IDBoston, Email: [email protected] - Boston’s Innovation District has three core principals:
- Work: create clusters of innovative people- Live: build flexible housing options to work for flexible lifestyles- Play: provide public space and programming to foster an innovation ecosystem
- With its world-class cluster of universities and colleges, the City of Boston was recently ranked the number one smart city in North America. See: http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680967/the-top-10-smartest-cities-in-north-america#1 .
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 15Enabling the Idea Economy: City of Boston’s Innovation District Initiative
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 15 continued
- Innovation District is a cornerstone in the above ranking, and its success is summarized by Professor Daniel Isenberg:
Boston's Innovation District was launched with clear vision and commitment, but, surprisingly, one of its keys to success was that it had no detailed plan, budget, organizational structure, nor even an officially designated team. The fuzziness was a counter-intuitive advantage in engaging diverse stakeholders to define for themselves the role they would play. The mayor and his staff were inspirational facilitators, not controllers. They were not shy about making specific proposals and asking for investments from the private sector, but more as a way to concretize the projects' feasibilities than to push particular programs.
One element of "best process" in fostering entrepreneurship ecosystems is experimentation. As Mayor Menino put it, "We'll experiment with alternative housing models. We will test new ideas that provide live/work opportunities to entrepreneurs and affordable co-housing for researchers.... We'll give architects and developers the challenge to experiment with new designs, new floor plans, and new materials. Our mandate to all will be to invent a 21st century district that meets the needs of the innovators who live and work in Boston." Experiment. Test. Invent.
See: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/06/planting_entrepreneurial_innov.html
- For full details see: http://www.innovationdistrict.org/
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 16Aerotropolis – City of the Future: DFW International Airport in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
- Rowan Moore writes in the 2 March 2013 issue of The Observer:
…in the 21st century, efficient, large, well-connected airports matter to prosperity above everything else. "The fastest, best-connected places will win", and the future belongs to the "city that can see the writing on the wall before the competition can even see the wall".
Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport has been cited as one of the leading examples of the above by John Kasarda, co-author of Aerotropolis: The Way We’ll Live Next, who writes:
“Airports will shape business location and urban development in the 21st century as much as highways did in the 20th century, railroads in the 19th and seaports in the 18 th.”
As a local DFW construction contractor observes:
The term “aerotropolis” is gaining traction in today’s lexicon of urban development, global trade and economic growth. Basically, it means the combination of an airport, planned city, shipping facilities (e.g. roads, rail and ports), and a business hub.
See: http://greg-wilkinson.blogspot.fi/2012/12/welcome-to-age-of-aerotropolis.html
DFW Airport already in 2009 initiated its long-term plan – Vision for the Future (VFR:2030) – with the theme “DFW International Airport – Connecting the World”.See: www.dfwairport.com/cs/groups/public/documents/webasset/p1_056466.pdf
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 16 continued
- DFW International Airport, first completed in 1973, is “Considered one of the most successful cooperative projects in the history of the cities.” It is jointly owned by the Cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, with operations administered by a DFW Airport Board. Since its opening, four suburban cities have grown up around it – Irving, Euless, Grapevine & Coppell – and in an effort to ensure future harmony, these cities have one non-voting representative serving on a rotating basis on the airport’s administrative board.
- Key parties/contacts are:– John Terrell, VP, Commercial Development, Email: [email protected]
- The region surrounding the Cities of Dallas and Fort Worth can best be described as a an emerging megalopolis – i.e., clustered network of cities with a population of about 10 million or more. Interlinked ground transportation corridors often support this kind of urban evolution, and the DFW International Airport is locally linked to a highway, rail and an intermodal logistics hub at Alliance Airport north of Fort Worth. It is also linked through strategic alliances to airports in China, Dubai & Taiwan.
- The DFW Metroplex is home to the USA’s wireless electronics industry, which contributed to the establishment of a Finnish presence in the region twenty years ago. DFW International Airport was also an enabling factor; it is the fourth busiest airport in the world in terms of aircraft movements and eighth busiest in terms of passengers.
- For more details see http://archive.uli.org/fallmeeting2012/thur/JohnBrookby.pdf, http://www.dfwairport.com/index.php & www.dfwairport.com/landhere/index.php
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 17Open Data & Municipal Regulatory Oversight: City of New York’s CityScan Pilot Project
- A start-up company, CityScan, offers a system that that integrates public information on local codes with advanced street-mapping technology to perform the regulatory oversight cities often cannot manage with their own recession-limited budgets and small numbers of available inspectors. See: http://cityscan.com/. In March 2013, it was reported that a 90-day pilot would be ordered by the City of New York to focus is on construction site permits as part of its ‘Broken Windows’ approach toward general cleanliness by improving recognition of permit expiration and debris removal. Additional pilots may be ordered by 11 cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, & Washington, D.C.
- CityScan is a Chicago-based private company. - Key parties/contacts are:
- Mr.. Orlando Saez, Chief Operating Oficer, CityScan, Contact: http://cityscan.com/about-us/contact-us/
- A laser-type remote sensing technology – also known as LiDAR – underlies CityScan’s system. Strategic partner Nokia/NAVTEQ provides street-level maps and LiDAR datasets that allow CityScan to create detailed 3D cityscape models and use information gathered by cars driving through cities to see where things don’t match up.
- System allows cities to better enforce codes & collect unpaid permit revenue. The Finnish connection could be a real winner for the Smart Cities effort.
- For technology commercialization timeline see: http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/49879/CityScan-Inc/%23!date=2012-05-24_19:18:10!#vars!date=2010-09-18_12:02:10!
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 18Municipal Broadband Networks – U.S. Small City Leadership: City of Chattanooga, Tennessee’s EPB Fiber Optics
- A column in the 22 January 2013 issue of Governing states:
Chattanooga, Tenn. (pop 167,000), has leapt to the forefront of American cities with ultra high-speed broadband service and has accomplished the feat in a surprisingly old-fashioned way: the city’s municipally-owned electric utility [EPB] provides the service…What makes Chattanooga’s situation even more unique is that it stands virtually alone among U.S. cities with a population of 100,000 or greater that has municipally-owned broadband. There are only 122 U.S. cities and towns that have municipal broadband in their community, according to Broadband Communities Magazine. But nearly all are small jurisdictions.
- Internet service is offered by a unit in the City’s municipal electric utility. - Key parties/contacts are: https://epbfi.com/
- Governing further notes:
Chattanooga didn’t install fiber broadband just to make consumers happy, but as an effort to reinvent itself as a city with first class infrastructure that will further enable economic development while giving the government innovative capabilities in delivering better services for public safety, traffic and transit, public works and education.
- Small cities in smaller states are leading the way, because the telecom services giants have lobbied hard to get legislation passed to block offerings in large markets.
- For more details see: https://www.epb.net/news/news-archive/epb-fiber-optics-offers-faster-internet-speeds-without-changing-prices/ & https://www.epb.net/
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 19Open Data for City Apps: City of San Francisco, California’s DataSF Initiative
- In 2009, San Francisco became one of the first cities to share its data publicly by creating DataSF, which makes available over 200 datasets from City agencies. In March 2012, the Mayor San Francisco announced the strengthening of the open data initiative by moving it to cloud computing, stating: “Making City data more accessible to the public secures San Francisco’s future as the world’s first 2.0 City.”
- DataSF is an open data portal of San Francisco’s municipal government, but it is described as a “laboratory for participatory democracy”, whereby individuals and organizations are invited to “…help improve the City’s information by using and providing feedback on the applications and also by building their own applications from the available datasets.
- Key contact: Jah Nath, CTO, City of San Francisco: www.jaynath.com/contact/ - Multiple apps have been developed for these areas: Crime, Dinning, Environment,
Local, Maps, News, Politics, Transportation. See: http://apps.sfgov.org/showcase/.- In January 2013, GreenBiz.com blog stated:
Open Data increases government efficiency and civic engagement, leading to social and economic benefits as a result of citizen interaction with government. Opening city data allows residents to use that data in innovative ways -- to identify trends, create solutions and build products and companies. Open Data creates positive environments that support early stage entrepreneurships and contribute to workforce development and job creation.
- For further information see: http://www.socrata.com/newsroom-article/mayor-lee-unveils-socrata-powered-san-francisco-open-data-cloud/ .
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 20Street-Level Public Internet Access: NYC’s Smart Screen (Pay Phone Booth) Pilot
- In May 2012, the City of New York (NYC) began a pilot installation of 32-inch “smart screens” with Internet connections inside 250 old phone booths throughout the City, with the idea that City’s the futuristic screens could eventually replace all of the city’s 12,800 outdoor pay phones, whose franchise contracts with the city expire in October 2014.
- NYC’s Department of Technology & Telecommunications (NYCIT&T) oversees the project and it has given the private company City24x7 the franchisee to install & maintain the smart screens. See: www.nyc.gov/html/doitt/html/news/pr071112.shtml
- Key contact: Tom Touchet, CEO, City24x7 , Phone: +1 212 229 1414, Email: [email protected]
- Free touch-screen technology will display local neighborhood information, including lists of nearby restaurants, store sales in the area, traffic updates, landmark information and safety alerts — in multiple languages – as well as emergency public safety connections, and the smart screens will eventually be wired to make Skype calls, log onto e-mail accounts and serve as WiFi hotspots. The screens cost the city nothing and will eventually bring in revenue via advertising beyond the pilot of 36% of sales.
- NYCIT&T states: “The goal is to pilot it and see what the response is.” This pilot is important as much for the future of pay phones as it is to the question of whether the Internet should be everywhere. See: http://bizshifts-trends.com/2012/10/22/the-ultimate-ubiquitous-internet-any-place-any-time-any-apps-omnipresent-web-stats-facts/ .
- For further information see: http://www.smartcity24x7.com/NYC.html
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 21“Smart Becomes the New Green”: Fort Wayne, Indiana, ‘Smart Hospital’
- Smart buildings predictions for 2013 in the February 2013 issue of AutomatedBuildings.com opines that “Smart Becomes the New Green” and states:
The lives of typical tenants and building occupants are technology-laden with constant social and internet connectivity; they’re expecting advanced technology in buildings and smart building certification can meet those expectations. We anticipate many owners will either forgo or complement the green certification and get their building certified as smart.
Perhaps a sign of the above is the recently constructed Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which features smart rooms, smart beds and materials handling robots among other things.
- Jones Lang LaSalle teamed with HKS Architects of Dallas to design the hospital. - Key contact: Margy Sweeney, Jones Lang LaSalle, Email: [email protected] Jones Lang Lasalle have also partnered with Pacific Controls to introduce
IntelliCommandSM, the commercial real estate industry’s first integrated, end-to-end building management solution to combine cloud-based, smart-building technology to enable 24/7, real-time remote monitoring and control of facilities and portfolios worldwide. See: http://www.us.am.joneslanglasalle.com/Pages/IntelliCommand.aspx
- New builds and solutions of this kind are important first steps in bringing an urban-level of “Internet of Things” to fruition.
- For further information see: http://www.us.am.joneslanglasalle.com/unitedstates/en-us/pages/newsitem.aspx?itemid=24584
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 22Mobility – Augmented Reality – Smart Cities: Google and Visux Glasses
- As reported by URENIO in April 2012, “Google has confirmed that is developing glasses enabling augmented reality within smart cities.” The 23 February 2013 Daily Mail reports that the glasses will go on sale at the end of this year for under $1500. A competing offering by New York-based Visux, who has been developing similar glasses for the military and industry for years, will be released in summer 2013, priced at under $500. One could call these offerings game changers.
- These are proprietary endeavors; see links at bottom of page.- Smart City pilots/demonstrations are unknown at this time but their future development
needs to be actively monitored.- The glasses will give users the capability to simultaneously view the actual physical
environment around them along with related computer generated inputs. - The above offerings are truly one of the first steps toward merging the physical and
digital worlds in a robust environment and the impact on how people interact in the modern urban landscape will be profound. Ubiquitous internet nodes & DER, holographic & future-generation haptics technologies, and wireless energy transfer may them outmoded in ten-or-less years, but the way these glasses model the human interface with augmented reality are an important element in future urban design.
- For further details see: http://www.google.com/glass/start/ & http://www.vuzix.com/augmented-reality/
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 22Mobility – Augmented Reality – Smart Cities: Police Video Glasses
- As a precursor to the use of ‘smart glasses’ by government entities, police departments in the USA are starting to employ Point of View (POV) video glasses other officers – e.g., Maryland, Minnesota & Utah. “The body cameras work like dash cameras already in police cars — they they'll provide an eye-level view of an officers one on one interaction with the public.” See:
- http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57572355-71/police-to-wear-video-cameras-on-sunglasses/
- http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=22965087 - Several manufacturers offer these glasses:
http://www.policemag.com/channel/technology/articles/2012/04/police-product-test-eye-of-mine-hd-video-camera-sunglasses.aspx
http://www.taser.com/products/on-officer-video/axon-flex-on-officer-video
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 23Microgrids as an Enabler of Compact Self-Sufficient Smart Communities: Dublin, California, Santa Rita Jail Demonstration
- In March 2012, the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California, seamlessly disconnected itself from the electric grid and switched over to its own microgrid, powering itself for the duration of a demonstration. Santa Rita Jail is the fifth largest in the USA, housing approximately 4,000 inmates, with peak electricity demand reaching about 3.0 megawatts (MW). The jail was already active in lowering its reliance on the grid, with the installation of a 1.2-MW rooftop solar array, a 1-MW molten carbonate fuel cell, and five small wind generators in 2002. The microgrid’s 2-MW lithium ferrous phosphate battery can carry the load during a power outage without turning on backup generators.
- The Demonstration is led by Chevron Energy Solutions with major collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab).
- Key contact: Chris Marnay, Berkeley Lab, Phone: +1 510-508-7705, Emial: [email protected] & Morgan Crinklaw, Chevron, Phone: +1 925 790 6908
- Berkeley Lab used software they developed called DER-CAM (Distributed Energy Resources-Customer Adoption Model), which looks at electricity and heat requirements, to help analyze and develop an optimal plan for the Jail to meet minimum cost.
- The Global FinNode 21st Century Design Project presented information, forecasting self-sufficient, compact urban neighborhoods in 2030, and the above demonstration, combined with previous cases, is a technological step to this future.
- For further details see: http://der.lbl.gov/, http://der.lbl.gov/publications/compendium-berkeley-lab-research-involving-santa-rita-jail-2008-2012 and http://www.chevronenergy.com/news_room/default.asp?pr=pr_20120322.asp
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 24Selecting the Most Sustainable Solutions for City Needs: Tacoma, Washington’s Required Sustainable Return on Investment Tool
- Tacoma, Washington, was named the first Life Cycle City by the Institute for Environmental Research and Education (IER&E) in January 2011 for its commitment to life cycle assessment (LCA). The vision of IER&E’s life cycle communities program is simple: government and business working together to make products and services that are more environmentally friendly, as measured by life cycle assessment. The City of Tacoma and 20 other cities around the world are joining Citymart.com for the LLGA/Cities Pilot the Future program, which focuses on discovering and implementing the most promising solutions to social and urban challenges.
- City of Tacoma Environmental Services Department oversees LCA initiatives.- Key contact: [email protected] In line with its commitment to LCA and its participation in the LLGA/Cities Pilot the
Future program, Tacoma is looking for a decision-making tool to help evaluate projects and select the most sustainable solutions for the city’s needs. This will enable the city to incorporate life cycle assessment practices into its decision-making for capital projects and programs and better meet economic, environmental & community concerns.
- Sustainable solutions help cities live smartly for present and futures generations, and Tacoma’s needed tool may offer a chance for Finnish interests to collaborate in a region of the USA that is both innovative and highly receptive to smart city solutions.
- For further details see: http://www.cityoftacoma.org/Page.aspx?hid=18884 , http://llga.org/call.php?idCall=27 and http://www.iere.org/life-cycle-cities.aspx
FinNode USA Smart Cities Case 25Thriving Local Economy as an Engine for Smart City Innovation: Houston, Texas – ‘Coolest’ City in the USA
- Houston, Texas, a city that is not appreciated for its hot & humid spring & summer climate, described once as a “Hell Hole” during an NBA basketball championship by an NYC reporter, was named as the Coolest City in America by Forbes magazine in July 2012. A major driver for this designation – a vibrant local job market in a period of U.S. , recession, which attracted 50 thousand new residents in 2011. Many of the new residents are young – the average age of the city is 33. And they are educated; Houston boasts a percentage of college grads over 25 somewhat above the USA’s average, having added 300 000 college graduates in the past decade as compared to Boston’s 240 000 or San Francisco’s 211 000.
- While Houston is a primary node in the global energy industry, home to NASA’s manned space program, with state and city government policies that favor business, many of the innovative transformations in the city are occurring from the ground up.
- Key contact: Mr. Peter Brown, Chairman, Mayor's International Trade and Development Council at City of Houston. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Hoyt_Brown
- There are counter opinions: http://www.salon.com/2012/07/30/houston_is_not_cool/ . Aside from youth-driven inner-urban building & services boom, 1-in-20 of the world’s top million websites are hosted in Houston: http://gigaom.com/2013/03/07/where-does-the-web-live-surprisingly-houston-is-a-popular-neighborhood/ . And the City is home to a functioning 2nd Generation Smart Grid: http://www.reliant.com
- Door is open for linkages: Mr. Brown, an architect & urban planner, who interned in Helsinki, and he has talked to Reijo Kangas by phone.
