Policy First; Then Technology

Adie Tomer and Rob Puentes from the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program blog about their latest Brookings Institution's report "Getting Smarter About Smart Cities." The report summarizes key ideas from North American and European civic leaders who gathered during a two-day workshop to brainstorm how cities should guide technology to achieve their vision.

Per Tomer and Puentes, "By focusing on the cutting-edge technologies themselves and relying on private companies to move forward...we have lost sight of what we even want our cities to achieve with all that tech."

While commercials have romanticized the notion of smart cities, the co-authors provide realistic and grounded recommendations from the two-day workshop: 1) creating a city business plan that incorporates smart technology; 2) promoting technology that increases productivity, is inclusive and resilient; 3) restructuring and creating technology leadership within the city; 4) working with appropriately scaled projects; and 5) formalizing "city-level networks" with regard to smart cities and smart technology.