The towns, cities, and regions of the Smart City and the Intelligent Community Movement



As I stood at each one of the announcements this year of the Intelligent Community Awards program, I thought to myself, “What an extraordinary moment it is to stand at the intersection of innovation, inclusion, and global community-building”.

The past year has shown us, once again, that the Intelligent Community movement is not merely an idea—it is a living, evolving force powered by cities and regions that dare to imagine a better future and work tirelessly to build it.

The year 2025 stands as a testament to what visionary leadership, purposeful innovation, and a commitment to inclusive progress can achieve. Across the Intelligent Community Forum network, communities large and small demonstrated how digital connectivity, talent development, and future‑ready governance can transform local ambition into global leadership.

In this episode of the Intelligence Test, ICF Co-Founder Robert Bell has a conversation with John Jung, Co-Founder, Intelligent Community Forum and Wendy Dupley, Economic Development Advisor, Langley City, BC, Canada.

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In this episode of The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla has a conversation with Michel Ângelo Bomtempo, mayor of Assaí, Paraná, Brazil. Mayor Bomtempo and a team of young people engage ICF to promote their city. It's fresh and shows why the ICF Awards are so important.

In part 2 of this conversation with the City of Bursa on The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla has a conversation with Demet Sinmez, Smart Urbanization Branch Manager, Bursa Metropolitan Municipality.

In this episode of The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla has a conversation with Demet Sinmez, Smart Urbanisation Branch Manager, Bursa Metropolitan Municipality.

In part 2 of this episode of The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla has a conversation with Bob Ferguson, Senior Master Coordinator, Fairfield/Jefferson County, Iowa.

In this episode of The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla has a conversation with Bob Ferguson, Senior Master Coordinator, Fairfield/Jefferson County, Iowa.

FAIRFIELD – Fairfield and Jefferson County are becoming known around the world as a hub of innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability.

International organizations are taking notice, and one of them bestowed one of the highest honors possible on Fairfield by naming it one of the Top 7 Intelligent Communities of 2025. The honor was bestowed by the Intelligent Community Forum, which made the announcement on June 17 during an awards dinner in Madrid, Spain.

FAIRFIELD – Bob Ferguson is on a mission to rid downtown Fairfield of weeds.

Ferguson is a member of the Fairfield Beautification Commission, and is spearheading its “weed-free team” that’s tackling undesirable plants that grow in sidewalk cracks and in the alleys. He dons a backpack sprayer filled with a non-toxic weed killer made of a gallon of vinegar, a cup of Epsom salt and a tablespoon of dish liquid (though Ferguson personally likes Shaklee Basic-H Cleaner). This solution desiccates the weeds, and within a few days they’re dead.

In this episode of The Intelligent Community, ICF Co-Founder Lou Zacharilla has a conversation with Michelle Crandall, City Manager, Hilliard, Ohio.