Over 30 Smarter Cities Challenge cities were in attendance, including nearly 20 mayors representing every inhabited continent. In 8 plenary sessions and an array of private consultations with Smarter Cities experts over the two days, participants discussed insights across a range of key urban topics developed in partnership with the Smarter Cities Challenge, including transportation, economic development, sustainability and citizen participation. Key themes included the importance of reliable and accessible data, clear governance and meaningful civic engagement.
A new generation of mayors is taking on the challenge of reinventing cities for the 21st century. This January 2013 report shares the insights mayors learned from their participation in this IBM Citizenship initiative. Most of these views were harvested at the Smarter Cities Challenge Summit. Read on for their lessons for leaders, from leaders:
This week, we are delighted to announce the 2013 Smarter Cities Challenge grants. In this year's application pool, sustainability was the most popular challenge posed by cities, and we look forward to tackling those challenges alongside perennial priority subjects like economic development and transportation.
Highlights from Smarter Cities Challenge Summit 2012
Welcome
- Stanley Litow, Vice President, IBM Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs and President, IBM International Foundation
Opening Plenary
- Mayor Michael Nutter, City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and President, US Conference of Mayors
Driving Economic Growth
- MODERATOR: Stanley Litow, Vice President, IBM Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs and President, IBM International Foundation
- Mayor William V. "Bill" Bell, City of Durham, United States
- Mayor Francisco de la Torre, City of Málaga, Spain
- Councillor Kgosientso Ramokgopa, Executive Mayor, City of Tshwane, South Africa
Urban Mobility
- MODERATOR: Thomas Wright, Executive Director, Regional Plan Association
- Mayor Han Beum Deuk, City of Cheongju, Korea
- Samuel Mwale, Principal Administrative Secretary, Office of the President of Kenya
- Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, City of Pittsburgh, United States
- Mayor Roberto Visentin, City of Siracusa, Italy
A Vision of Smarter Cities
- Dr. Guruduth Banavar, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Global Public Sector, IBM
Citizen Participation: Paving the Way to A New City Politics
- Paul Bevan, Secretary General, EUROCITIES
The Sustainable City
- MODERATOR: Dr. Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
- Mayor Tom Barrett, City of Milwaukee, United States
- Tony Brun, CEO, City of Geraldton, Australia
- Mayor Jenny Hill, City of Townsville, Australia
- Malcolm Jackson, Chief Information Officer, United States Environmental Protection Agency
Moving Forward: Smarter Cities Challenge 2013
- MODERATOR: Stanley Litow, Vice President, IBM Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs and President, IBM International Foundation
- Mayor José Fortunati, City of Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Mayor Madeline Rogero, City of Knoxville, United States
- Lord Mayor Gavin Robinson, Belfast City Council, United Kingdom
- Mayor Miro Weinberger, City of Burlington, United States
