Calling All Smart Citizens

• Smart city governments (and their citizens) know the statistic:
  • By 2050, 75% of the earth’s population may be living in urban environments: that’s 7.5 billion people, compared with 55% (around 3.8 billion people) today
• They understand the impact:
  • Challenges to transportation, pollution, water, energy, and safety
• And welcome the opportunities:
  • They lead the quest to develop smarter and more resilient cities
• And if you’re part of city government, you won’t want to miss:
  • The world’s leading Smart City event; Smart City Expo World Congress

In my last post, I told you about this event focused on Cities for Citizens for 2016, and provided the top 10 reasons to attend. If you still haven’t marked your calendar for November 15-17, here’s your reminder and additional enticements to get you to register:

• Fifty (50) international pavilions with cities, regions and countries from around the world showcasing projects designed to tackle their urban challenges
• Five (5) SAP HANA Startup companies will be joining SAP Public Sector at our booth
• Three (3) co-located key events (get the biggest bang for your buck – or Euro):
  • Circular Economy European Summit: Bringing global experts together to highlight this new way to do business towards the creation of urban circular systems that regenerate the economy, ecology and people’s wealth
  • Iwater: The international meeting point addressing the key issues that define and shape the future management of water
  • European Utility Week: The platform for bringing together the smart energy industry to drive efficiencies in meeting sustainable development goals

While visiting Barcelona can’t be underestimated, you can also learn without having to travel. Smart Cities thought leaders (Sara Gardner, CTO, Hitachi Insights; Ruthbea Yesner Clark, IDC Smart Cities Lead; and Marlyn Zelkowitz. SAP, Future Cities & Public Sector, IoT) did a two-part radio show with Bonnie Graham that you can listen to from your desk:

• Making Cities Safer and Smarter: The Internet of Things (Part 1)
• Making Cities Safer and Smarter: The Internet of Things (Part 2)

For additional preparation (and to impress the other smart citizens with your knowledge) there are two webinars the week before the event:

• November 7: Smart Cities – Transforming for the Digital Era
• November 10: Partnering to unlock maximum value in your city

So even if you can’t go in person, take advantage of all the learning opportunities available and get into the “smart frame of mind”.