The City of the Future
How can we make our cities better places to live, work and play, a little bit easier to navigate and to flourish within? The ideas presented here are intended to help cities to manage the changes that come with life re-imagined.

Transparency and the city of the future

Lindsey Donato & Ed Nevins

In the first of a new nine-part series on issues facing the city of the future, Lindsey Donato and Ed Nevins explore the need for transparency in city government.

State-of-the-art public access and the city of the future

Jas Gaurav Singh

The second article in our City of the Future series examines the need for state-of-the-art public access to services and service delivery, arguing that only multi-channel access will suffice in satisfying today’s “connected” citizen.

Public safety and the city of the future

Ed Nevins

The third article in our City of the Future series examines progressive public safety practices, the emerging science of public safety and predictive analytics that can help make cities safer.

Service delivery and the city of the future

Jas Gaurav Singh

The quality of the public services provided by a city can only be defined by the citizens who use them. And as technology continues to transform our daily lives, now more than ever the onus is on municipalities to explore new and innovative ways of delivering services.

Shared services and the city of the future

Lindsey Donato

Municipalities can no longer afford to ignore shared services frameworks. Into the future, looking for opportunities to share, partner and collaborate will be one of the keys to the success of local governments of all shapes and sizes.

Regionalization and the city of the future

Jeff Ziplow

Regionalization - neighboring communities pooling their resources to create shared service capabilities - provides cities with a great opportunity to balance their budgets and stretch their investment dollars.

Sustainable energy and the city of the future

Samuel Weil

Burlington, Vermont is the first U.S. city to generate all of its electricity needs through renewable sources. But in future, every city will have to take seriously the environmental and economic benefits of sustainable energy.

Education and the city of the future

Lindsey Donato

If municipalities are to have any chance of preparing their young people for an uncertain future, the education they provide needs to change. And that means embracing technology and expanding learning beyond the doors of the classroom.

Economic opportunities and the city of the future

Samuel Weil

The backbone of any effort to transform a city is planned economic development that is more than haphazard and opportunistic. For local government, that means focusing on brand, asset leverage and transportation.