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Future Technologies

Flipping the Smart Grid Switch in Vermont

January 24, 2012 by Adam Christensen
with 58 views
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To get an idea of the promise and possibility of the “smart grid,” look no further than what’s happening in the small New England state of Vermont. With multiple energy sources and a clear focus on the environment spanning many years, Vermont continues to lead the path for other states looking to become “smarter.” Since creating the... [read more]

Animal Hospital Goes Hi-Tech to Reunite Pets with Owners

January 18, 2012 by Megan Dalton
with 17 views
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New Haven Central Hospital for Veterinary Medicine and SeeClickFix proudly announce an innovative partnership to reunite missing pets with their owners. The hospital will leverage our place-based reporting platform and open-source mapping technology to track lost and found animals in southern Connecticut. From Norwalk and Newtown to... [read more]

A Tall Building Bible for Urbanists

December 22, 2011 by Chuck Wolfe
with 195 views
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Recent reports and coverage show that the skyscraper is very much alive in the post-9/11 world, despite recession and lowrise alternatives to modern urban development.   Hence the timely release of consulting engineer Kate Ascher’s new book, The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper (Penguin Press, 2011), a remarkably plain-language... [read more]

What’s a Store Anyway? The Rise of the Mobile Shopper

November 5, 2011 by Adam Christensen
with 115 views
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This post is written by John Squire Director, Product Management, Enterprise Marketing Management Group IBM Industry SolutionsAround this time last year, Susan Etlinger, an analyst with Altimeter Group, said something that stopped me in my tracks. In the context of discussing e-commerce, Susan asked, “what’s a store, anyway?”Not that... [read more]

The Smart Grid’s Grassroots Appeal

October 31, 2011 by Kat Friedrich
with 112 views
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It’s important to present smart grid programs as attractive to local stakeholders rather than giving the impression they are a top-down imposition. Smart metering programs have already suffered from a lack of customer-friendly communication. Because some customers believe smart meters benefit utilities more than consumers, programs have met with resistance. [read more]

Zipcar Launches Facebook App

October 20, 2011 by TheCityFix - produced by EMBARQ
with 89 views
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Are you watching your friends make weekend plans through your Facebook news feed? Are you afraid you’re going to miss out on the action? Well, don’t worry because you’ll never miss a weekend of fun with Zipcar’s new Facebook application! Yesterday, car sharing company Zipcar launched “Reserve a Zipcar” Facebook application to further... [read more]

Introducing City Governments to Cloud Computing

October 10, 2011 by This Big City
with 131 views
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One of the advantages of social media and web 2.0 technologies are their relatively low cost of use. Part of the reason for this derives from the use of “cloud computing” – which shifts data and software from desktop PCs and servers to the Internet (the cloud is just a metaphor for the Internet and its networked typology). This allows for many individuals and organizations to utilize computing infrastructure that they might not otherwise be able to afford or maintain on their own to access and deliver files and applications to anyone with access to the Internet. [read more]

Making Broadband A Right – A Lesson For The US?

July 11, 2011 by Next American City
with 90 views
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Credit: by LacrymosaEditor’s note:  This piece originally ran on CivSource on July 6, 2011 Broadband access in the United States is an issue fraught with strong opinions on topics from speed to funding to net neutrality. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) backed by the support of the Obama Administration is pushing a... [read more]

Passive House Designs Gains Foothold in the U.S.

July 7, 2011 by Silvio Maracci
with 237 views
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Passive houses are an innovative new type of home design that is build save energy. This passive house, in the Washington, D.C., suburbs, is so well sealed and insulated that it requires no expensive heating or cooling equipment. It uses building techniques to keep the air inside comfortable year round. The energy costs are reduced by 90 percent by using triple glazed windows and rigid foam insulation, and making sure there are no leaks in window seams. The windows also are designed to make maximum use of sunlight and shade for heating and cooling. [read more]

Life at the Speed of Rail

June 23, 2011 by Next American City
with 233 views
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Life at the Speed of Rail began as a project to explore how high-speed rail could transform American life in the coming decades. Andrew Colopy and I were given carte blanche to imagine a competition that calls on the design community to answer this question. We could have picked a particular location, say, along one of the currently planned high-speed rail corridors, and we could have asked entrants to focus on the real-life consequences of rail in a particular city. But we were less concerned about receiving design solutions to any particular high-speed rail challenge than the overarching challenge of bridging the design and transportation communities, and asking the design community to envision the impact of high-speed rail. [read more]

Highlights from the Intelligent Cities Forum

June 9, 2011 by TheCityFix - produced by EMBARQ
with 338 views
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The National Building Museum's Intelligent Cities Forum gathered experts across disciplines to explore the intersection of technology and urban life. From left to right: Judith Rodin, Richard Stengel, Anne Altman, Dr. Xavier de Souza Briggs, Susan Piedmont-Palladino and Michelle Moore. Photo by Kyle Samperton. Published with permission... [read more]

Can Indian and U.S. Ingenuity Together Lead the World to Clean Energy Solutions?

May 27, 2011 by Shravya Reddy
with 109 views
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Last week, India and the United States crossed another significant milestone in their efforts to create a clean energy future for their citizens and the rest of the world. Both countries announced an unprecedented funding opportunity for joint, collaborative research in three critical fields: solar energy, second-generation biofuels, and... [read more]