Smart Cities & Communities

A city is essentially an organism, a complex system of systems and it inhabitants. A nexus of forces - IoT, data, systems of insight, and systems of engagement - present an unprecedented opportunity to increase the efficiency of urban systems, improve the efficacy of public services, and to assure the resiliency of the community against both chronic stresses and acute shocks.The course will provide you with an understanding of the foundational elements of a smart city and address the breadth of systems that comprise it: built infrastructure, energy, water, transportation, food production/distribution, and public/social services. Case studies will be used to illustrate the approaches, benefits, and risks involved. It will discuss what IT can and cannot do, and most importantly given the control and privacy implications of many ¿smart¿ IT systems, what the smart city should and should not do. Panel discussions and guest speakers from the public sector and industry leading technology providers will give students an opportunity to engage with the architects and operators of Smart Cities.