Global Smart Cities

'Smart Cities' has become a ubiquitous phrase meaning different things to different city level stakeholders.  For global and national policy makers, the idea that cities - with the appropriate set of policies and regulations - can smartly guide the spatial development of built up areas and the communities that live and work in them into compact, connected and coordinated entities is an appealing idea, particularly in the context of climate change concerns.  For local politicians in the city, 'smart cities' is a catch-all phrase for modernity and high tech urban development that lead to job creation and improved well being.  For the ordinary city resident or visitor smartness is an expression of urban solutions to the day to day challenges he or she experiences in terms of access to urban services (such as affordable housing, mobility solutions for work and recreation, reliable electricity, water, waste disposal services, and internet connectivity). The speaker will explore what these different perspectives imply for data collection, analysis and disclosure, with a particular focus on developing country cities.