cities
How do you solve a pressing big-city problem? One way is to summon the political will to find and implement an actual solution. This is what Copenhagen is doing to reduce its carbon emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. With a goal of becoming the “first carbon neutral capital” by
cities
Will the average resident of a city enjoy better opportunities for learning, entertainment and work with access to high-speed broadband? There’s no doubt that the answer is “Yes.” And will the typical person who commutes to a busy central business district every day benefit from a smart traffic system
cities
To their credit, lots of city leaders concerned about the future livability of their communities have been taking to heart the old wisdom about “thinking globally, acting locally.” In places like Europe, where the EU has established long-range sustainability goals, some cities have already gone well above and beyond such
cities
Today I went to a collaborative workshop held by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills on funding smart cities. The event was to capture the ideas of people who work in the smart cities industry to attempt to lay down some standards. The British Standards Institution was there to
big data
Don’t be evil. That expression is famous as the unofficial motto for Google, which says that means – among other things – focusing on customers’ needs and delivering the best products and services possible. That’s certainly an admirable aspiration for any business. But the massive amounts of customer data that
big data
Geraldton is a small city with big ambitions for technologically advanced, sustainable living. Located on Australia’s west coast, the city of Greater Geraldton is the largest community in the 4,000-kilometer stretch between Perth and Darwin, with a regional population of about 40,000. It’s also growing fast
cities
People and cities can’t survive without water. Too much water, though, can also be devastating, as communities from Atlantic City — slammed last fall by Hurricane Sandy — to China’s Kunming have been reminded recently. With sea levels already rising and at least another four feet of increase “locked in,
transport
Getting a large segment of society to replace gas-powered vehicles with electric ones raises a chicken-and-egg problem: how can you promote a shift to plug-in cars when drivers don’t have a convenient network of places at which to plug in? For two electric-car-loving entrepreneurs, however, unique circumstances in the
big data
The world is full of patterns, even though we don’t always see them. Advances in computing can help to unlock these patterns to make life easier, better and more convenient. That’s especially true in the world’s crowded and ever-growing cities, where new ways of compiling, analyzing and
transport
Officials in Dublin are hoping to solve the Irish city’s traffic problems by making smarter use of data. Using systems built with the help of IBM, the city is now streaming in masses of data from multiple sources to build a digital map of traffic, especially the location of
hydrogen
A US research team inspired by the work of twin sisters from a New York high school has identified a low-cost but effective catalyst that could replace expensive platinum for hydrogen production. Hydrogen has long been touted as a clean-burning, efficient fuel that could power cars and fuel cells for
sustainability
Businesses that have won B Corporation certification for their social and environmental impact aren’t necessarily the best in the world, but they are among the best for the world, the organization asserts. The B Corporation, which assesses companies on social and environmental performance, has come out with its 2013