Smart cities
TOPICS DISCUSSEDThe purpose of this theme is to explore what major cities are doing to be smarter. The concept of “smart cities” arises at the interface of innovation and collaboration, where end users are actively involved in identifying solutions to their daily issues. New opportunities have arisen over the past few years, including with technology breakthroughs and through metadata processing, making it possible to reach the collective intelligence of citizens and users for being used by public services.
Also, an entirely new ecosystem has appeared, consisting of innovative start-ups supported by infrastructures and services for making them grow. Whether incubators, accelerators, co-working spaces, innovation districts and sectors, mentoring or risk capital, an entire network of new resources is helping to actively support these new entrepreneurs. The goal: to improve quality of life for residents and visitors. All aspects of civic life are targeted by these approaches referred to as smart, ranging from governance to civic life, including public services and socio-economic issues, in addition to urban mobility, living environment, the democratic process and economic development. The communications sought will thus be able to cover these various themes, proposing new ideas or concretely illustrating examples of success or processes in this direction.
