In this episode of The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla speaks with Professor Jennifer Sherman of Washington State University about rural inequality, what the American Dream now looks like, social interactions and how they've changed over the past 18 months, and more. 

Communities from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Russia and Vietnam become finalists for Intelligent Community of the Year to be named at the ICF Summit in October

(New York, USA – 30 June, 2021) – In an announcement today at the conclusion of a virtual conference, the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) named the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2021. The 19th annual Top7 list includes cities and counties from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Russia and Vietnam. One of these seven finalists in the think tank’s annual awards program will be named the Intelligent Community of the Year at the ICF Summit in October, which will once again be a virtual conference as the world recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. (www.intelligentcommunity.org/summit)

In alphabetical order, the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2021 are:

• Binh Duong Smart City, Vietnam
• Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
• Langley Township, British Columbia, Canada
• Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
• Moscow, Russia
• Townsville, Queensland, Australia
• Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

FREDERICTON—Introhive, a Fredericton-based software startup, announced Wednesday that it has secured a $100-million (U.S.) investment, part of a Series C round led by PSG, a Boston-based company that backs middle-market software companies.

“It’s been a big year for Introhive,” said CEO Jody Glidden in an interview with Huddle. “We were on Deloitte’s 500 fastest-growing companies list for the second year in a row, we were recognized in Canada on the best places to work list.”

$10 million to establish McMaster University's iHub to support more than 230 SMEs to commercialize new technologies for next-generation automotive and aerospace sectors

HAMILTON, ON, June 14, 2021 /CNW/ - The integration of advanced technology across the automotive and aerospace sectors is transforming the way we travel and transport goods, while offering substantial environmental benefits by reducing emissions and moving us closer to a zero emissions future. Manufacturers integrating new technology are growing in number and SMEs will be required to quickly pivot their operations and seize new supply chain opportunities as the automotive and aerospace sectors embrace greater electrification.

This is why, today, the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister of Labour and Member of Parliament for Hamilton West–Ancaster–Dundas, announced a $10-million FedDev Ontario investment for McMaster University https://innovationfactory.ca/ to establish iHub, a university-based integrated automotive, aerospace and advanced manufacturing network. The announcement was made on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario.

Population aging increases the prevalence of dementia among Taiwan’s elderly who are at a high risk of getting lost or going missing. This invention helps solve this problem.

For our final tour, we look at two Taiwanese transportation companies worth learning about.

Amidst the economic doom and gloom that the COVID pandemic has wreaked on Toronto, there’s been one consistent source of good news.

The Greater Toronto Area’s technology sector keeps on growing. The latest example? Delivery app DoorDash announced Wednesday that it would be starting a 50-person engineering team by the end of the year.

It’s the first non-U.S. engineering office for the company.

The proposed Hamilton Light Rail Transit (LRT) project in Ontario will move forward with a 14-kilometer (8.7-mile) line planned between McMaster and Eastgate. The estimated C$3.4 billion (US$2.79 billion) project costs will be split between the government of Canada and the province of Ontario, which will each fund up to C$1.7 billion (US$1.4 billion).

It has been a bumpy ride for the proposed project that saw the province of Ontario commit C$1 billion to build light-rail in Hamilton only to see the province cancel the project in late 2019 citing rising costs – a move Hamilton elected officials called a betrayal.

For our next tour, we look at three Taiwanese healthcare companies worth learning about.