John Jung: February 2009 Archives

Part 2

We are living in a very different world than our forefathers, one that is truly founded on new infrastructure, processes and attitudes. Even one hundred years ago most of the world would still have communicated by horse, train or ship, likely getting communication from one source to another, even relatively closely, by at least a day away, and mostly longer. Today, large data and video files such as YouTube, video movies on demand and Facebook content are sent instantaneously around the globe. Games and digital entertainment over the Internet are creating new forms of entertainment and entirely new activities and business structures are forming around these. Partnerships and joint ventures are continents apart; jobs and information are processed in 7 hour segments in a 24 hour working day; global sourcing creates a new form of competition and knowledge work; social benchmarking and international innovation is forcing new forms of governance to take shape; our universities now are in campuses that span the globe and mindshare is potentially ubiquitous.

We are looking at ways to get ahead of the curve, by future proofing our communities in a broadband economy. No longer are we simply trying to get out of a crisis in our economy when our workforce can no longer work in 19th and 20th Century work environments. Rather we are looking at educating our populations and creating environments that foster creativity and innovation.

We are trying to ensure that our broadband infrastructure is viewed as an essential utility, not as a commodity; as essential as roads and water and sewers and electricity. We are looking at fostering communities that see knowledge workers as invaluable to the future of their communities and will do everything to create them, attract them and retain them in their communities; treat R&D as essential investments; and leverage our knowledge creation centers as part of our social, economic and cultural strategies. We need to ensure that everyone in our society is part of our plan and have equal access and opportunities to be part of our digital world. We need to ensure that we invest heavily in training of all kinds, not just in our higher institutions but also to create a culture of continuous training in the primary schools, on the shop floor and in the home. And we need to be able to provide access to the disenfranchised, handicapped, elderly, and the very young in all of these opportunities. Finally, we need to advocate for our intelligent systems, people and places and to figure out how to market their success around the world. This is not just to win an award but to sustain Intelligent Communities well beyond into every fabric of the local society and culture.

More information on the Intelligent Community Forum can be found at www.intelligentcommunity.org.

Part 1 of 3

I am often asked to demonstrate the essential technical architecture and infrastructure that underpins an Intelligent Community. Yes, we have shown these from time to time in our powerpoint presentations and if needed, we can approach several communities around the globe, their utilities and the private sector service providers to show examples of technology and infrastructure that they use. But I prefer to set our focus on a slightly different trajectory.

ICF's message has been clear: that broadband and high technology can help in building better societies around the world, but our focus is not on the technology and has never been solely on the technology, nor on other aspects of the broadband infrastructure. Rather ICF has tended to look at many other ways to build a better and more intelligent community - through building, attracting and sustaining a knowledge workforce; ensuring that the governance and environment is right to nurture and promote creativity and innovation; ensuring that all members of our society have access to and benefit from the broadband economy and that we should advocate for and market our communities to the world in order to attract and sustain investment and talent in our communities. These are the key criteria around which ICF has focused its attention on a global basis and especially in selecting its Smart 21, Top 7 and Intelligent Communities of the Year.

But we also need to be aware of how sustainability fits into this as well as leadership, collaboration, culture of use, etc. Personally, with my interest as an urban planner and urban designer, I also like to talk about how intelligent infrastructure, buildings and good urban design are important as part of the intelligent community process. So as planners, we need to better understand both the physical as well as environmental and other issues that surround the opportunity to develop our communities better.

More information on the Intelligent Community Forum can be found at www.intelligentcommunity.org.