Smart Cities For Dummies

Chapter 4

Starting from Zero

IN THIS CHAPTER

Determining the first steps to embark on your smart city journey

Exploring the essential role of city leadership

Identifying and building your smart city teams

It may appear that the smart city movement is well under way and that thousands of cities around the world are in the process of getting “smarter.” The reality is that cities are at the beginning of the transition that many of them will eventually undergo to utilize new technologies, data, and reengineered processes to improve the quality of life for their constituents. Most communities that make the decision to embark on the smart city journey are starting from zero. At that point, the pressing question for any city leader is, “How do we start?”

This chapter suggests that the right starting point (assuming that the motivation is there and there’s agreement on pursuing a smart city strategy by city leaders and members of the community) is to establish a vision for the effort ahead. The vision should be created by participants who are empowered to move forward and make the magic of smarter communities happen. I propose here the types of leaders and teams who should be put in place ...