Smart technology is deploying at a rapid pace. And what your residents want today is different than what they wanted 10 years ago. That means public administrators need to become familiar with the trends in smart technologies and consider the possibilities, challenges, and impacts of smart technology solutions in their communities. 

Within the publication Smart Solutions: Technology Serving Communities, you'll find that ICMA and the Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS) offer Smart Solutions for public administrators, elected officials, and academics who desire a primer on "smart cities," or emerging technologies. It features pertinent context, how-to guidance, diverse case studies, and relevant resource information on emerging technologies. The smart technology journey for local government is just getting started. Together, let's implement a "smart communities" approach, using technology to achieve greater efficiency and improved service delivery. 

Below is gathered information from the 2016 Smart Cities Survey Report about the priorities and activities of U.S. local governments related to smart-city technologies. This information is highlighted throughout Smart Solutions and provides tips to help local government professionals begin thinking what steps they need to take to launch a smart community philosophy and how to best organize to achieve the results desired by the community at large.

• 36.8% of local government's surveyed consider their communities overall commitment to smart cities a high priority.
• 48.9% of local government's surveyed indicated that public safety is their top priority for smart city technologies.
• 58.5% of local government's surveyed identified that they are actively deploying smart payments and finance technologies.
• 48.8% of local government's surveyed are not yet, but interested in exploring working together with other cities and counties to aggregate demand and increase purchasing power for smart city technology.

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How to Use the Smart Solutions: Technology Serving Communities E-Book

The structure of this book is designed to let you either follow the path as set forward in the table of contents or “enter” the book at any subject matter point about which you are curious. The intention is to answer important questions local government professionals have about how a smart communities approach will benefit their community. Smart Solutions: Technology Serving Communities also intentionally stimulates the development of new questions to help move the smart community discussion forward. Local governments have long collected and maintained communityrelated data, but are still learning how data and technology can be used to achieve greater innovation and realize better results in their work.

What's Inside the E-Book

• Chapter 1. Overview looks at the history and background of how the “smart community” movement began and where it’s headed.
• Chapter 2. Roles highlights the role(s) that need to be fulfilled in developing and designing an effective smart community.
• Chapter 3. Getting Started helps local government professionals begin thinking what steps they need to take to launch a smart community philosophy and how to best organize to achieve the results desired by the community at large.
• Chapter 4. Process. Any technology initiative requires a critical understanding of how technology works before beginning. Equally important is a grasp of how the organization and the stakeholders in that organization work. Without support from the organization, it’s difficult to achieve the full results desired.
• Chapter 5. Case Studies. Smart community projects take many different forms. The case studies in this chapter highlight the many ways that a local government can put into place a smart community initiative.
• Chapter 6. Smart Questions. It’s been said that the best questions are ones that lead you to ask even more and better questions. These questions can be used to begin a dialogue on how your local government can become an effective smart community.

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