What is
a SmartCommunity?
A community
that has made a conscious effort to employ information technology
to transform a major portion of its region. This transformation
is beneficial to the community and attracts local participation
and cooperation among the community, government, industry,
and education. SmartCommunities improve its citizens' lifestyles
by increasing mobility (lessening the burden on the physical
transportation infrastructure) and reducing environmental
pollutants. Citizens also experience increased control over
the demands placed upon their lives from the convenience offered
by a community -wide information infrastructure. SmartCommunities
are also economically competitive in the new global economy
and attracts commerce as a result of an advanced telecommunications
infrastructure.
Is that
the same as a "Smart" city?
Not necessarily.
A city is a legal entity; a unit of government. By "community"
we mean a broader term that connotes a superset of a city
(or other unit of local government) and encompasses the array
of neighborhoods, organizations, groups and individuals that
collectively constitute the community and give it a sense
of place. The SmartCommunity definition also speaks to transformation
of a community. This is to be distinguished from the incremental
enhancement of a single community element, such as automation
of a function of city government (e.g. issuing permits) or
providing city information on an electronic bulletin board
or kiosk.
Do you
mean an electronic community?
An "electronic"
community is a virtual community representing common interests
linked by telecommunications technology and independent of
place. We would not rule out a SmartCommunity effort that
is indifferent to geopolitical boundaries (which are fairly
arbitrary) but underlying the Caltrans SmartCommunities project
is a strong desire to improve quality of life for all Californians.
This implies some reasonable linkage of the concept of an
"electronic" community with a specific physical
place or set of places within the state.
What's
this got to do with transportation? The Information Highway
is different from transportation; transportation is about cars,
trucks, buses and trains.
Transportation
is about mobility; the movement of people, goods, information
and services. As a component of a full transportation system,
telecommunications can be substituted for some physical trips.
For example, the movement of information and services to people
achieves the same purpose as the movement of people to information
and services.
Can't we
wait on this? The Information Age could be significant in the
future, but for now California needs to strengthen its economy.
California's
competitors are not waiting. California's economy is part
of a global economy that is already based primarily on knowledge-based
trade. Much of California employment is knowledge-based, led
by basic-sector industries including telecommunications technology,
computing, entertainment media and multi-media.
But how
does this relate to highways, ports and railroads? Products
still have to get to the marketplace.
Of course.
Transportation supports trade and commerce, and the physical
movement of products will remain important. Telcommunications
mobility supplements the physical components of the transportation
system, it does not supplant them. Not all trade transactions
involve tangible products. Buyers and sellers of knowledge-based
services do not necessarily need ports, trucks, warehouses
and physical trading floors to complete their transactions.
Buyers and sellers of physical products can also transact
business electronically in a way that minimizes their need
for physical movement. Telecommunications technologies bring
buyers and sellers together in a virtual marketplace that
is independent of place.
Won't the
private sector make this happen? The invisible hand of the free
market will ensure that all Californians can access the full
range of the information infrastructure.
Let's
not argue about economic theory. The reality is that other
states and city-state economies are already being guided by
public policies and investments in telecommunications technology
systems designed to compete with California's share of the
global market. The free market has a history of accentuating
the gap between haves and have-nots, at least in the short-term.
Unless California acts consciously and purposefully now to
foster timely, universal access to information embodied by
telecommunications technologies, those other states and city-state
economies will gain competitive advantages over us.
Wouldn't
it be better to wait and see how the playing field for telecommunications
technology develops?
The pace
of change in telecommunications technology is extraordinary.
Technology products are nearly obsolete even before being
brought to market. It may be possible to stay abreast, but
it is nearly impossible to catch up.
Aren't
you a Smart Community once the technical infrastructure for
telecommunications technology is in place?
No. Mere
presence of technology does not equate to use. A comprehensive
system is needed to make a community 'Smart'. Such a system
not only includes the technical infrastructure components,
but also accomodates users by providing the tools, training
and technical support they need to accept and use technology
and the institutional infrastructure that facilitates use.
Where are
communities supposed to find the resources to support this new
program? Resources are already stretched thin supporting existing
programs.
There
are probably not enough resources to support each desirable
program individually. Collaborative use of resources across
traditional programmatic lines has potential to leverage mutual
gains for the collaborating programs. Communities should also
ask themselves if they are making economic development investments
aimed at accomodating the ways of the past or the opportunities
of the future.
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