1.1 Smart city partnerships

Many cities are establishing partnerships to take forward their smart city initiatives.

We will explore two case studies: Chicago and Amsterdam. Chicago is the third largest city in the United States with a population of nearly three million people. Its challenges include economic development, transport, education and crime. Chicago has been developing smart city projects since 2011 driven by a partnership which combines strong political leadership with community engagement. It's been driven by Mayor Emmanuel who was elected in 2011 and has a clear understanding of the role of technology and data in transforming a city. On arrival he established two new positions. A Chief Technology Officer and a Chief Data Officer.

The City of Chicago's technology plan is led by the mayor and sets out a vision of Chicago becoming a city where technology fuels opportunity, inclusion, engagement and innovation. The Smart Chicago Collaborative is a partnership for a digital Chicago, a civic organisation that focuses on using technology to improve the lives of citizens. It was founded by the city government, The MacArthur Foundation and The Chicago Community Trust. Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands with a population of nearly nine hundred thousand people and it wants to be one of the world's most sustainable cities by 2040. Amsterdam Smart City brings together the government, companies, knowledge institutions and the people of Amsterdam.

It has grown into a platform with over one hundred partners involved in more than seventy-five innovative projects. Amsterdam Smart City was founded in 2009 by the Municipality of Amsterdam, Alliander the grid operator and KPN the telecommunications provider. Amsterdam defines a smart city as a city where social and technological infrastructures and solutions facilitate and accelerate sustainable economic growth. They encourage active involvement of citizens to test drive new technologies.