“Internet of Cities” the theme of the New York think-tank’s annual Global Awards Program

The Internet of Cities, according to the report, is the digital network connecting organizations, individuals and devices that overlays and enriches the physical networks of the place called home.  ICF’s analysis focuses not on the connections among machines but on the connections among people in communities around the world, who are increasingly being enabled and empowered by information and communications technology. In a profoundly human process, they leverage technology for inclusive prosperity, for positive social change and for the enrichment of culture.
 
Taken from discussions with ICF’s 145 designated Intelligent Communities, the message from the report is that these technologies will be central to managing cities and the lives of people confronted with profound changes.  Technologists and forecasters confidently predict that the Internet of Things (IoT) will have dizzying impacts on the economy as they begin to become part of the communications infrastructure.  It is estimated that growth in the IoT sector will be anywhere from 25 billion to 70 billion connected devices by 2020.
 
“We’re studying cities in this framework because cities are where people live, work and offer the economic and social output that define our lives.  Cities and towns were the internet before there was an Internet!” said ICF Co-Founder Robert Bell. “Cities, from Athens to Rome to Chichen Itza to Bangkok, were the original web and network hubs.  These unique human arrangements are where talent, commerce, investment, learning and creativity converged to produce civilization. Through our exploration of The Internet of Cities, we are looking at the ways in which the that original network hub is transformed by information and communications technology (ICT) and, in turn, how it uses ICT to make the human experience more fulfilling, rather than more anxious.”
 
The Internet of Cities is the latest of a series of reports from ICF that stimulate dialogue on urban and rural development as well providing a unique focus for each year’s Awards Program. By introducing this as a theme for the Awards Program, it becomes an area on which communities must report their status in order to be judged for contention.  Communities under consideration for the Intelligent Community of the Year Award are evaluated based on ICF’s Intelligent Community six permanent Indicators: Broadband, Knowledge Workforce, Innovation, Digital Equality, Sustainability, and Advocacy. A detailed description of these indicators can be found at:http://www.intelligentcommunity.org/intelligent_community_indicators
 
ICF will name its Smart21 Communities of 2017, semi-finalists for the Intelligent Community of the Year Award, on 19 October at the Think Canada conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. ICF will select from this group its iconic Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2017, finalists for the Intelligent Community of the Year Award. This announcement takes place on 7 February 2017 in Asia.  TheTop7 Communities are then invited to New York to be celebrated and to become the centerpiece of a three-day dialogue among ICF’s 145 Intelligent Communities and thought-leaders from around the globe.  This year’s Summit takes place on 6-8 June 2017.  
 
On 8 June 2017, one of the seven will be named the Intelligent Community of the Year.  The current Intelligent Community of the Year, Montreal, will be on hand to preside over the ceremony and to share knowledge with the Summit’s delegates.  Previous Intelligent Communities of the Year include Stockholm (Sweden), Taichung (Taiwan), Toronto (Canada), Eindhoven (The Netherlands) and Columbus, Ohio (USA).
 
For more information on the ICF Summit, visit www.intelligentcommunity.org/summit
 
About the Intelligent Community Forum
The Intelligent Community Forum (www.intelligentcommunity.org), headquartered in New York, is a global movement of nearly 150 cities, metro regions and counties with a think tank at its heart. ICF studies and promotes the best practices of the world's Intelligent Communities as they adapt to the new demands and seize the opportunities presented by information and communications technology (ICT). To help cities and regions build prosperous economies, solve social problems and enrich local cultures, the Intelligent Community Forum conducts research, hosts global events, publishes books, and produces its high-profile annual international awards program. The Forum has two Institutes in North America dedicated to the study of the movement, with more institutes planned. Global leaders, thinkers, and media observers follow and participate in the ongoing global dialogue initiated by the Intelligent Community Forum. In 2012 ICF was invited to participate at the Nobel Peace Prize conference in Oslo and in 2014, its model and work was recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, which, according to the American government, was "aimed at creating a more flexible and responsive system of workforce development to meet the needs of employers looking to fill 21st century jobs.” The Forum’s membership is made up of 145 designated Intelligent Communities worldwide, which is represented by mayors and key civic leaders. For more information, go towww.intelligentcommunity.org/icf_membership. For more details on the Intelligent Community Forum’s recent publications and programs, www.intelligentcommunity.org.
 
Intelligent Community Forum Contacts
Matthew Owen
Director of Operations
Intelligent Community Forum
Phone: +1 646-291-6166 (x105) -
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @Newcommunities