The accelerating development of machine learning is beginning to transform the way we live. From smart search engines and talking computers to facial recognition and automatic translation, the applications grow, each more sophisticated than the last and each delivering a service that, once upon a time, only human beings could provide. The smartest systems of today are far from realizing…
On June 6, Espoo, Finland was honored as the 2018 Intelligent Community of the Year in London, England. Espoo is the first Nordic city named as Intelligent Community of the Year since Stockholm in 2009, and the first European Intelligent Community of the Year since Eindhoven, Netherlands in 2011. You can read the full announcement on ICF’s website. Espoo was…
A large ICF Canada delegation attended the 2018 ICF Summit in London, joining delegations from Europe and Asia. Two of the TOP7 communities on stage this year were from Winnipeg and Hamilton. The Mayor of Hamilton, Fred Eisenberger, led the Hamilton Delegation. In addition, several Canadian members were speakers at various sessions and participants in the ICF Jury. Delegation members…
Clearcable Network’s annual Summit 2018 on Thursday, June 21st has attracted 150 leaders from the telecommunications sector who will hear from a stellar cast of speakers, engage in a thought-provoking agenda and a private evening with Hamilton artist, author, and musician Tom Wilson all at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. The inaugural event in 2005, a year after Clearcable had…
On June 11, Newmarket, part of York Region in Ontario, Canada launched a new community-owned high-speed internet service, called ENVI. ENVI aims to help bring Newmarket's broadband strategy to life and improve connectivity and reliable service for local businesses. "Just like roads, bridges and sidewalks, now more than ever, a reliable, affordable high-speed broadband network is a critical piece of…
The Smart Cities Challenge application process closed on April 24, 2018. Over 200 communities, large and small, from across Canada submitted their innovative ideas to the Smart Cities Challenge. An independent panel of 13 jury members evaluated the submissions based on the criteria set out in the Applicant Guide. Twenty finalists were selected to go on to the next step…
Through their tremendous response to Infrastructure Canada's Smart Cities Challenge, communities across Canada are focused on how innovation, data and connected technology can solve their most persistent problems. The Smart Cities Community Support Program is designed to run in parallel with the Smart Cities Challenge and seeks to amplify and sustain its impact and objectives across the country while bolstering…
Thanks to Bessie Schenk and her team at Studio Locale for this great “Getting Smarter” INFOGRAPHIC. Studio Local is located in Kitchener and Toronto, Ontario. To learn more about Studio Locale and their services see http://www.studiolocale.com/ . Bessie can be reached at +1 226 444 2076 x305. Want to have a voice in iCommunity.ca, the official newsletter of ICF Canada? Please…
During my recent visit to Oulu, the Capital of Northern Scandinavia and the beginning of the Lapland region of Finland, I visited the Oulu Museum of Art which was hosting an exhibit called “The Hype in the Arctic Silicon Valley”. It was a quiet Saturday afternoon and I had the opportunity to visit the exhibit with Juha Ala-Mursula, who today…
Buzz around many urban planning offices today is the question of how best they can plan for cities using the tools available to them today. Traditionally, planners have always looked holistically. Before the buzz-words “innovation ecosystems”, “smart cities”, “human centric design”, and now “data-driven cities” were on their lips, planners gathered up the available data, thought leadership and public opinion…