David Fine is the author of a three part series about the future of “Civic Technology” and the idea of Smart Cities. His theory – and it’s a good one – is that “as Moore’s Law continues apace, cities will continue to blanket themselves in all sorts of cheap, reliable, and (we hope) meaningful sensors. Sensors generate data, and data will serve as the first of many building blocks to realize the pie-in-the-sky notion of a ‘smart city.'”
I spoke with fine about his ideas on Technotopia and asked him – in multiple ways – how the heck our cities were going to go from dumb to smart in this century. He pointed out that bigger cities around the world are already building an internal nervous system and the real challenge is getting the smaller towns on the network.
“The idea of technology companies working with governments to bring innovative solutions to citizens is nothing new. It’s how they’re doing it today that makes civic technology so different. To understand the difference, let’s explore how governments would traditionally deliver technology to citizens,” he wrote.
It’s a fascinating exploration of the future of smart cities and one that points to a brave new world of connected streets, sidewalks, and people. Check it out.
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