Even some spooks like open data "This is culturally difficult for us"
Data “owners” can send you away faster than Italian bureaucrats. But here and there there’s hope, such as when a leader among the most protective keepers of data signals openness. “This is culturally difficult for us.” Blog post on two Intelligence Matters interviews, Sue Gordon & Ellen McCarthy. #Opendata #civictech #smartcities https://wp.me/p75ev2-1h0
Smart cities sounds magical, but civic tech gets it done "You have to be tenacious and cool"
Louisville, Kentucky's chief technology officer works with the Code for America Brigade captain every day. That sounds to me like a good way to start building a smart city. But there's more to it than that. “My job is to help us chart the course forward” for what he sees as the new IT. If as the metaphor goes, data is the new oil, or technology is the new steam engine, or “smart” is the new “rich and famous,” Ed Blayney has just sprung the gate. This former second-in-command of an Army infantry company in Afghanistan says civic tech's not going away.
Coaxing a city into the digital age "It's about what people expect"
She's the first woman of color on the San Ramon (CA) City Council, born in Pakistan, a senior member of the 5G group at a major telecom carrier, and a mom -- and she's coaxing her "surprisingly unconnected" city into the digital age. Her job won't be easy, as she's found out since being elected last November.
Opaque top-down systems vs do-it-yourself Look around, find data, invent, repeat
Many people by now have resigned themselves to the ways of smart because they like the features. But smart cities are still new and mysterious, even a little bit unsettling. A friend asked me, "What's a smart city?" I give her the standard spiel about smooth traffic, sustainable garbage, on-demand this and that. She rolls her eyes. "Another top-down miracle," she says in disgust. What's it going to take to win widespread trust?