Smart Cities: How the Internet is Changing the Way Local Government Works and Citizens Engage

Image courtesy of Microsoft

Florida International University: Corporate MBA Program

FIN 6644: Global Financial Strategy

December 4, 2016

By: Sharie A. Blanton

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Abstract

Citizen engagement is key to any well functioning democracy. Government is a function that

exists to represent the needs of the people. Participation in this process is critical to ensure the desires of

the populace are represented, priorities are aligned with needs and elected officials are held accountable

for their actions. Without citizen participation in the governing process, there is risk that as decisions are

being made the outcomes are not aligned with the needs of residents. There is greater opportunity for self

dealing and decision making in support of a few. Open government data initiatives have greatly

expanded the public’s access to information and the decision making process, offering new means for

citizen engagement. No longer is information regarding policy decisions and budget priorities fed to

constituents in the form of prepackaged resolutions but now data is available in formats which allows

citizen activists to interpret the information and draw their own conclusions. Additionally, through the

integration of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies into the delivery of public services there is an

opportunity to reach an ever expanding number of residents. The collaborative development, use and

feedback from these technologies can improve citizen engagement and bring government and people

closer together.

Volumes of data from local governments are now being interpreted for the first time by volunteer

data scientists, or citizen hackivists, leading to new and exciting trends for policy recommendations and

the realignment of budget priorities. This level of digital engagement by the public has been

supercharged by the internet and the development of data visualization tools which local governments

have been largely slow to appreciate and embrace internally. Understanding the important role of this

partnership between digital activists and local governments will only strengthen the focus, menu and

quality of services delivered at the neighborhood level. Increased collaborative efforts between local

government and citizens have the potential to improve quality of life outcomes for all residents and better

program the limited financial resources available due to shrinking taxpayer funded budgets.

Local governments are already collecting huge sums of data with virtually no one processing the

data into usable information and insight. This has led to the rise of civic hackathons where technologists

and data scientists mine and interpret this data for its value. Rather than guessing or assuming we know

what the problems are, data can be analyzed to determine answers to questions such as: what is the most

requested city service, segmented by neighborhood and frequency. With this type of information

available, more resources can be dedicated to understanding why a specific service is so frequently

requested, how government can reduce or address the core issue behind the large number of requests and

develop a plan to respond more quickly and proactively to the requests. This predictive thinking will

result in cost savings, quicker service delivery and hopefully more attention to problem areas.

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Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) is defined as the interconnected networking of physical devices

which allow objects and individuals to collect and exchange data.i According to Forbes, “by 2020 there

will be over 26 billion connected devices”ii and some estimates place the number at 100 billion. In a

world that is rapidly moving towards greater integration

and interconnectedness it is only natural that citizen

engagement and local government keep pace with these

trends and adapt their traditional operating and engagement

strategies to these new realities. The adjacent graphic, Top

Government IoT Sectors in the Next Five Yearsiii lists

the priority sectors which local government leaders have

identified where solutions can have an immediate impact.

Using IoT as a tool to increase citizen engagement

and improve the delivery of services by local government

has profound potential. With the large scale availability of

data, the power of cloud computing, close to universal use

of smart phones and the shrinking gap of access to high

speed wireless internet access, the ingredients for a digital

engagement transformation revolution now exists. So why

hasn’t it happened or why is it not happening faster?

One of the factors may be that the understanding of

what could be achieved by embracing IoT and open data platforms on both sides, by local government

and by residents, is not fully appreciated. This could be due to the lack of collaborative brainstorming

and imagining of the possibilities which exist to improve and better deliver key quality of life services.

On October, 8, 2016, the University of Chicago held its Second Annual Civic ScopeAthoniv

which provided a space for residents, government representatives, scholars and civic-tech organizations to

spend a day scoping out problems encountered by residents. A day of deep conversation and exploration

into some of the city’s most frustrating problems resulted in a group understanding of the technology

requirements necessary to develop a functional IT-based solution. In this case the process was just as

important as the deliverables. Sharing information and experiences between customers (residents) and

service providers (local government) builds trust and understanding between the two groups which leads

to the mutually beneficial result of better and more timely service delivery.

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Libelium is an IoT driven, telecommunications company based in Spain and has had tremendous

early success in designing and manufacturing the wireless sensor network devicesv that are being used to

build the platform for networked cities, or smart cities. A practical example of how the use of these IoT

devices is enabling the growth of more connected cities can be seen through tackling the daily task of

finding a parking spot. Smart parking apps allow drivers to spend less time searching for parking spaces

and unnecessarily contributing to increases in traffic and congestion in already crowded urban areas.

Using IoT enabled sensors, smart roads and traffic congestion monitoring technology optimizes driving

and sharing of transit route information allowing commuters to have a quicker, more predictable journey.

Smart lighting technologies reduce energy consumption and improve safety by monitoring environmental

conditions and adjusting lighting to fit outdoor conditions. Lighting outages can also be self reported in

real time and reduce the need for citizens to report and then wait for local government to respond. Chart

1 below provides a snapshot of the immense potential possible in a connected, smart city.

Chart 1: Libelium Smart Worldvi

Public Safety

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In a recent poll by local government leaders, when asked which areas they see as growth sectors

for the integration of IoT, public safety ranked number one. The City of Miami recently invested

$275,000 in the Shot Spotter system which detects gunfire using sensors, plots their occurrence on a map

and notifies law enforcement, all via cloud based systems. Through the use of this smart technology the

police department has been able to better align its personnel and direct its services to the locations where

the highest number of gunshots are originating. Aside from the life saving component of the program,

one of the greatest benefits of the technology has been in the data that is being collected from the system.

There was an 800% increase in the number of gunshots reported using the Shot Spotter system versus the

information gathered from relying on reports using 911 calls alone. In Chart 2 below a graphic

representation of the data clearly shows where hot spots exist. In total there were 8,280 gunshots reported

in a four square mile area, an average of 22 bullets per day.vii This information is a good example of the

value of open data sharing for public health, safety, housing and education agencies to address the myriad

of issues which faces residents living in neighborhoods with high levels of gun violence. A civic

hacktivist, for example, could then develop a subscription based warning system to alert residents and

schools of gun activity by location.

Chart 2: ShotSpotter data, Miami Herald (March 4, 2015 – March 3, 2016)viii

The Case for Greater Connectivity

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For local governments, decision making and resource planning would have to go through a

paradigm shift to fully embrace the benefits of hyper-connectivity. No longer is action governed by

having to wait for problems to occur repeatedly and only then determine that there may be enough

incidences of a specific event to warrant gathering a committee and deciding how to investigate the issue

before ultimately determining how to proceed. With the advancement of smart technology these steps

can be largely automated and understood by a single

person, a local government data scientist, who constantly

monitors and mines the analytics of connected systems for

high traffic indicators, trends and red flags. Through a

network of connected dashboards, real time issues can be

tracked and resources dispatched much quicker than

waiting for citizen complaints. Interdepartmental and inter

agency coordination, one of the current greatest challenges

to efficient service delivery, could be greatly improved if

there was even a larger commitment to the interoperability

of disparate IT systems. In Miami-Dade County, for example, there are 34 different municipalities under

the county’s umbrella, each using different systems for reporting, resolving and tracking citizen

complaints.

Making the Case Locally

Citizens are more likely to be engaged at the local government level if it is in their self interest.

Fortunately there is probably no organization that citizens interface with on a daily basis more frequently

than with local government agencies, whether it is realized or not. The provision of clean drinking water,

garbage and recycling services, schools, roads, traffic management, public safety, life safety issues,

permitting, construction, urban planning, parks, public spaces, transit and environmental management are

only some of the locally controlled government functions that can be influenced by increased citizen

engagement and a better wired operational platform. Solving problems through the use of technology is

the common bond which can strengthen the relationship between these two stakeholders, the users of

public services and the providers of public services.

Smart cities also attract smart residents and smart companies. Technology focused and wired

communities attract businesses and employees who are increasingly looking for ways to engage

throughout all aspects of their daily life. Cities which display a propensity towards innovation and

technology based approaches will attract similarly focused companies and their employees. Building an

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“IoT devices have a lot to tell public officials – but they have to be listening.”

Five Ways IoT Improves Customer Service and Benefits your Citizens- Microsoft.

ecosystem of connected businesses, government and residents will inevitably result in each component

feeding off of the other.

311

Local governments across the country have adopted 311 call centers for residents to report

neighborhood concerns. 311 has become as ubiquitous as 911 for reporting complaints in urban areas

such as New York City, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Miami. When residents have a concern about

anything from trees to potholes to homeless to noise they turn to 311, either by phone, walk-in/in person

reports, email or app. Complaints are received and routed to the appropriate departments for resolution.

Over time, this program has evolved from a phoned based, call-in service to now having a smart phone

app which has geo-location features, voice notes, video and photo upload capabilities to capture the full

extent of the problem. The amount of data that is collected via the 311 system is a vast goldmine for local

governments to scrub for additional insight. Some cities, and even social entrepreneurs, have realized this

and further explored and developed solutions to address the most commonly reported problems. Others

have been slow to recognize the value in this information. As more governments participate in open data

initiatives and make this type of public data available in usable formats, citizen hackivists are responding

with amazing insights and solutions, as evidenced by the data visualization in Chart 3 below.

New York City (resident hacktivists and local government) have been actively making use of

the data collected to map trends and gain insight at the granular, street level as to what is happening on a

daily basis and even as Chart 3 below shows, what residents are concerns about on at hourly intervals on

any given day. Ben Wellington presented a great TedxNewYork talk entitled, “How we found the worst

place to park in New York City – using big data.”ix Using publically available data, Mr. Wellington

speaks about the challenges and opportunities of using open data provided by local governments. He

highlights the need for greater standardization of how information is collected (each department uses

different formats for addresses) and released (releasing information via PDF is frustrating) to the public.

He also demonstrates the power of public input by finding the most ticketed parking spot in New York

City. Realizing that the space is improperly noticed and striped, he made a request that the Department of

Transportation visit the location conduct an assessment. Within a few weeks the parking spot was

restriped and better signage was put in place to warn drivers that the space was not a legal parking space.

This is the power of greater collaboration between residents and government with a powerful assist from

technology to ensure that we are all partners in making our cities better.

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Chart 3: What 100 Million Calls to 311 Reveal About New York, Wired Magazine (November 1, 2010)x

Miami Dade County’s 311 system was launched in 2005. Citizen hacktivists in Miami are

actively trying to make inroads into a deeper more sophisticated use of the publicly available data

gathered from the system. Through the efforts of groups such as Code for Miami the citizen intent is

present but the progress has been uneven. According to current members of the group, uptake by local

municipal leaders has been slow and engaging Miami’s residents continues to be a challenge.

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The Social Case from a Global Perspective

Alexis de Tocqueville, French Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1849, understood the importance of

civic engagement. In his writings he spoke of his admiration of Americans and his sentiments are

summed up nicely in a 2005 article in The Economist, entitled, “The Glue of Society”. It states, by

“connecting people to their neighborhoods and to the wider world, civic associations made Americans

better informed, safe, richer and better able to govern themselves and create a just and stable society”.xi

Globally the implications of moving citizen

engagement and activism online have created spaces to gather

and express solidarity with each other and against oppressive

regimes. In countries such as Chinaxii and Cuba where civil

society gatherings are largely prohibited or monitored, moving

activism to web based platforms has proven to be powerful

alternative for local activists to rely information amongst the

population without detection by the government. Some of

these platforms, such as Ushahidi, have partnered with U.S.

based developers who design programs for use by residents in

politically repressive and war torn countries. An example of

this is the Syria Tracker Crisis Map which has “meticulously and systematically documented 1,529

reports of human rights violations including a total of 11,147 killings.”xiii

When empowered with information we all tend to make better choices. An example of this can

be found in the smart-grid eco-district of Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. After residents were provided

with real time information on their energy consumption, a shift in their behaviors led to a ten to twenty

percent reduction in their utility bills.xiv

The Smart Cities Council is further evolving the smart cities approach and has launched a

coalition called Compassionate Cities. The purpose of this campaign is to design smart technologies to

help cities address four critical areas which affect vulnerable populations the most: 1) food and water; 2)

shelter; 3) upward mobility and 4) wellness. According to Philip Bane, Executive Director of the Smart

Cities Council, who is heading the effort, the initiative is “not about a slew of new technologies cities

have to budget for; it’s about applying existing smart technologies – from data analytics to social media –

to improve living standards for all citizens.” xv

Private Sector Solutions

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“The idea of like-minded souls bound by a common cause linking up around the country is anathema to the party.”

The Economist, July 9, 2016

Even if local governments are slow on the uptake of the move towards deepening citizen

engagement, the private sector has already begun capitalizing on the opportunities. Companies such as

Microsoft are offering cloud based solutions to streamline and promote civic involvement. Privately

developed apps such as SeeClickFixxvi and City Sourcedxvii are providing white label options for local

governments to purchase off the shelf solutions.

Socrataxviii, which the City of Miami is in the process of adopting, offers a suite of products which

places data analysis, analytics and citizen engagement at the forefront of their solutions. Socrata Publica

manages the publishing of data sets and encourages developers to build upon the information to develop

useful applications, making the data relevant and even profitable for enterprising individuals. Socrata

Performance democratizes the performance management system of municipal strategic plans and holds

local governments more accountable to the public. Socrata Public Safety works with police departments

to build trust.

Contact Solutions offers a solution called My:Time 3.0xix which is focused on providing customer

service to constituents on a “24x7x365” basis while ensuring personalized care and state of the art data

security. The company even claims its software “can sense when any of your constituents are struggling

with voice prompts.”xx

Challenges and Opportunities

Inclusion and uptake by a cross section of residents is one of the challenges to embracing greater

online and digital engagement. There remain segments of society which have limited or no access to high

speed internet or smart phones which power most of the engagement tools discussed thus far. Older

residents and others who are not as tech literate as others can be left out. Residents who do not speak or

read English will not be able to use the technology unless this sensitivity is taken into consideration

during the planning phases. These challenges are not insurmountable and can provide powerful insights

to design improved non-tech approaches to reach these special populations.

Alternatively, technology could be used to enhance the services most frequented by certain

populations. Improvements to the user experience of public transit are regularly cited as a driver to

increase ridership. Smart travel can include use of GPS technology to provide more accurate arrival and

departure times. In Los Angeles smart technology enabled bus stops include free Wi-Fi and USB stations

to charge cell phones. Increasingly urban mobility has become one of the areas where the adoption of IoT

solutions has resulted in better service delivery by the private sector. Companies such as Uber, Lyft,

Waze and Citibikes have created an on-demand approach to the provision of daily mobility services. As

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consumers become more frequent users of these types of services and technology, it is likely that their

expectation from local government will begin to converge with the experiences they are having in these

other markets.

Financial Impact

One of the benefits of local government embracing more technology based platforms to reach

residents is the ease of integrating shopping carts and e-commerce components into 311 and other

forward facing applications. The ability for residents and businesses to pay fines, permits and application

fees via a one-stop digital experience will greatly increase revenue collection for local governments. This

feature will also reduce the amount of staffing currently dedicated to processing payments manually at

walk-in centers. Staff at these walk-in centers can be retrained to not only provide excellent customer

service but also assist with the data analysis, reporting of trends and proactive planning rather than just

passively processing complaints. This paradigm shift for local government workers and frontline

customer service staff would more result in more engaged employees and more favorable experiences by

residents.

According to a 2016 Business Insider reportxxi, budget constraints continue be the number one

reason why more local governments are not moving towards smart city models. Exploring public private

partnerships (PPPs) or issuing a Smart Cities municipal bond to fund the development of these large scale

initiatives could provide the financing necessary to initiate a large scale project.

Chart 4: Smart Cities report on Driving factors of Developmentxxii

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Recommendations

For residents seeking opportunities for improved civic engagement

The Madison Projectxxiii, created by the OpenGov Foundationxxiv is an online platform that allows

residents to comment on federal and local laws under consideration.

Code for Miami is a member of the Code for America Brigade and describes itself as “a group of

civic hackers (designers, developers, data scientists, urbanists and community organizers) who

contribute our talents toward improving the way our community interacts with local government

by advocating for open data and using it to create apps and shared resources.”xxv The group meets

weekly and is currently spearheading the local component of the OpenStreetMap (OSM)

initiative with the goal of importing 100,000 buildings “to improve the biggest collaborative

mapping project in the world.”xxvi

For local governments interested in moving towards becoming networked cities

Invest in personnel and invest in departments that understand big data and the importance of

operating on smart, networked platforms.

Lead the way by providing access to data so that citizen hacktivists can mine and interpret the

information for trends and opportunities.

More actively engage in the open government movement allowing for downloadable data in

useful formats from .gov websites.

Consider nontraditional partnerships with impact investors to jumpstart interest and capital flows

for public private initiatives which will lead to advancements in smart city development.xxvii

Seek out and support volunteer run, citizen led initiatives and innovation contests which are

developing solutions to many of the challenges facing local government. Apps for

Democracyxxviii, developed in 2008 by Vivek Kundra, former first Federal Chief Information

Officer, has successful inspired an entire ecosystem of innovation globally, see Chart 5 below.

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Chart 5: Map of Movements Inspired by Apps for Democracyxxix

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Conclusion

As a country we are currently debating what it means to “make America great again”. One thing

is for sure and that is no matter how we move forward collectively as a country, technology and the

internet will be a partner in our success, or failure. The “electronic welcome mat”xxx as The Economist

describes it, will increasingly be the civic space where residents and smart governments gather to discuss,

build community and resolve problems collectively. Thankfully due to the vision and foresight of

President Barack Obama, the federal government has taken the lead on providing residents with the civic

space and tools necessary to continue to support open government initiatives. Websites such as

www.data.gov xxxi provides over 192,880 datasets of public information from manufacturing inventories

to credit card complaints to monthly housing prices to federal student loan program data – all available

for citizen hacktivists and the private sector to explore, transform and continue to make America great.

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References:

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i https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_things ii http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2014/05/13/simple-explanation-internet-things-that-anyone-can-understand/#398208496828 iii http://americancityandcounty.com/poll/03302016 iv http://southsidecivic.net/scopeathon v https://www.linkedin.com/company/1062497 vi http://www.libelium.com/libelium-smart-world-infographic-smart-cities-internet-of-things/ vii http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article92463187.html viii http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article92463187.html ixhttp://www.ted.com/talks/ ben_wellington_how_we_found_the_worst_place_to_park_in_new_york_city_using_big_data?utm_source=linkedin.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=tedspread x https://www.wired.com/2010/11/ff_311_new_york/ xi http://www.economist.com/node/4148899 xii http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21701654-civic-engagement-all-sorts-becoming-much-more-widespread-daring-think-daring xiii https://www.ushahidi.com/case-studies/syria-tracker xiv http://smartcitiescouncil.com/resources/residents-trim-energy-use-20-percent-when-given-real-time-consumption-data xv http://smartcitiescouncil.com/article/compassionate-cities xvi https://en.seeclickfix.com xvii http://www.citysourced.com/ xviii https://socrata.com/segments/city-government/ xix http://contactsolutions.com/industry-solutions/government xx http://announce.ft.com/detail?dockey=600-201609190900BIZWIRE_USPRX____BW5177-1 xxi http://www.businessinsider.com/the-smart-cities-report-driving-factors-of-development-top-use-cases-and-market-challenges-for-smart-cities-around-the-world-2016-10?r=UK&IR=T xxii http://www.businessinsider.com/the-smart-cities-report-driving-factors-of-development-top-use-cases-and-market-challenges-for-smart-cities-around-the-world-2016-10?r=UK&IR=T xxiii http://opengovfoundation.org/projects/madison-project/ xxiv http://opengovfoundation.org/about/ xxv http://codefor.miami/ xxvi http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Miami-Dade_County_Large_Building_Importxxvii https://assets.rockefellerfoundation.org/app/uploads/20120221220232/Impact-at-Scale_Full-Report.pdf xxviii https://isl.co/work/apps-for-democracy-contest/ xxix https://isl.co/work/apps-for-democracy-contest/ xxx http://www.economist.com/node/4148899xxxi https://www.data.gov