The Commission published on 9 October the 7th Cohesion Report. It zooms in on EU regions and cities, draws lessons from cohesion spending during the crisis years and sets the scene for cohesion policy after 2020.
This report fulfils two requirements: 1) It reports on how cohesion has evolved in EU regions over the recent past and assesses the impact on this of national policies, cohesion policy and other EU policies as required by the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. 2) It reviews the measures linking the effectiveness of the European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds to sound economic governance, as required by the Regulation on Common Provisions with regard to the Structural Funds.
Watch: Knowledge Economy
In this article by Colin O’ Donnell of Techcrunch.com reflects on why and how smart cities can become more engaging, responsive and relevant to citizen needs. In order to evolve into a city that fully realizes the potential of the internet, delivering real, tangible benefits to its inhabitants, cities will go through three phases: 1) They first need to collect data about their
Cities across the globe are growing in size and in terms of how connected they are. Which cities are best at keeping their citizens safe and how do they do it? The Safe Cities Index 2017, created by The Economist Intelligence Unit, covers 60 cities across the globe and defines how to measure security in a rapidly urbanising world. The index consists of 49 indicators covering digital security, health security, infrastructure security and personal security.
A new venture, called Sidewalk Toronto, will oversee the development of 800 acres of the city into a new district, a digital utopia that will test and showcase a large variety of smart city technologies.
Juniper Research has identified the top 10 smart cities in the UK, with London topping the list. The analysis was conducted over a range of city indices, including transport, healthcare, public safety, energy and productivity. Scores were calculated according to diverse metrics, including present state-of-play variables (such as congestion and crime levels) alongside smart city rollouts, vision and long-term strategy.
MetroLab Network in USA, includes 41 cities, 4 counties, and 55 universities, organized in more than 35 regional city-university partnerships. Partners focus on research, development, and deployment (RD&D) projects that offer technological and analytically-based solutions to challenges facing urban areas including: inequality in income, health, mobility, security and opportunity; aging infrastructure; and environmental sustainability and resiliency.
Strategic technology trends have significant disruptive potential over the next five years. Gartner’s top trends for 2018 underpin the digital platform and set the stage for business innovation. Artificial intelligence, immersive experiences, digital twins, event-thinking and continuous adaptive security create a foundation for the next generation of digital business models and ecosystems.