Founded in 1861 by Father Albert Lacome, the city of St. Albert is a striking blend of culture, history and community. St. Albert began as a small town around the Father Lacombe Chapel—which stills stands today on Mission Hill—in the Sturgeon River valley northwest of Edmonton and grew into the second-largest city in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region. In addition to the Father Lacombe Chapel, the city is home to the St. Albert Grain Elevator Park, which houses two historic grain elevators. But for a city rich in historical sites, St. Albert is most defined by its community of residents constantly striving to improve life and embrace new innovation. St. Albert Place, located at the heart of the city, is a classic example of this attitude. It was designed by a world-renowned architect as a “people place” from the start and currently houses the St. Albert Public Library where residents can gather to learn about new technologies and opportunities in the modern world. This gathering of residents from local government positions, local businesses, academia and the general public has produced St. Albert’s Smart City Master Plan.

Access for All

A core component of St. Albert’s Smart City Master Plan is providing high-speed Internet access throughout the community. St. Albert has created its own municipal fiber optic network, which now connects half of the city’s municipal buildings, intersections and assets. The city plans to expand this coverage to all assets in the near future. St. Albert is also using this network to offer licensed wholesale access to community groups, including the Chamber of Commerce and local school districts, as well as to industry.

In addition to fiber, the city is expanding its cellular service infrastructure, including building new towers, new fiber backhaul, and new microcell installations to allow citizens to use their wireless cell service everywhere. St. Albert is working with service providers as part of this initiative to offer free Wi-Fi service in public places throughout the community with most free Wi-Fi locations now up and running.

Training the Workforce of the Future

St. Albert has developed several programs to help train its younger citizens for future careers and to assist young entrepreneurs in the more difficult phases of starting up. The city operates the Collective facility where local youth can access a series of Marketplace programs. The programs include skill-building workshops—such as Ready to Rent, a course that provides education and resources for finding and maintaining housing—counselling and outreach, entrepreneurship training with highly qualified mentors available and the Building Assets and Memories (BAM) program. The BAM program has attracted dozens of youth members who have organized retreats, a youth-issues conference, foreign missions and many popular community events. In addition to these programs, the Collective provides meeting spaces for youth to gather and exchange ideas and for entrepreneurs to get started on their companies.

Fostering an Innovation Ecosystem

To attract innovators to the city as well as provide an ideal environment for local entrepreneurs, St. Albert has partnered with residents and academic and industry leaders to establish itself as a “living lab.” Entrepreneurs and innovators can test their products, ideas, and commercialization plans in the city, making it an attractive place to build new businesses. Since becoming a living lab, St. Albert has seen resident entrepreneurs form an Innovation Council. Working together with the local chamber of commerce, business incubator and university, the Innovation Council launched the St. Albert Innovation Forum in 2017, an event open to the whole community where residents can share new ideas and debate policies for future competitiveness in the city. The Innovation Council has also created a Capital Partnership Program, a new platform to help innovators attract investors.

Digital Literacy at the Public Library

With Internet service rapidly approaching 100% availability in St. Albert, the city has turned to its library to train residents to use all the new technologies available to them. The St. Albert Public Library offers a wide array of digital literacy programs, including classes on using email, mobile devices, social media, Google apps and Microsoft Office products, as well as introductory programming, coding and game design courses. In addition to attending classes at the library, residents can also make use of the library’s Outreach Literacy Van, a mobile classroom staffed by a Community Outreach Librarian. The Literacy Van visits schools, clubs, churches and other community centers and provides a total of 60 different technology literacy programs with more being added each year. The library is currently planning a drop-in Makerspace program focusing on virtual reality, robotics and other emerging technologies to be launched sometime in 2018.

In addition to classes, the St. Albert Public Library has expanded its technological services, providing 45 public workstations with free Wi-Fi access for patrons. In 2017, these workstations saw more than 34,000 Internet work sessions. People have always been St. Albert’s greatest resource, and the city continues to nurture that resource, helping residents achieve their greatest potential and improve life for all.

Population: 65,589

Website: https://stalbert.ca

Smart21 2018

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In this edition of The INTELLIGENT Community Podcast, Soul of the City ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla speaks with Donna Gillespie, CEO, Kingston Economic Development Corporation and David Meadows, Economic Development Director, Hilliard, Ohio

It may be the only city in the world named for a song. This planned city was built from scratch in the 1940s, when a song about a woman named Maria do Ingá became popular among the planners and early residents. Shortened to Maringá, it became the official name – and explains the city’s nickname, Cidade Canção, or “Song City.”

Today, the top three economic sectors by revenue in Maringá are agriculture, industry (food processing, chemicals and textiles) and services. But by employment, the order is reversed, with the service sector employing more than three-quarters of workers, while industry employs most of the rest and agricultural labor makes up just 1% of the workforce.  

Expanding Opportunity

With a population of nearly 770,000, Maringá is well-served by multiple private-sector ISPs, which provide nearly universal availability and support digital services and remote work. Economic disparities, however, depress adoption, and Maringá has responded by implementing free Wi-Fi across 500 public spaces, including squares, terminals and urban facilities. Through public-private partnerships, it has also pushed wired services into schools and innovation centers in the city. 

The city’s service sector is currently dominated by retail and wholesale trade, with five shopping malls, and wholesalers of food, dry goods, textiles, wood, auto parts and appliances. Tourism is also vital and is managed by the Maringá and Region Convention & Visitors Bureau.  On this foundation, the city is working to grow a technology sector and the workforce that can supply its needs. In partnership with its universities and the private sector, it is delivering thousands of hours of training in programming, AI, robotics and innovation practices. The city has also introduced the Municipal Week of Girls in Technology, which brought together more than 700 students with tech companies and higher education to foster greater participation by women in technology careers. An Entrepreneurial Journey program launched in 2026 offers a structured program for entrepreneurs including training, mentorship and investor connections, while an internal program for city employees offers 300 online courses preparing them for developing and delivering online government services. 

Centers, Parks & Testbeds

Maringá got an early start on technology innovation. In 2012, it launched the Maringá Innovation Center, a nonprofit organization, to be the engine powering an innovation ecosystem engaging government, universities, industry and civil society. Today, it coordinates innovation programs, promotes innovation events and develops platforms like Maringá Conecta, which links business challenges to local technological solutions. 

More recently, the city, tech companies and universities acquired land and invested in infrastructure to begin building the Maringá IT Park as a home for the innovation economy. The first phase of the project attracted 12 tech companies and developers and led to the creation of 400 new jobs. The city also launched InovaWeek, a program of lectures, workshops hackathons and matchmaking sessions aiming to share knowledge, stimulate entrepreneurship and bridge the academic-industry divide. Within four years of its founding, the annual event was attracting 50 partner institutions and 2,000 participants. 

Maringá then added an annual GovTech program in which it offers tax incentives to companies that present innovation technology solutions for government challenges. The first program attracted 27 companies and generated 17 projects for testing on city infrastructure. 

Accelerating Inclusion

For the offline population, public-private partnerships are providing training that ranges from basic digital literacy to programming, robotics and applied AI. These programs also target business creation with courses in business modeling and solutions development. There is a special focus on inclusion for the elderly population through practical training on everyday technology use, from smartphones to digital public services, banking applications, online communication and online safety. 

The Mobile Technology & Innovation Lab brings technology education to municipal schools. It offers hands-on workshops in robotics, programming and AI to promote critical thinking, logical reasoning and creativity. The TechBus, as it is called, is reaching hundreds of children per year. 

Zero Waste

Maringá is committed to growing the city in a sustainable, smart and inclusive way. Its Zero Waste Program aims to shift waste management to a circular economy model in which the private sector can benefit from recovery and reuse of waste while minimizing landfill disposal. The city invites companies to submit technology solutions for testing, from biodigestion to waste-to-energy solutions. The waste treatment solutions emerge from the program with commercial value beyond their contribution to the city’s sustainability. 

Agriculture remains the biggest sector of Maringá’s economy, yet only a small employer because of the success of agricultural technology. “Song City” is working to make technology a driver of employment growth instead, and to build more inclusive prosperity in the decades to come. 

Population: 765,000

Websites: www.maringa.pr.gov.br

Smart21 2026

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In this edition of The INTELLIGENT Community Podcast, Soul of the City ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla speaks with Bern Grush, Executive Director, Urban Robotics Foundation & John G. Jung, Co-Founder, ICF.

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In this edition of The INTELLIGENT Community Podcast, Soul of the City ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla speaks about intelligent community development, awards events and looking ahead.

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In this edition of The INTELLIGENT Community Podcast, Soul of the City ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla speaks about the "AMEN" stages of the ICF program.

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In this edition of The INTELLIGENT Community Podcast, Soul of the City ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla speaks with Kris Baxter, Communication and Marketing Director, Tempe, AZ.

The full Community Accelerator program includes seven courses, each covering a vital area of economic and community development. They describe why each area matters and the opportunities it offers. Through case studies of cities, counties and regions, they show how to build enduring prosperity, social inclusion and a supportive culture for your people. Download a list of the topics you will learn and the competencies you will gain from the courses.

Thriving in Binary

Your community’s present and future are being shaped by the digital innovations unleashed over the past 40 years – with the explosive disruptions of AI just over the horizon. Learn how we got here and how one small city has turned the continuing digital revolution to its advantage, reversing decades of decline. It’s an entertaining and informative introduction to ICF’s unique framework for economic and community development, based on the best practices of more than 200 cities, counties and regions around the world. Free on our learning platform – no strings attached! 

Connectivity: Foundation for Digital Opportunity

Second edition with all-new content! Learn how communities like yours have built municipal or county-wide networks, expanded them to serve the entire community and turned broadband into economic opportunity for residents, entrepreneurs and employers. Use cases from cities and counties in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe and the US share principles and specific steps you can adapt in your own community. 12-month subscription: US$99.95. Try before you buy: Take a free mini-course.

Creating the Workforce Your Future Demands

Second edition with all-new content! Today, knowledge and skills are the only route to personal and community prosperity. But unless you connect education to employment, you are exporting your best talent to some other place. A local ladder of opportunity can make all the difference. Learn how to build one in this  online course, which shares the best practices of communities in the US, Canada, Europe and Taiwan. 12-month subscription: US$99.95. Try before you buy: Take a free mini-course.

Innovation: Building an Ecosystem for Growth

Second edition with all-new content! Innovation from existing and new businesses is the prime driver of economic growth. But how do you help them innovate? It takes an ecosystem of partners working in concert, and it can happen in small cities and rural counties as well as big cities. Learn how in this online course, which shares the best practices of communities in Asia, Latin America, Europe and the US. 12-month subscription: US$99.95. Try before you buy: Take a free mini-course.

Engaging the Community in Positive Change

Second edition with all-new content! Community development has more to do with economic development than you might think. From business innovation to envisioning the future, community engagement can be a powerful driver of economic growth. Learn how in this online course, which shares the best practices of communities in Australia, Europe and South America. 12-month subscription: US$99.95. Try before you buy: Take a free mini-course.

Inclusion: Overcoming the Digital Divide

Digital inclusion is more than a social concern. It is a barrier to full participation in your economy, whether for an individual or a small business. Learn what has worked for hundreds of communities in this online course, which shares the best practices of communities in Australia, Europe and the US. 12-month subscription: US$99.95. Try before you buy: Take a free mini-course.

Sustainability: Quality of Life, Engagement & Growth

Sustainability practices are about more than EV charging stations and LEED-certified buildings. They are a path to better quality of life, greater resilience in the future – and the biggest economic opportunity of the next half century. Learn how you can get your share in this online course, which shares the best practices of communities in Australia, Canada and the US. 12-month subscription: US$99.95. Try before you buy: Take a free mini-course.

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In this edition of The INTELLIGENT Community Interview, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla speaks with Marc Meyer, author, "Voices from the Kitchen."

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In this episode of The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla has a conversation with Rachael Cain, Founder of Pick Up Pigeons.