Discussion: The global “Smart City” movement is about harnessing sensor data of all kinds to make cities more efficient and offer better services to residents. However, these initiatives model cities as ‘machines’ rather than human communities, and forget that the smartest sensors in any city have two legs. Smart Communities is about the ways that passive and active information streams, contributed voluntarily by citizens, can empower and enlighten communities. Is it possible for chronic urban issues such as homelessness, addiction, mental illness, safety, security, diversity, isolation and loneliness to be healthfully addressed with smart community technologies?
523 Inspiration: Whereas the wisdom of a crowd is volatile, the wisdom of a community is powerful and resilient. Smart Communities speaks to an emerging mobile intelligence dimension of the concept that it takes a village to raise a child.
