Quote of the week
“Smarter cities of the future will drive sustainable economic growth.”
Editor’s Corner
Over 80 percent of Canadians are now living in urban areas. On top of that, of the remaining 20 percent who are defined by StatsCan as ‘rural’, many are considered ‘urban adjacent.’ Finally, in about 35 years, two out three people will live in urban areas.
So, lots of people living in urban spaces who will require services.
One could argue that the problems facing cities are significant today, much less than a generation ago. Think of aging infrastructure, an increasingly diverse population, and reduced budgets — and you can be sure that these issues will only become more pressing.
IBM has a SmarterCities initiative that has released some interesting reports that suggest ways in which cities can drive sustainable economic growth and meet the challenge. The company argues that a city is an “interconnected system of systems” made of three core components: infrastructure, operations and people.
A main message is one that will resonate with all governments: if cities are to remain competitive in the world of shrinking budgets and increased citizen expectations, they better figure out how to leverage their core components effectively.
And they need to do so in order to make better decisions, anticipate and solve problems proactively, and coordinate resources to work better.
The IBM SmartCities initiative papers are on our CGE website at www.canadiangovernmentexecutive.ca.
By the way, Blueprint 2020, the federal government’s renewal initiative, is the talk of Ottawa over the Clerk’s invitation to public servants to weigh in using social media. Do you think this dimension will make a difference? Check it out on our site.
Finally, be sure to check out – and contribute to – the new CGE blog. It’s at http://cgexecblog.wordpress.com/
