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

“Yesterday, I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today, I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

Those words are as true today as when they were written. That was during the 13^th Century, in the city of Konya, by the Sufi mystic and poet, Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi. Today, this city and provincial capital of more than 2.2 million people is changing itself through technology, strategy and programs that prepare its economy for success in the digital century.

That economy has many strengths. Konya farms produce wheat, barley, sugar beets and other crops for domestic and export markets. The city is home to food, defense, carpet and machinery companies featured among Turkey’s Top 500 companies. More than one million domestic and foreign tourists visit the city annually. It is also a center for higher education with five universities serving more than 130,000 students.

Building a Digital Foundation

But there is no shortage of obstacles to overcome. Turkey’s incumbent telecom operator maintains a 95% market share and actively blocks competitors from accessing its network. Like many other cities, Konya has found a legal workaround: partnering with a private-sector company to build a +400 km fiber network serving public agencies, universities, hospitals and a traffic management platform. The network also provides the backbone for a free Wi-Fi network with more than 140 hotspots in public areas, all mapped on a digital app. A separate digital radio network provides reliable communication for public agencies and emergency responders. The city is also deploying satellite internet to rural neighborhoods and remote areas to help bridge the digital divide.

On that foundation, Konya’s government has launched multiple programs to raise the skill levels of young and adult learners, both online and in-person. For high school students, Konya has developed an online platform hosting content from publishers including over 450,000 Q&A videos, all aiming to help students succeed in national qualifying exams for higher education. Technology and entrepreneurship education has also become a high priority, with courses and competitions for high school and university students in software, AI, digital arts, cybersecurity and smart-city solutions. A STEM-focused fellowship program for university students helps them develop competencies in analytic thinking, leadership, career planning, communication, teamwork and effective use of technology.

Konya ensures that education reaches beyond the classroom as well. The city operates more than 70 education centers for young and adult learners that provide vocational training in handicrafts, food production, customer service, digital marketing, computer programming and graphic design. Trainees earn income from products they create while gaining experience that can kickstart a career or small business startup. Supplementing education are sports centers, children’s playrooms and family art centers.

The Development and Technology Academy offers students STEM learning opportunities, while a Robokaratay program brings coding workshops and competitions to more than 100 schools.  A Social Innovation Agency focuses on encouraging social entrepreneurship for women, individuals with disabilities and other disadvantaged people to help them find a place in the workforce.

Homes for Technology Innovation

The same intense focus applies to the digital transformation of Konya’s business community. The city’s development agency has supported the establishment and growth of more than a dozen industrial zones – some specializing in the startup economy. Konya Technopark provides entrepreneurs with multi-stakeholder financing, project consultancy, tech transfer services, prototyping and management of intellectual property. Investor meetings and mentorship accelerate the commercialization of startups, of which more than 200 are operating in the fully-occupied property.

A second facility, the InnoPark Tech Development Zone, focuses on guiding students and recent graduates into entrepreneurship with training projects, project support, internships and job opportunities. The InnoPark has enabled more than 1,000 students to move into internships and permanent jobs since its launch in 2016, while successfully commercializing more than 30 university projects.

The Konya Chambers of Industry and Commerce are active in providing vocational programs and employee training to improve the skills of the workforce. A technology and innovation campus built by the Chamber develops digital agricultural applications in collaboration with farmers and industry. It has also produced a Model Factory equipped with machines and production lines to train employers and employees in lean manufacturing, digital transformation and continuous improvement. Yet another program, the Organized Industrial Zone, provides industry with digital infrastructure and training for SMEs and large enterprises to accelerate adoption.

Konya is equally committed to innovation in the public sector. A locally-developed Smart City Strategy approved in 2022 is upgrading public transportation with new bicycle routes, train lines and intelligent traffic management systems. It also gives priority to improving the accessibility of transport, places of worship, public buildings and public spaces for the benefit of residents and tourists.

Sustaining Quality of Life

For a city driven by agriculture and industry, Konya has made significant investments in sustainability. Turkey has low rates of recycling, with most municipal waste winding up in landfills despite a national Zero Waste policy. Konya, however, takes the challenge seriously. It has equipped 3,500 waste containers across the city with sensors that track fill levels, so that waste collectors target only those in need of emptying. The resulting fuel savings has eliminated more than 3,000 tons of carbon emissions while increasing the amount of waste collected.

To motivate residents and recycling companies, Konya developed a Zero Waste Information System that records the type and quantity of recyclable waste entering the recycling system for each neighborhood and district. A user-friendly web interface lets residents view their local waste data, while introducing new levels of transparency for recycling companies. The quantity of recyclable waste and overall recycling rates have been increased as a result, which has created new jobs and business fields in waste collection, sorting, recycling and logistics. Boosting the rates further is a Recycle and Win competition among neighborhoods to win awards for the highest recycling volume, which earns them investment in local parks and beautification.

The city is also leading by example in renewable energy. Solar, wind, hydro and waste-to-energy projects are producing enough power to meet the energy needs of 150,000 households and public facilities including bus stops, wells and meteorological stations.  

Eight centuries ago, Rumi offered this advice on change: “When you let go of who you are, you become who you might be.” From education and business to the welfare of its people, Konya has let go of old models for city success. As its innovation economy accelerates, students, employees, business leaders and residents are eager to see who they might become.

Population: 2,330,024

Website: www.konya.bel.tr

Smart21 2025

Imagine an empire sprawling across much of southern and central Europe, western Asia and northern Africa. At its height, it formed a dominion of 2 million square miles (5.2 million km2). This was the Ottoman Empire, which arose in the 14^th Century and lived on into the 20^th. Its capital changed many times over the centuries, but for three decades, it lay in the city of Bursa, a two-hour journey from Istanbul.

Today, Bursa is an industrial center that is Turkey’s largest producer of motor vehicles and automotive parts, as well as textiles, beverages and processed foods. Its rich history, nearby ski resorts and hot baths provide a strong foundation for tourism. But like industrial cities around the world, it is fighting to master a changing global economy and to help its people adapt to the demands of a digital century. 

Making the Most of Connectivity

Digital connectivity in Turkey is a work in progress.  While private companies do business there, the incumbent operator – still controlled by the national government – has a 95% market share and keep competitors out of its network. Bursa’s government has found creative responses: a free Wi-Fi network with connection speed of up to 200 Mbps available across 60% of public areas, and mobile applications delivering municipal and tourism services to more than a half-million users, including special services for women and youth.

The city also operates networks and applications delivering a range of smart-city services specific to Bursa’s needs. These include a sensor network, data fusion platform and wearable technology for first responders; remote air quality monitoring; systems for flood detection and disaster coordination; and the tracking of excavation waste to reduce illegal dumping. These systems are part of a comprehensive Smart City plan developed through workshops and surveys conducted with public institutions, academia, NGOs, private companies and citizens.

In addition to deploying technology, Bursa has established a Smart City Academy to build talent capacity and the B-CUBE Smart City and Innovation Center to bring together startups, researchers and public stakeholders to develop technology solutions.  A Public Desk contact center centralizes the receipt and handling of citizen inquiries, complaints and applications from digital and voice platforms.

Meeting the Challenges of Change

The list of deployed systems tells you much about the challenges Bursa faces. Rural areas that were home to 75% of Turks in the 1950s have gradually emptied as people pursued opportunity, leading to an urbanization rate of 77% today. With urbanization comes crowding, residential construction, pollution, rising demand for city services and social change.

To address the strains, Bursa has launched numerous programs over the past 10 years. A mismatch between employee skills and employer needs has led to serious unemployment. Pushing back on the problem, Bursa staffs an employment office that provides career counseling, training programs and onsite interview opportunities with employers. An Art and Vocational Training program launched twenty years ago has taught digital and vocational skills to more than 320,000 people and issued 209,000 Ministry-approved certificates for course completion that contribute to people’s employability.

A more recent program provides people from disadvantaged backgrounds with training in innovation, entrepreneurship and digital technologies including 3D modeling, game development, VR/AR and content creation. The Code16 Developer Training Program offers training to low-income and at-risk youth in programming, data analytics, mobile app development and project management. Looking further to the future, Bursa established 30 Early Childhood Education Centers across the city to provide programs, workshops and educational excursions, plus daily hot meals, to children ages 4 to 6. Older youth have access to a Science and Technology Center, where they can experience interactive STEM learning experiences.

Adapting to Modern Urban Life

The opportunity-seekers flooding into Bursa from the countryside need more than employment. A Family Counseling and Education Center promotes greater wellbeing with psychological counseling for individuals, couples, families and groups, as well as workshops on healthy diet choices. Each year, the Youth and Family Support Center serves thousands of individuals battling substance addictions and their families.

A Women’s Counseling Center promotes gender equality and combats gender-based violence through economic, psychological and social assistance. The Women’s Innovation and Education Unit teaches digital skills, entrepreneurship and career planning to foster economic empowerment. In a demonstration of his personal commitment to inclusive government, Bursa’s Mayor Bozbey began in 2024 to rotate his office every two weeks among the city’s 17 districts to enable citizens to voice their concerns directly to city leadership and ensure immediate response by municipal units onsite.

Managing a Changing Environment

Turkey is the meeting place of three of the Earth’s tectonic plates, making it one of the world’s most active earthquake zones. And climate change is subjecting its Mediterranean climate to increasing heat waves, droughts and flooding. Bursa has responded with projects that aim to reduce risks and speed information to affected areas. The city has installed remote water-level monitoring systems in major streams that deliver their data to a Disaster Coordination Center founded in 2025. Working with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the city has assessed its building stock and developed an earthquake hazard map and resilience strategy. In 2023, the city’s Smart City Academy held an earthquake hackathon, in which 57 teams from 15 cities developed disaster communication, energy infrastructure and simulation solutions.

The built environment generates its own challenges. A Traffic Management Center established in 2022 has deployed cameras, sensor and AI-based tracking and analytics that saved nearly 16,000 hours of travel time, reduced fuel consumption and eliminated nearly 10 tons of carbon emissions in its first two years.

Bursa may no longer be the capital of an empire. But intelligent leadership is seeking to capitalize on the opportunities that the digital century offers to citizens and organizations of long standing in the city – and those becoming city-dwellers for the first time.

Population: 3,214,571

Website: www.bursa.bel.tr

Smart21 2025

Top7 2025

In this episode of The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla has a conversation with:

• Savanna Myers, Director of Economic Development, Grey County, Ontario, Canada
• Wendy Dupley, Economic Development Advisor, Langley, BC, Canada
• Donna Gillespie, CEO, Kingston Economic Development Corporation, Kingston, Canada
• Simon Gill, Director of Economic Development & Tourism, Durham, Canada

In this episode of The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla has a conversation with:

• Savanna Myers, Director of Economic Development, Grey County, Ontario, Canada
• Wendy Dupley, Economic Development Advisor, Langley, BC, Canada
• Donna Gillespie, CEO, Kingston Economic Development Corporation, Kingston, Canada
• Simon Gill, Director of Economic Development & Tourism, Durham, Canada

Global think tank, the International Community Forum (ICF), has crowned Parramatta as one of 21 smart communities in the world at its annual Intelligent Community of the Year Awards Program hosted in Canada.

This is the first time Parramatta has appeared in the prestigious list and it's the only Australian city named among 20 other communities from nine countries across the world including Brazil, Canada, Iceland, Spain, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Turkey and the USA.

Limburg is one of the world's most innovative regions. Every year, the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) selects 21 regions worldwide that excel in innovation, knowledge development, and sustainability. Limburg is part of this selection - the so-called Smart21 - and has been nominated for the title of 'The Intelligent Community of the Year'.

Grey County has been named one of the Smart21 Communities of 2025 by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF).

The recognition highlights cities and regions using technology and innovation to drive growth and improve quality of life.

For the third consecutive year and fourth time since 2017, Grey County has been named one of the world’s Smart21 communities of the year by the Intelligent Communities Forum (ICF). The announcement came on March 6 at the Communities in Transition conference in Hamilton, Ontario.

Smart, we are in Durham Region. Kingston too. We know this because the global Intelligent Communities Forum had us tested.

For the fourth year in a row the Region of Durham has been recognized as one of the Smart 21 Communities in the world, an honour that speaks to the “innovation and partnership” happening in the region, which has embraced a ‘technology for all’ philosophy.