(New York City - October 22, 2024) – The Intelligent Community Forum announced today the Full Certification of Hilliard, Ohio, USA, providing objective validation of policies, programs and accomplishments that create inclusive prosperity, a vibrant society and rich local culture. These combine to make this growing suburban city, located in the Columbus metropolitan region, a highly desirable location for innovative businesses, institutions and people.

Hilliard is the first city in the United States to be Certified as an Intelligent Community. It is also a two-time Top7 Intelligent Community and currently a finalist in the 2024 Intelligent Community Awards.

The City of Columbus, through its Sustainable Columbus office, was awarded $778,900 from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, a funding opportunity from the Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The City of Columbus is one of the more than 2,700 eligible states, territories, local governments, and Tribes to receive a portion of the more than $430 million in formula funding that will help meet the unique energy needs in communities that serve more than 250 million Americans.

Sustainable Columbus will utilize the funding to partner with the Human Service Chamber (HSC) to provide commercial building energy audits and technical assistance to area nonprofit organizations. This collaboration supports Columbus Climate Action Plan goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while keeping equity and environmental justice at the center. These values are shared by HSC and this new program, administered by the HSC, will facilitate energy and cost-saving measures, allowing participating nonprofits to redirect more of their budget toward their core mission of serving Columbus’ opportunity neighborhoods and climate vulnerable communities.

Smart City Success Stories: Launches, Collaborations and Events. Published by the City of Coral Gables Innovation & Technology Department (CGIT).

The City of Coral Gables promotes the development of a smart city ecosystem that fosters innovation and economic growth by bringing together through technology People; Businesses, Organizations; Things, and Systems. By leveraging strategic planning and innovation, the City’s digital transformation and smart initiatives benefit the citizens with continuous improvement of customer service and quality of life. Our smart city roadmap is defined by the components of transparency, value creation; open data and analytics; actionable information, efficiencies; citizen engagement, mobility, accessibility; crowdsourcing; inclusion, and collaboration. The success stories, launches, collaborations, and events below are part of our continuous and exciting journey to become a smarter city.

On September 25, Mr. Nguyen Van Loi, member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of Binh Duong Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly’s Delegation, received Mr. John Jung, co-founder of the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), on the occasion of the ICF delegation attending the announcement ceremony of the Binh Duong Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050. The reception also had Mr. Nguyen Loc Ha, Standing Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; and leaders of relevant departments and branches.

O fundador do Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), John Jung, está em Curitiba para a avaliação da cidade antes da eleição da comunidade mais inteligente do mundo. A capital paranaense é uma das sete finalistas ao prêmio, que será entregue em novembro em Barcelona, durante o ICF Global Summit. Assaí, no interior do estado, também concorre ao título em 2024. As duas cidades paranaenses são as únicas da América Latina na lista deste ano.

Brick House Blue is joining Hilliard's TruePointe development.

The local coworking company, which is also set to open a New Albany location in December, recently signed a lease for about 15,000 square feet at the Trueman Boulevard site.

It will join Advanced Drainage Systems, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Drunch, which have announced plans in recent months to open there. TruePointe, a $200 million mixed-use project that is being developed by Equity, also will have a 360-unit apartment complex.

Website: hilliardohio.gov/city-lab

Based: Hilliard

Number of employees: 63

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Hilliard City Lab serves as a hub for innovation where businesses can access the tools and support needed to grow in the technology sector.

A new facility for Eco Plumbers, Electricians and HVAC Technicians is slated for construction now that the project's developer has acquired the land on which it will be built.

Equity, the local developer behind the project, bought the 19.2-acre property for just more than $4 million, according to Franklin County property records. The land is located east of Britton Parkway near Interstate 270 in Hilliard.

The acquisition sets the stage for construction to begin on the 158,000-square-foot flex industrial facility. Eco will become the $52.7 million building's anchor tenant, taking roughly 50,000 square feet of space.

Binh Duong aims for sustainable development, being smart, civilized and modern urban areas; strives to become a modern industrial center by 2030, and by 2045 a smart urban area of the region and the whole country. To complete the above goal, and at the same time to complete the targets of the 11th Provincial Party Resolution for the 2020-2025 term, the Provincial Party Committee set forth key groups of tasks and solutions.

There is a word you see often in news coverage of politics today. The word is “performative.”

It describes elected officials of the extreme right or left and the strange way they do politics. Instead of running for office to accomplish something, they seem to see public service as a call to express things – specifically, things that make the news. They introduce divisive laws that have no chance of passing. They ignore real crises in favor of creating imaginary ones. They label their opponents as criminals because they are too liberal or conservative, and members of their own party as traitors because they are not liberal or conservative enough. Sometimes, if these antics alarm enough other elected officials, they succeed in getting divisive laws passed. But their real goal is triggering the praise and outrage that follows.