In what has become a recurring theme of Techonomy 2017, the technology is outracing society’s capacity to thoughtfully integrate it. Monday’s sessions on the future of cities was no exception. More
Construction Workers Need Tech Skills
Construction is a critical industry that has neither the tech nor the trained workers it needs. McKinsey calculates the world needs a stunning $3.3 trillion in new infrastructure every year through 2030 to keep pace with projected economic growth. New training programs, new attitudes, and new software are urgently needed. More
Analytics & Data Cities Community Insights
Michigan Bets on Connected Tech for its Continued Revival
Michigan's leaders want it to become a tech hub. But low-wage work is increasingly the norm, and Detroit still has very far to go. Policymakers aim to leverage the considerable tech resources of existing industries, and plan to use the Internet of Things as another key element for a leap forward. Smart traffic lights are going in now. More
Connected Cities Demand a Great User Experience
The capabilities of the Internet of Things are uniting city planners and technology experts everywhere to transform metropolises into smart, connected cities. Smart cities are popping up in Europe and around the world. What we need are systems of experience that represent the people, processes, and technology, giving cities necessary long-term sustainability. How will the IoT help to build cities of the future? More
Cities Community Insights Transportation
Harnessing the Data Exhaust (from vehicles)
It may be another generation until driverless cars are the norm, but in the meantime we need data to train the software, as well as to assist in the development of new infrastructure and regulatory regimes. A vast amount of data is already accumulating from cars now on the road, and it dwarfs what's gathered in Google and Uber’s autonomous car projects. More
Disrupting Concrete with Code
The construction industry is less productive than it was 60 years ago. Software and digital tools are either absent or extremely primitive. But new software could help this industry finally catch up to the rest of the economy. The mobile devices that are in every construction workers' hands should help them get their jobs done. More
Tech:NYC Celebrates and Shapes New York’s Tech Industry
Tech:NYC draws together local tech companies large and small to work with government, build industry ties and cultivate critical tech talent. It was only formed last year, but is already having a significant impact, both underscoring and contributing to the robust growth of technology in New York. More
Happy Trails: An Inexpensive Way to Revive American Suburbs
As people move more and more to cities, suburban America is in need of a facelift. City living is attractive to young people because they are aware of their energy consumption, they like the action there, and the cost of car and home ownership is often out of reach. Suburban areas across the country are utilizing new trail systems to connect communities, making them more bikeable, pedestrian friendly and green. More
The Designer as an Evolutionary Mutagen
MoMA's Paola Antonelli spoke in her Techonomy interview about seeking "a theory of everything for design," so I wanted to share my two cents. As designers we might consider ourselves as mutagens of the artificial world, whose aim is to accelerate the transformation of the present into how it “ought to be." More
Cities Government Transportation
Parking ticket? There’s a Bot for That
A legal chatbot called DoNotPay helps users appeal parking tickets through a series of simple questions: Was the signage confusing? Were signs clearly visible? Was the parking bay large enough? It has already helped overturn 160,000 parking tickets in New York and London and has saved users over $2 million, but for its young creator, parking tickets are just the beginning. More
Cities Internet of Things Techonomy Events
A Field Guide to Techonomy NYC
When organizing a conference, you never really know it’s going to work until it’s over. So we're pretty darn gratified that by all accounts, our first ever Techonomy NYC event was a rousing success. Tech is rocking along, changing things right and left, and here you could feel it happening. Here is what happened, with links to all the session videos, transcripts, and photos you want to see. More
Creating a Smart and Equitable City
New York City is already a smart and innovative city. But it is not enough just to have cool tech. Being a smart city means also being an equitable city ─ “distributing the future more evenly” across all five boroughs. A new set of city guidelines have been painstakingly developed to help all city agencies and their partners move into the Internet of Things with fairness and effectiveness. More
Cities Internet of Things Techonomy Events
It Took Us Six Years to Develop Techonomy NYC (Finally, It’s May 26!)
The perspective you get doing business and journalism in New York is global, in context of every industry, and grounded in human, social and political realities. So it's about time we organized here the kind of big-picture conversation about how tech changes everything that Techonomy uniquely curates. An amazing group of speakers from tech, business, government, and media help us understand the Internet of Things and much more. More
Cities Internet of Things Transportation
Connected Vehicles Make Cities Smarter
With the vast majority of the human population soon in cities, we know we have to leverage information technology to enhance city services, increase safety and improve quality of life. It turns out that the cheapest solution to acquire massive amounts of actionable urban data as well as expand urban wireless coverage may be to rapidly connect as many vehicles moving around the city as possible. An effort to do that in Porto, Portugal is well underway. More
Analytics & Data Cities Internet of Things
Smart Neighborhood Data Can Help Small Business
As cities turn themselves into smart cities, a critical component is small business. GoDaddy joined with the Social Computing group at the MIT Media Lab to install sensors in Boston’s Downtown Crossing neighborhood to collect data and use it to help small businesses. Info about pedestrian and vehicle movement, air quality and noise will be combined with retail information in hopes of helping them compete and thrive. I'll talk about this at Techonomy NYC. More
Cities Internet of Things Techonomy Events
Program Director Ross on Techonomy NYC—One Month Away!
On Thursday May 26 we host Techonomy NYC. Our diverse program covers everything from finance and banking to health, smart cities, crowd-based capitalism and the impact of tech on culture and trust. We’ve got 27 speakers, including Autodesk CEO Carl Bass, Data & Society’s danah boyd, IBM’s Blockchain expert Jerry Cuomo, Facebook’s Carolyn Everson, Bayer head of digital development Jessica Federer, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, GE Digital CEO Bill Ruh, Betterment CEO Jon Stein and NYC CTO Minerva Tantoco. Join us! More
Arts & Culture Cities Startup Culture
Reflections from Ross: Art, Tech, and Civic Life in NYC
I’m writing this week's post from Civic Hall in NYC, a fantastic co-working, gathering, and events space just around the corner from Techonomy's office on West 22nd Street. There I bumped into organizers of the first NYC Creative Tech Week, April 29-May 8, a full week of programming on the intersection of tech, media, creativity, art and design. Here are some Techonomy links that demonstrate this intersection. More
Cities Energy & Green Tech Internet of Things
Before Going Too Jetson, Self-Driving Car Companies Should Ask Two Key Questions
We are once again in the midst of buzz and hype with regard to an innovative mode of transportation–the self-driving car. To Tesla and Google, Mercedes-Benz and Apple, Nissan and Audi and the myriad other companies looking to get us to take our hands off the wheel, I offer up this yellow light of branding caution: Don’t let your own excitement short-change your assessment of how it will really play in the market. More
Cities Society Techonomy Events
Program Director Ross Reflects on Detroit
Highlights of Techonomy Detroit: CEO Mark Bertolini of Aetna on community based healthcare, inequality and the responsibility of CEOs. He dresses like a rock star and among CEOs, he is one. Talks ranged widely over tech and what it can do in places like Detroit. But local activist Lauren Hood reminded us "What's missing is that the people most impacted by this technology are not in the room, and that model gets replicated on any problem we have." More
Analytics & Data Cities Techonomy Events
At Techonomy Detroit: Tech Giants Turn Attention to Civic Life
A Civic Innovation team survey of 2,000 U.S. adults including 100-plus in-depth interviews with people across the country revealed that half of the population are “interested bystanders,” who follow the news and the issues, but don’t participate in civic life. Although “clicktivism” is on the rise, most individuals aren't able to keep up or remember everything they click/read online. The panelist give a great insight, ultimately acknowledging that civic life, although improving, has failed to reach everyone. More
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