The Smart Community Podcast
Zoe Eather
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"Making Smart Communities that are Accessible, Liveable and Sustainable for All"
The Smart Community Podcast is a hub where Smart and exciting people from all around the world come to discuss all things Smart City, Smart Town, Smart Region - anything that makes a place more liveable. Together we can create the Smart Community Collective.
Disclaimer: All content is representative of personal opinion only and is not associated with any company, organisation or government agency.
Available episodes
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3 days ago
Shared Mobility Unlocking the Employment Market, with Ryan McManus
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great conversation with Ryan McManus. Ryan is a mobility entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of SHARE Mobility, a technology company based in Columbus, Ohio that helps organisations solve complex transportation problems with mobility-as-a-service. I last spoke with Ryan in 2020 so it was great to catch up on what he has been up to since then. Ryan begins by telling us about his background in mobility and current work in mobility-as-a-service, what a Smart Community means to him, and we catch up on what Ryan has been up to since we last spoke in 2020. Ryan then tells us about the changes he has seen in the mobility-as-a-service space due to the pandemic, he discusses the benefits to shared mobility and also how shared mobility can unlock the employment market. Ryan then takes us through the journey he has been on with his company SHARE Mobility. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of companies offering commuter benefits and mandating commuter policies. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full show notes at: _www.mysmart.community_
Connect with Ryan via _LinkedIn_ or _sharemobility.com_
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via _LinkedIn_ or _Twitter_ and watch on _YouTube_
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by _Perk Digital_
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Aug 7, 2022
Data Shaping the Future of AgTech, with Tim Neale
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a very interesting conversation with Tim Neale. Tim, who was named Australian agricultural consultant of the year 2018, has over 25 years’ experience across Australia and internationally, 20 of which has been running his own agtech businesses. He is co-founder and Managing Director of DataFarming, a five-year old agtech business out of Queensland. In this episode, Tim begins by telling us about his background in agtech and current work, his passion for helping farmers to up-skill and use tech to enhance their farming, and Tim tells us what a Smart Community means to him. Tim then tells us what led him to work in the agtech space, we discuss how technology can help in this space, and Tim tells us a bit about his company DataFarming and what they do. Tim then discusses some of the positive impacts his work has had for his clients, the changes he has seen in the agtech space over time, and we discuss the role of data in the future of the agriculture industry. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of tackling data connectivity and data processing sustainably to unlock the possibilities that data can provide. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full show notes at: _www.mysmart.community_
Connect with Tim via _LinkedIn_ or _Twitter_
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via _LinkedIn_ or _Twitter_ and watch on _YouTube_
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by _Perk Digital_
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Jul 31, 2022
Community as the Catalyst in Southern Grampians, with Russell Bennett
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a wonderful conversation with Russell Bennett. Russell has been the Manager of Business Systems at Southern Grampians Shire Council since April 2015. Prior to his current role he has 13+ years’ experience working as IT Project Manager and Business Analyst across a number of industries both in the private and public sector. In this episode Russell tells us about his background in business, IT and Project Management, what sparked his interest in the Smart Communities space, and what has driven the Southern Grampians Shire’s Smart Community approach. Russell then talks about the Digital Innovation and Smart Agriculture (DISA) festival the council has started to help educate the community, before he takes us through some use cases for the use of LoRaWAN and IoT in Southern Grampians. We then discuss the importance of embedding data into our decision making and educating the community about the use of data, as well as the importance of embedding the Smart Community approach across our organisations, and Russell tells us about his favourite project he has been working on. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of leveraging data to improve emergency services decision making. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full show notes at: _www.mysmart.community_
Connect with Russell via _LinkedIn_ or via email: _Rbennett@sthgrampians.Vic.gov.au_
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via _LinkedIn_ or _Twitter_ and watch on _YouTube_
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by _Perk Digital_
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Jul 27, 2022
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities Part 28
Hi #smartcommunityfriends! And hello to our listeners in Irbid, Jordan, you are amongst this month's top cities for episode downloads! I’m back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, ‘Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?” And this time I’m sharing with you the answers from these guests:
* Sandra Phillips from _Episode 302_
* Martin Darcy from _Episode 303_
* Zubin Pratap from _Episode 304_
* And finally Elisabeth L’Orange from _Episode 305_
Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around collaboration and more integrated thinking to becoming more resilient, getting the maximum value out of data and more accessibility to data.
Smart Communities are about thinking differently to get the most out of everything we have including data and resources. It is so important to draw the maximum value out of data, to have the greatest impact on our communities and organisations.
As Elisabeth L’Orange says, “having training data sets that are accessible for everyone and democratising data, I think is [where] we should all begin, so it's easier for Smart Cities and Communities [and] startups to actually build something to have an impact.”
As always we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full show notes at:_ www.mysmart.community_
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via_ LinkedIn_ or_ Twitter_ and watch on_ YouTube_
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by_ Perk Digital_.
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Jul 24, 2022
Artificial Intelligence Ethics and Our Virtual Selves, with Elisabeth L’Orange
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great conversation with Elisabeth L’Orange. Elisabeth is the co-founder of Oxolo, a Hamburg based company that specialises in virtualizing people by creating AI-powered chatbot avatars indistinguishable from reality, and ready to engage and communicate. In this episode Elisabeth starts by telling us about her background in law and startups, her passion for the planet, ethics and human rights as well as her passion for her kids and the outdoors. Elisabeth then shares with us what a Smart Community means to her, we discuss how certain biases can affect data sets and Elisabeth explains what synthetic data is. Elisabeth then tells us a bit about her company Oxolo and the work they do, what inspired her to get into the AI space and shares with us some use cases where AI benefits society and can improve the community. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of synthetic media. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full show notes at: _www.mysmart.community_
Connect with Elisabeth via _LinkedIn_
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via _LinkedIn_ or _Twitter_ and watch on _YouTube_
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by _Perk Digital_
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Jul 17, 2022
Unlocking the Possible with Diversity of Thought and Human Potential
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have another insightful conversation with Zubin Pratap. Zubin has successfully built careers in 3 domains including international corporate law, commercialisation strategy and software engineering and is a self-taught coder. Zubin also commits to personally coaching people to show them how to change careers at any stage, any age, and anywhere. Zubin was last a guest way back in Episode 37 (when we were The Smart City Podcast) in 2018, so I am very happy to have him back on the podcast and having this conversation. In this episode we begin by Zubin telling us about his varied and interesting background in law, business, startups and software engineering, Zubin then tells us what a Smart Community means to him, and also tells us about the work he does and passion for helping people to transition careers. We then discuss the factors that contribute to people wanting to change careers, as well as how to deal with change and how to progress in Smart Communities. Zubin then shares with us some of his observations of the metaverse space, we discuss the importance of diversity in thought in Smart Communities, and Zubin shares with us some of the projects has been working on since we last spoke, as well as some of his favourite learnings from those projects. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of taking small steps to make big impacts on the environment, and the changing role of education in our lives. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with Zubin via LinkedIn and Twitter
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital
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Jul 10, 2022
Local Government Challenges and Lessons Learnt in Smart Communities, with Martin Darcy
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a wonderful conversation with Martin Darcy. Martin is the Service Manager of Business and Innovation with Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. In this episode, Martin starts off by telling us about his background in the tourism industry, his past roles and current role working in local government, and Martin tells us what a Smart Community means to him. Martin then tells us a bit about how his role at the Council has evolved over time, some of the challenges in the Smart Communities space he has faced in this time, before he discusses his experience working to embed Smart Communities in his organisation. He then shares with us some lessons learnt when measuring and monitoring Smart Community benefits, as well as some of the communication and community engagement challenges he has faced. We then discuss the importance of educating the community about the benefits of Smart Communities and some of the elements that contribute to dealing with change. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of using data to make better informed decisions. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with Martin via LinkedIn
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital
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Jul 3, 2022
Harness Creativity and the Power of Shared Mobility, with Sandra Phillips
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have another fascinating chat with Sandra Phillips. Sandra is a Shared Mobility Architect and Principal of Movmi, an award-winning women-owned agency focused on Shared Mobility. Movmi builds healthier communities co-creating innovative mobility solutions that increase transportation options, yet reduce dependency on private car ownership. I last spoke with Sandra in Episode 219 which was released in March of 2021 so it was great to catch up on what Sandra has been up to since. Sandra starts off by telling us about her background as a shared mobility architect and some of the work she has been doing with her company, what a Smart Community means to her, and we discuss how shared mobility can contribute to building more resilient and inclusive communities. We then discuss the importance of involving the community and the need for more creativity, when building Smart Communities, and Sandra tells us a bit more about some of the projects she has been working on. Sandra then shares some use cases with us of when on-demand and micro-transit has worked well for the community. We finish our talk discussing the emerging trends of smaller shared mobility hubs, an increase in more shared cargo bikes and similar styles of mobility, and lastly the exciting shift in mobility behaviour change Sandra has been seeing. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with Sandra via LinkedIn
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital
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Jun 29, 2022
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities Part 27
Hi #smartcommunityfriends! I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:
•Calum Cameron from Episode 297
•Chris Manoski from Episode 298
•Dr. Mariela Alfonzo from Episode 299
Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), education, collaboration and co-creation.
One thing that all of our guests agree on is that Smart Communities is a journey that everyone should be a part of. Through education, collaboration and co-creation we can build communities that people really want, not just communities they need.
As Mariela Alfonzo says, "Being able to have a platform [where] anybody can contribute and co-create, I think that's really where we're headed in Smart Communities."
As always we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.
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Jun 26, 2022
Moving Beyond the Pilot - Embedding Smart Communities, with: Laura Baker, Nathaniel Mason, James Peet and Rory Brown
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast we are so excited to bring you our very first podcast panel, which was recorded live at the beginning of June 2022. We were joined by Laura Baker from the City of Casey in Victoria and who is also the President of the Australian Smart Communities Association (ASCA). We had Nathaniel Mason from the City of Tea Tree Gully in South Australia, James Peet from Moreton Bay Regional Council in Queensland, and we also had Rory Brown from the Smart Places Program in the Cities and Active Transport Division in New South Wales. We proudly partnered with the Australian Smart Communities Association to bring you this very special episode, as we discuss how to embed Smart Communities. In this episode we begin with an Acknowledgement of Country, our panelists tell us about their backgrounds, and Laura also tells us a bit about what ASCA does as well as the Smart Casey launchpad. We then hear from James and he tells us about the asset scanning and Smart park projects Moreton Bay Council have been running. Rory then tells us a bit about the Smart Places strategy and some of the initiatives involved, we then hear about the City of Casey's Digital Equity Living Lab that has just been introduced, before Nathaniel tells us about the Connected Cities project the City of Tea Tree Gully has been working on. Rory then discusses some interesting projects, including the Smart planning portal, the 3D modeling work they have done with some Western Sydney councils, and the Smart irrigation work they have been managing at Sydney Olympic Park. We finish our panel chat discussing the key elements to embedding Smart Communities in our organisations. This is a really exciting episode, a little bit longer than normal and we really hope you get a lot out of it. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with Laura via LinkedIn
Connect with Nathaniel via LinkedIn
Connect with James via LinkedIn
Connect with Rory via email: smartplaces@planning.nsw.gov.au
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital
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Jun 19, 2022
Using Artificial Intelligence to Create Thriving Communities, with Dr. Mariela Alfonzo
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a very interesting conversation with Dr. Mariela Alfonzo. Mariela is the Founder and CEO of State of Place, an AI-driven, urban design data and predictive analytics software that helps citymakers create more thriving communities more effectively, cost-efficiently, and inclusively. In this episode Mariela begins by telling us about her background in Urban Planning, her focus on how the built environment shapes our perceptions and what a Smart Community means to her. Mariela then tells us how she began her startup, State of Place, a bit about what they do, and the range of clients Mariela works with. Mariela then shares with us a use case where her work has made a real impact and she explains how the built environment is actually formed in the world from a cultural context. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of addressing the issue of equality and how our environments can predetermine how wel…
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Jun 12, 2022
A Cumberland Approach to the Smart Places Agenda, with Chris Manoski
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great conversation with Chris Manoski. Chris is the Senior Coordinator for Place and Engagement at Cumberland City Council, and proudly born and raised in Western Sydney. In this episode we begin by Chris telling us about his background growing up in Western Sydney, his current role at Cumberland City Council, and his passion for making change for the better. Chris then tells us what inspired him to work in the social sector as well as his love for tech and the Smart City space, what a Smart Community means to him, and he discusses what he believes makes Smart Community strategies and programs successful. Chris then tells us a bit about the Cumberland City Council Smart Cities journey, some of the projects he has been working on as well as the changes he has seen in the space recently, before he discusses the key foundations required to enable smart furniture applications. We finish our chat discussing…
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Jun 5, 2022
Giving People the Tools and Resources to Create Change, with Calum Cameron
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have another great conversation with Calum Cameron. Based in Estonia for the last 15 years, Calum is the CEO of Digital Path, a company that works to build responsive digital societies with governments, industry and entrepreneurs. Calum and I last spoke in 2020 in Episode 185, an episode so good we replayed it in our Summer Series of December 2021, so Calum is back to give us a full update. We begin by Calum telling us about his background in corporate IT, his passion for helping people to create change through digital transformation and innovation as well as giving people the tools and resources to do so, and we discuss some of the citizen lead initiatives I have seen in Australia helping to create change. We then discuss the societal shifts we have both seen in communities due to the pandemic, Calum tells us what a Smart Community means to him, before he discusses some of the shifts he has seen in the Smart…
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Jun 1, 2022
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities Part 26
Hi #smartcommunityfriends! And hello to our listeners in Bangkok, Thailand, you are amongst this month's top city for episode downloads. I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:
•Emily Bobis from Episode 291
•Dan Hendry from Episode 292
•Beate Kubitz from Episode 293
•Michael Milford from Episode 294
•And finally Crissy Ditmore from Episode 295
Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around the shift in growth to suburban living, connectivity, data literacy, education and learning from each other. Every Smart Community has some great things to offer so sharing those great ideas, knowledge and solutions is so important. Not only learning from each other, but learning from the past and past mistakes should just be a part of the process.
As Dan Hendry says, "Learning f…
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May 29, 2022
All About That Bus, with Crissy Ditmore
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have another fascinating conversation with Crissy Ditmore. Crissy is Head of Public Policy, North America for Optibus. As a 15-year transportation industry veteran she focuses on mobility for all, so she is the perfect guest to wrap up our #mobilitymay! I spoke with Crissy in early 2020 so it is great to catch up on what she has been up to since then. In this episode Crissy begins by telling us about her background in public transportation, her passion for making transit work for people and addressing their needs, and we touch on Crissy's fab #AllAboutThatBus video she created. Crissy then tells us what a Smart Community means to her, she discusses some of the shifts she has seen happening in the transit mobility sector since we last spoke, before she tells us about her current visit to Australia and her talk on gender bias transit. We then discuss the difference in transit experiences for women and men, the i…
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May 22, 2022
Hype and the Autonomous Vehicle, with Michael Milford
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a wonderful chat with Michael Milford. Michael is a multi-award winning educational entrepreneur, professor and joint director at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) centre for robotics. Michael conducts interdisciplinary research at the boundary between robotics, neuroscience and computer vision. I spoke with Michael in both 2018 and 2020 so I am super excited to welcome him back for #mobilitymay. In this episode Michael begins by telling us about his background as a professor and joint director at the QUT centre for robotics, his passion for technology specifically for autonomous vehicles, as well as education and Michael tells us what a Smart Community means to him. Michael then updates us on some of the projects he has been working on since last recording in 2020, including the two parts in the CHAD (Cooperative and Highly Automated Driving) project he has been leading, before he discusses…
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May 15, 2022
Optimising Mobility Through Digitising Transport, with Beate Kubitz
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of The Smart Community Podcast I have another great chat with Beate Kubitz. Beate is a Transport Consultant and Future Mobility Researcher in the UK. I spoke to Beate in both 2020 and 2021, so I am very keen to have her back on the podcast for #mobilitymay to give us an update. In this episode Beate starts by telling us about her background as a transport consultant and her current work in mobility services, what inspired her to launch her sustainable delivery service using carbo bikes, and what a Smart Community means to her. We then discuss the importance of inclusivity in Smart Communities to enhance social mobility, as well as the benefits of both digitising transport and on demand transport, and we then discuss the impacts that changing mobility behaviour can have. Beate then talks more about her cargo bike project and how it has evolved since we last spoke, before she tells us about the work she has been doing with other towns in the UK…
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May 8, 2022
Transit Education Giving Youth Mobility Independence in Canada, with Dan Hendry
Hi #smartcommunity friends! And welcome to our second #mobilitymay episode. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have fantastic talk with Dan Hendry. Dan strives toward promoting sustainable initiatives for the Limestone District School Board & Loyalist Township and involves himself in many community-based projects. He is a social innovator, facilitator, mentor, and communicator and focuses his energy and efforts on making Kingston in Ontario, Canada, a sustainable, liveable & Smart City. Dan starts off by telling us about his background in sustainability and his current work specifically in transit based projects, what a Smart Community is to Dan, and his passion for sustainability, innovation and leaving the world a better place. Dan then tells us about his amazing work teaching teens how to ride city transit and linking the school and transit systems together, and we then discuss the value of that education for people and the community. We then talk about the importance…
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May 1, 2022
New Transport Data Making Better Mobility Decisions, with Emily Bobis
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a wonderful talk with Emily Bobis. Emily is the co-founder of Compass IoT, a multi-award winning road intelligence startup that helps transport professionals improve road safety, transport, and infrastructure through connected vehicle data and the perfect guest for our first #mobilitymay episode. Emily begins by telling us about her background in startups, her passion for; innovation, mentorship, entrepreneurship and putting ideas into practice, before she tells us what a Smart Community means to her. Emily then shares a bit about her own startup Compass IoT and some of the exciting projects they have been working on, and explains what connected vehicle data is. Emily then dives a little deeper into how she got into startups and in particular how she started her own, and discusses some of the surprising things she has learned in her experiences working in startups and with data. We finish our chat discus…
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Apr 27, 2022
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities Part 25
Hi #smartcommunityfriends! And hello to our listeners in Auckland, New Zealand, you are amongst this month's top cities for episode downloads! I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:
•Alex Gluhak from Episode 286
•Natalia Krysiak from Episode 287
•Fiona Barden from Episode 288
•And finally Elle Davidson from Episode 289
Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around knowledge sharing, standardisation, inclusion, diversity and First Nations representation in Australian communities. We need to bring everyone along in the Smart Community journey to design communities for everybody, by everybody.
As Natalia Krysiak says, "diverse voices in our communities is [what] should be next. I think many of the solutions we already have, it's just about bringing everybody together,…
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Apr 24, 2022
The Value of First Nations Knowledge in Planning Places and Spaces, with Elle Davidson
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a wonderful conversation with Elle Davidson. Elle is a Balanggarra woman from the East Kimberley and descendant of Captain William Bligh, and describes herself as being caught in the cross-winds of Australia's history. With a passion to empower the voices of First Nations People, Elle combines her Town Planning and Indigenous Engagement qualifications to shape our places and spaces. In this episode, Elle begins with Acknowledgment of Country, before she tells us about her interesting and unique background as a town planner and current work with her consultancy, Zion Engagement and Planning, as well as her passion for bringing First Nations perspectives to planning. Elle then tells us what drew her into the town planning profession, what a Smart Community means to her, then discusses some of the projects she has been working on including a career highlight working on the Western Sydney aerotropolis projec…
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Apr 17, 2022
A Coffs Harbour Approach to Meeting Community Needs, with Fiona Barden
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a delightful chat with Fiona Barden. Fiona works with Coffs Harbour City Council, leading the Industry and Destination Development section, which looks after the economic development of the region and fosters tourism attraction and visitation. In this episode, Fiona begins by telling us about her interesting and varied background, her passion for business and in particular looking at economic viability for regions, and discusses some of Coffs Harbour's current top sectors and industries. Fiona then tells us what a Smart Community means to her, a few of the changes she has seen in her local community in the recent years, and then discusses a few of the projects she has been working on with the council. Fiona then talks about the councils approach to the Covid-19 pandemic and how this helped the community, as well as the councils Economic Development Strategy and their approach to digital economy. We finish…
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Apr 10, 2022
Smart Communities for Children and Play, with Natalia Krysiak
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a wonderful conversation with Natalia Krysiak, a practicing architect at Hayball and the founder of Cities for Play. Natalia specialises in the design of child-oriented learning and play environments, and her area of research focuses on child-friendly cities and how the built environment can contribute to the health and wellbeing of children. In this episode, Natalia begins by telling us about her background in architecture, what inspired her to begin her organisation Cities for Play, and what a Smart Community means to her. Natalia then shares how she came to work in the Smart Communities space, before she discusses the importance of accommodating children's needs when designing and planning our built environments, as well as the importance of the physical and digital combinations in our communities. Natalia then shares with us some of her Churchill Fellow experiences, before discussing some examples sh…
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Apr 3, 2022
Technology in the Wild, with Alex Gluhak
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have an excellent conversation with Alex Gluhak. Alex is an experienced technology leader and evangelist for Internet of Things (IoT) technology and its application to Smart Cities and Communities. He is also the CEO and Founder at Urban Data Collective, who's mission is to democratize access to real-time urban data. In this episode Alex begins by telling us about his background as a telecoms engineer in Germany, his passion for travel and working with people from different cultures, before sharing a bit about his startup Urban Data Collective. Alex then shares what a Smart Community means to him, why he believes data to be so important in Smart Communities and how it affects decision making, before he tells us a bit about some of his favourite projects he has been working on. Alex then discusses some use cases of IoT's used in some of his projects, and the technology component that is involved in opening up d…
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Mar 30, 2022
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities Part 24
Hello #smartcommunityfriends, and hello to our listeners in Brussels, you are amongst this month's top city for episode downloads. I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:
•Chelsea Collier from Episode 280
•Hannah Beder from Episode 281
•Greg Lindsay from Episode 282
•Dustin Haisler from Episode 283
•And finally Jennifer Sanders from Episode 284
Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around inclusivity, knowledge sharing, better definitions and frameworks in Smart Communities and talent retention.
Putting people at the forefront of Smart Communities really highlights the needs of the community and how we can do things better. Making communities more inclusive, accessible and sharing knowledge will help shift and change our Smart Communities to more human centered an…
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Mar 27, 2022
The Intersection of Economic Development, People and Technology, with Jennifer Sanders
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a wonderful chat with Jennifer Sanders, who you may remember from episode 170 that was released in May of 2020. Jennifer is the Co-Founder and Executive Director at the Dallas Innovation Alliance (DIA), a public-private partnership dedicated to supporting the design and execution of a Smart Cities plan for Dallas. In this episode, Jennifer starts by telling us about her background in communications and change management, her passion for Dallas and her focus to make change locally, before she tells us what a Smart Community means to her. Jennifer then shares with us what she has been working on since we last spoke in 2020 and what changes she has seen in the Smart Communities space since then, before discussing how she collaborates across state and county and some of her learnings from these partnerships. Jennifer then shares with us some of the interesting projects she has been working on, and we discuss…
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Mar 20, 2022
Leveraging Technology, Innovative Ideas and Talented People in Government, with Dustin Haisler
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great talk with Dustin Haisler. Dustin is the Chief Innovation Officer for e.Republic, a media and research company focused exclusively on state and local government. Dustin is also an Eisenhower Fellow and Program Faculty for the Certified Public Management Program at Texas State University. In this episode, Dustin starts by telling us about his background in banking, how he ended up working in Government to then startups, and his passion for Government and in particular cities. Dustin then shares with us what a Smart Community is to him, a bit about e.Republic and what they do, and we discuss the importance of being able to work together and partner with governments, before Dustin shares with us some of his favourite projects he has been working on. Dustin then shares some of his experiences connecting different government agencies together and we discuss the importance of knowledge sharing and collab…
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Mar 13, 2022
Putting the Tools in the Hands of the Community, with Greg Lindsay
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a fascinating conversation with Greg Lindsay. Greg is a journalist, urbanist, futurist and speaker and senior fellow for Applied Research and Foresight in New Cities in Montreal, Canada. In this episode Greg begins by telling us about his background in journalism and covering the dot com bubble 20 years ago, how he dates the beginning of Smart Cities and shares with us his journey to working in the Smart Cities space. Greg then shares with us what a Smart Community is to him, we discuss in length some of the common and most effective Smart Community themes we find help build better communities, and Greg then shares with us a bit about some of the projects he has been working on. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of augmented reality and what this can potentially mean for our communities. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full…
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Mar 6, 2022
Allowing Creative Flexibility in Smart Communities, with Hannah Beder
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a really great conversation with Hannah Beder. Hannah is a technology lead, educator, and NSW Young Woman of the Year 2020. Hannah spends her time developing technology curriculums and education products which promote entrepreneurship, encourage creative expression through technology, and prepare young people for the future of work. In this episode Hannah starts by telling us about her background in software engineering, her current work as a technology educator, and her passion for women in tech. Hannah then shares with us how she came to be a software engineer and we discuss the importance of changing the narrative around STEM conversations, so young people feel more confident to pursue STEM careers. Hannah then shares a bit about some of the projects she has been working on, before she discusses some of the factors she sees deterring women from STEM careers, and we talk about the importance of creative…
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Feb 27, 2022
Connecting Councils, Sectors and Communities, with Chelsea Collier
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a wonderful conversation with Chelsea Collier, the founder of Digi.City, a forum for supporting the co-creation of smart(er) cities and more connected communities. Now you may remember Chelsea from her last episode way back in 2018 in episode 23, and we are so excited to have her back on the podcast. Chelsea starts off by telling us about her background and her current work running her online forum Digi.City, her passion for tech and bringing government, public sectors, industry and academia together, and Chelsea tells us how she got into the Smart Communities space. Chelsea then tells us how she started her consultancy Digi.City before telling us what a Smart Community means to her. We then discuss the Smart Community definition and how the definition is quite simple yet the Smart Community applications are far more complex to implement, before Chelsea tells us what she has been up to since we last recor…
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Feb 23, 2022
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities Part 23
Hi #smartcommunity friends! And hello to our listeners in Helsinki, Finland, you are amongst this month's top city for episode downloads! I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:
•Simon Hunter from Episode 265
•Kris Libunao from Episode 274
•Raymond Sun and Susannah Wilkinson from Episode 276
•Miho Tanaka from Episode 277
•And finally Emily Yates from Episode 278
Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around digitisation, virtual and augmented reality and how these can assist with community engagement and creating more organised communities.
Making processes more efficient, accessible and exciting helps build confidence in the community and with the right tools creates better engagement. When the community is better engaged their pain points are voiced and better u…
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Feb 20, 2022
Being Agile and Flexible in The City of Philadelphia, with Emily Yates
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great conversation with Emily Yates who is the Smart City Director for the City of Philadelphia. Emily begins by telling us about her varied background that began in Landscape Architecture to how she ended up working in Smart Cities with the City of Philadelphia, before Emily explains what a Smart Community means to her. Emily then discusses some of the differences in Smart City concepts between Europe and the US, we discuss the importance of flexibility and agility in order to embrace Smart Community concepts, before Emily shares with us a bit about some of the projects the City of Philadelphia have been working on. Emily then discusses the City of Philadelphia's approach to Smart City projects and Emily shares a little bit more about one of her favourite current projects. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of how tech can assist our ageing societies and the importance of investing in th…
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Feb 13, 2022
Welcoming Startups to Japan, with Miho Tanaka
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a lovely conversation with Miho Tanaka. Miho is the Startup Visa Lead & Director of Startup Welcome Service in Shibuya, Japan. Miho starts by telling us about her background and her passion for helping startups in Japan. She then tells us about the growth of investment in Japan, what a Smart Community is to her, a bit about the work she does with Startup Welcome Service, before she discusses the focus on Smart Cities in Japan. Miho then shares with us the post Covid shift for communities and what that looks like in Japan as well as the key considerations startups need to know to enter the Japanese market. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of silver tech for the ageing society in Japan. As always, we hope you enjoyed this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with Miho via LinkedIn
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.comm…
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Feb 6, 2022
Forever Expanding Data and Digital Law in Smart Communities, with Raymond Sun and Susannah Wilkinson
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a very interesting conversation with Raymond Sun and Susannah Wilkinson. Ray is a solicitor at Herbert Smith Freehills, specialising in technology, media and telecommunications and privacy law. Susannah is the Digital Law Lead - Australia & Asia at the same firm, leading the development of Smart Legal Contracts and the provision of digital law solutions in conjunction with the development of the Australian National Blockchain. We start off by talking about Ray and Susannah's backgrounds in law and their current work looking at how laws are able to adapt to the new issues of emerging technology. Ray then tells us about his passion for technology and AI, and Susannah, her passion for improving digitised processes and how that involves the law, before they tell us what a Smart Community means to them. We then discuss the importance of data in Smart Communities, the increased use of data and risks associated…
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Feb 5, 2022
Bonus Episode: Live From Saudi Arabia, with Dr. Jonathan Reichental
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome to this very special bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast, live from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. I am joined by previous guest and very good friend of the show, Dr. Jonathan Reichental. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital
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Jan 30, 2022
Continuous and Open Dialogue in Smart Communities, with Kris Libunao
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome to 2022. This is our first episode of new content in 2022 and I am absolutely so excited to bring a very special guest back onto the podcast to start us off! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great conversation with Kris Libunao, the Executive Director and Chief Sustainability Officer of SmartCT, improving the way Smart Cities and digital transformation are being developed in the Philippines and developing countries. You might remember Kris from back in episode 191 and we are so happy to have her back on the show to catch up on what she has been up to since we last spoke in 2020. Kris starts by telling us about her background in urban planning, policy research, project management and sustainability, she tells us about her professional and personal passions and what sparked her interest in Smart Communities. Kris then tells us what a Smart Community means to her, what she has been doing in developing countries to build Smart Comm…
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Jan 23, 2022
Summer Series: Active Citizens, Community Engagement and Participation in Smart Communities, with Katya Petrikevich
Hi #smartcommunity friends. Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we're taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of your all time favourite episodes. This week we're sharing my interview with Katya Petrikevich from Episode 231 which was released in May of this year.
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great conversation with Katya, the Co Founder and International Director of the two companies; Participation Factory a consultancy that mainstreams participation and data-driven approaches into governance and process design, and Civic Port, a database helping connect cities, towns, and other governing institutions with the Civic Tech companies. We begin our discussion talking about Katya's background, her passion for human rights, specifically women's rights and inclusivity and Katya tells us what a Smart Community is to her. Katya then shar…
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Jan 16, 2022
Summer Series: Rural and Regional Smart Community Strategies, with Imogen Schifferle
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we're taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. This week we're sharing my interview with Imogen Schifferle, from way back in episode 189, which was released in September of 2020.
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant conversation with Imogen, the Regional Partnerships Innovation Coordinator at Albury City and Wodonga City Councils. Now, in case you don't know because you're not from Australia, Albury and Wodonga are twin Australian cities located on either side of the Murray River and the state border between Victoria and New South Wales. The twin cities are a real hub for the region, and have been heavily impacted by the state border closures and lockdowns during the pandemic. So in this episode, Imogen first tells us about her…
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Jan 9, 2022
Summer Series: Engaging Young People in Regional Communities, with Paolo Galelli
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we're taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. This week we're sharing my interview with Paolo Galelli, from way back in episode 148, which was released in December of 2019.
In this episode, I have a great chat with Paolo, who at the time of recording was a Building Energy Efficiency Engineer at BuildTech s.r.l., and is now a Project and Construction Manager at Comune di Sestri Levante and Research fellow at the University of Genoa in Italy. Paolo shares with us what sparked his interest in Smart Community concepts and why he feels they are so important, especially for engaging with young people. Paolo tells us about how he sees Italy embracing Smart concepts, and the reason he thinks his town, Sestri Levante, is a great example of a Smart Community. W…
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Jan 2, 2022
Summer Series: Data-Sharing and Digital Twins in Smart Communities, with Sean Audain
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we're taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. This week we're sharing my interview with Sean Audain from way back in episode 124, which was released in August of 2019.
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a great chat with Sean, the City Innovation Lead at Wellington City Council in New Zealand. Sean and I discuss the way the public service role of government shapes how decisions are made, and that this comes with both opportunities and challenges for the government that can differ significantly from the responsibilities and operations of private companies. Sean then tells us how he sees New Zealand embracing Smart concepts, and a bit about the digital twin projects that he is working on in Wellington. We talk about the benefits of using di…
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Dec 26, 2021
Summer Series: Systems Thinking in Smart Communities, with Zaheer Allam
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we're taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. This week we're sharing my interview with Zaheer Allam, from way back in episode 180, which was released in July of 2020.
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a great conversation with Urban Strategist Zaheer Allam. You might remember I spoke with Zaheer earlier in 2020 in Episode 158 and when COVID-19 broke out I knew I wanted to catch up with him again. So this podcast episode is an audio from the YouTube series I did catching up with previous podcast guests during the pandemic and we recorded this chat on the 4th of May 2020.
In this conversation, Zaheer tells us what the situation is like in Mauritius at the time of recording, what's changed such as working from home, flexible work options…
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Dec 19, 2021
Summer Series: Moving from Smart Cities to Smart Regions, with Jennifer Sanders
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we're taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of your all time favourite episodes. This week we're sharing my interview with Jennifer Sanders from Episode 170 which was recorded pre Covid-19 Pandemic, in February of 2020.
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a great conversation with Jennifer Sanders, the Co-Founder and Executive Director at the Dallas Innovation Alliance or DIA as she refers to it a lot in this episode. Jennifer tells us about the DIA, how it came to be and the needs-based, neighbourhood-centric approach that they take. We cover the importance of educating and empowering citizens, especially young people and people from underserved neighbourhoods, on how they can engage with their communities and Jennifer shares a great story about the benefits of giving kid…
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Dec 12, 2021
Summer Series - Smart Digital Societies: Lessons from Estonia, with Calum Cameron
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we're taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of your all time favourite episodes. This week we're sharing my interview with Calum Cameron, from way back in episode 185 which was released in August of 2020.
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a really interesting conversation with Calum, an Aussie based in Estonia, which is the world's first digital society and Europe's favourite startup ecosystem. Responding to the COVID-19 lockdown in Estonia he helped trigger the Hack the Crisis movement and was an organiser of The Global Hackathon which combined, connected more than 250k people from over 100 countries to develop and implement immediate solutions to the crises, which we talk about in this episode. We start by discussing Calum's background in IT helping the financial serv…
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Dec 5, 2021
Summer Series: Smart Country and Smart Communities, with Dr Emma Lee
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. We're taking a little break from new content over The Australian summer holidays, but with more than 260 episodes in the bank, we've got plenty for you to catch up on. During this Summer Series, we'll be sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. And this week, i'm very excited to share with you a very powerful conversation I had with Dr. Emma Lee from episode 211, and actually we started 2021 off with this episode. Emma is a trawlwulwuy woman of tebrakunna country in north east Tasmania, and an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Research Fellow at the Centre for Social Impact, Swinburne University of Technology. Her research fields over the last 25 years have focused on Indigenous affairs, land and sea management, policy and governance of Australian regulatory environments.
In this episode Emma tells us about her background in Indigenous archeology and land management, and pa…
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Nov 28, 2021
Smart Places, Smart Strategies and Smart Initiatives, with Simon Hunter
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a fabulous conversation with Simon Hunter, the Executive Director of Strategy and Innovation, at the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE). This group is leading the implementation of the NSW Smart Places Strategy to embed Smart Cities into the planning or urban and regional areas across NSW. We have a great talk about what New South Wales is up to in regards to Smart Communities and Smart Places Initiatives, and the exciting future ahead.
In this episode, Simon tells us about his background in transport and infrastructure, mainly in State Government, and what a Smart Community is to him. Simon shares with us the importance of the term 'Smart Places' and its use when discussing this space, as well as how he got into this space and how he has driven this concept over time with DPIE and in his other roles. We talk about the polarising risks associated with data and privacy protection…
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Nov 24, 2021
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities Part 22
Hello #smartcommunityfriends and hello to our listeners in Israel, you are amongst this month's top Countries for most episode downloads. I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:
•Emma Weston from Episode 260
•Ghazaleh Ghoreishi from Episode 261
•Nicci Rossouw from Episode 262
•And finally Laila Al Hadhrami from Episode 263
Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around fluidity between rural and urban areas, embracing the differences in our rural communities, placing people at the centre of our communities and increasing the quality of life for people.
More diversity and fluidity in communities allows for better connection between rural and urban areas, starting these conversations now about bridging the gaps between the two is so important.
We also don't want to see a…
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Nov 21, 2021
Investing in People and Their Skills in Smart Communities, with Laila Al Hadhrami
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a very interesting conversation with Laila Al Hadhrami. Laila is the Smart Cities Development Manager at the National Energy Centre in Oman and ready to talk about her favourite topic, Smart Cities. Laila begins by telling us about her background and her passion for the digital world and Smart Cities, how sustainability drew her into the Smart Communities space and we discuss the importance of knowledge sharing in Smart Communities. Laila then shares with us how she is working to build Smart Communities in Oman, what a Smart Community is to her and we discuss the importance of investing in people's skills and empowering people. Laila then tells us about her current work leading Smart City projects at the National Energy Centre, before she discusses how Oman has embraced the Smart Community concept and its evolution over the last 5 years. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of serving the ba…
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Nov 14, 2021
Robotics Enhancing Smart Communities, with Nicci Rossouw
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a fabulous chat with Nicci Rossouw who is the CEO and founder of Exaptec, a robotics company that specialises in telepresence, social and educational robots. Nicci starts off by telling us about her professional background in sales and her passion for robotics, she tells us what a Smart Community is to her before she tells us how she got into the robotics space. Nicci then tells us a bit more about her company and the work they do as well as her Podcast, 'Let's Talk Robotics' and how she showcases and celebrates people and their businesses in the robotics and AI space. We discuss the value in different expertise and the importance of harnessing those expertise in Smart Communities before we discuss how automation can enhance businesses and how technology is changing our society. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of AI and robotics and the positive impacts they are having on communities. As…
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Nov 7, 2021
Community Intelligence and Empowering Citizens, with Ghazaleh Sadat Ghoreishi
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great conversation with Ghazaleh Sadat Ghoreishi. Ghazaleh is currently an urban planner and PhD researcher of urban planning at the university of Tehran, Iran. Ghazaleh starts by telling us about her background in Geomatics engineering and surveying, her transition into urban planning and her current work as a PhD scholar at the University of Tehran. She then tells us what sparked her interest in the Smart Communities space, her fascination for how technology can change peoples lives, what a Smart Community is to her and we then discuss how Iran has embraced the Smart Community concept. We talk about the importance of community intelligence in Smart Communities before Ghazaleh tells us about some of the projects she has been working on recently. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of autonomous technology and how it can affect people's lives, and the co-creation of cities by empowering c…
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Oct 31, 2021
AgTech and Supply Chains of the Future, with Emma Weston
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a brilliant conversation with Emma Weston. Emma is the CEO and co-founder of AgriDigital, which is a company dedicated to digitizing and growing grain supply chains and joining us from her own farm in NSW. Emma tells us about her background in Law and how that began her journey into the grain industry to now her current work with her company AgriDigital before she tells us what a Smart Community is to her. We then discuss the importance of accessibility in communities and how Smart Communities facilitates that as well as the connectedness Smart Communities bring and what opportunities the Covid-19 pandemic has brought for rural and regional communities. Emma then dives a little deeper into her company sharing with us what they do, how they work to create more efficiency and value through digital supply chains and how that creates better sustainability and investment in the agricultural space. We finish ou…
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Oct 27, 2021
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities Part 21
Hello #smartcommunityfriends and congratulations to our listeners in Gibraltar, you are amongst the month's top city for most episode downloads. I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:
•Saskia Beer from Episode 255
•Islam Bouzguenda from Episode 256
•Renato De Castro from Episode 257
•And finally Jess Coldrey from Episode 258
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.
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Oct 24, 2021
Art Giving a New Perspective to Smart Communities, with Jess Coldrey
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a fascinating talk with Jess Coldrey about how art can shape the future of Smart Communities. Jess is a human geographer and creative technology artist and through her work, aims to harness the under-utilised potential of infrastructure to address social and environmental needs. Jess tells us about her varied and interesting background, her studies in Visual Arts and Human Geography, her current work and latest venture heading to England to study humanitarian engineering, before telling us about her passion for futurism and how societies progress in a socially different way. Jess then discusses how her work fits into the Smart Communities space, how she has used her creative and collaborative skills in past projects to bring in new ways of thinking and ideas, how her training has helped give a different perspective and what a Smart Community is to her. Jess then shares with us some of the projects she has…
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Oct 17, 2021
Building Resilient Smart Communities, with Renato De Castro
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great chat with Renato De Castro a Smart City Expert and author of the book City SmartUp: a new era of smarter cities. He is currently located in the Middle East region, working as a Smart City Senior Advisor at RMA, advising local government entities and developers in Smart City planning. Renato tells us about his background in and passion for Smart Cities, the changes Renato has noticed in this space since 2009, we discuss the natural process of Smart Cities before Renato tells us what a Smart Community is to him. Renato then tells us about the task force he helped start with his children's school and other parents which set up their region for digital schooling when the Covid-19 pandemic hit Italy, and the personal benefit he got from this experience as well as the benefit to his region and community. We then discuss the importance of resilience in communities especially since the Covid-19 pandemic a…
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Oct 10, 2021
Social Intelligence in Smart Communities, with Islam Bouzguenda
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great conversation with Islam Bouzguenda, a lecturer at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. Islam starts by telling us about her background as an architect, her masters in Smart Cities specialising in community participation and her current work at the University of Twente relating to Smart City governance. Islam then discusses what a Smart Community is to her, before telling us a bit more about her PHD and some findings from her research and how using conventional tools of participation in communities work better to serve their needs. Islam then tells us about the sustainability project she has been working on, some of the sustainability tools she has used, some of the topics she lectures and we discuss the difference between 'smart' governance and traditional governance as well as the changes Islam has seen since entering the Smart Cities space in 2015. We finish our chat discussing the emerg…
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Oct 3, 2021
Online Tools Transforming Urban Developments, with Saskia Beer
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a wonderful chat with Saskia Beer. Saskia is an Amsterdam based entrepreneur and founder/director of Transformcity, who help cities and real estate companies around the world with their urban processes. Saskia tells us about her background as an architect, and her transition into urban development after losing her job during the financial crisis. She tells us about her passion for cities and fascination of how cities work together, what a Smart Community is to her and we discuss the importance of diversity in Smart Communities to solve issues. Saskia then tells us how she came to work in the Smart Communities space, how her current work links in with Smart Communities, the importance of collectivity in communities and the need to be adaptable. Saskia then shares with us some of the projects she has been working on split between her consultancy work and creating her online course before telling us about h…
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Sep 29, 2021
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities Part 20
Hello #smartcommunityfriends. I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:
•Niels Wouters from Episode 249
•Jonathan Reichental & Brett Hoffstadt from Episode 251
•Jack Barton from Episode 252
•And finally Kylie Legge from Episode 253
Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around the self governance of data, building more resilient and flexible communities and systems thinking for problem solving.
It is more important than ever for communities to be more resilient and have the ability to identify potential risks in society in order to build these resilient communities. Smart Communities is about making people's lives better and it is important to have a holistic approach to connecting communities and systems thinking to solve problems aiming for the common good of society…
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Sep 26, 2021
The Value of Human-Centred Data in Smart Communities, with Kylie Legge
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a wonderful conversation with Kylie Legge. Kylie is the founder of Place Score which is an organisation offering human-centric data and you may remember Kylie from her previous episode all the way back in episode 15. Kylie tells us about her background in architecture originally and her current work in Place Making, her passion for human-centric cities and making places better for people, what a Smart Community is to her before we discuss the importance of inclusion and human-centric focus in Smart Communities. We then discuss some of the learnings from the Covid-19 pandemic, Kylie tells us about her company Place Score and the liveability census they are currently running before we discuss the value of data and how it can be used to better the community. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of the positive and potential challenges of technology, the need for more contextualised data and to b…
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Sep 19, 2021
Developing Digital Representations of Reality, with Jack Barton
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I welcome back Jack Barton and we have a great chat about what he has been up to since he was last a guest on the podcast back in 2018. Jack starts by telling us about his background in architecture, his passion for developing the digital representations of reality and how this can help make cities better places, before telling us about his current work managing the Geospatial Research, Innovation and Development Lab at the University of NSW. Jack shares with us what a Smart Community is to him, we discuss some of the impacts the Covid-19 pandemic has had on our communities and jobs and how we can now normalise digital connections more. Jack shares with us his journey into the Smart Communities space, some of the projects he is currently working on, the importance for basic operational standards in the digital twin space and he discusses the benefits of LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and how it can be used…
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Sep 12, 2021
Letting Children Build our Smart Communities, with Jonathan Reichental and Brett Hoffstadt
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I had the pleasure of speaking with both Jonathan Reichental and Brett Hoffstadt, the co-authors of their new book, Exploring Smart Cities Activity Book for Kids.
Jonathan is currently the founder of advisory, investment, and education firm, Human Future, and also creates online education for LinkedIn Learning. He has written two books on the future of cities: Smart Cities for Dummies and of course Exploring Smart Cities Activity Book for Kids.
Brett Hoffstadt has a unique fusion of a technical and creative background with achievements in aeronautical engineering, project management, corporate innovation initiatives, and music composing.
We talk about Brett and Jonathan's backgrounds in aerospace engineering and tech respectively, Brett's passion for encouraging people into STEM careers, Jonathan's passion for Smart Cities and how the two came to meet to co-author their book. Brett and Jonathan tell us what a…
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Sep 5, 2021
Episode 250 Celebration: Ask Zoe Anything!
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, host Zoe Eather is back in the hot seat! In celebration of this being episode 250, Zoe and producer Ellen Ronalds Keene sat down for a chat where she answers questions from you, the audience of the Smart Community Podcast.
We can't believe we're at 250 episodes and now over 128,000 downloads. It's been just over 3 years of the show and thank you so much for all of you tuning in! Zoe answers 11 questions today from the many that were sent through via LinkedIn. Thank you to those of you who submitted questions! As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital
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Aug 29, 2021
Digital Ethics and Bias in Technology, with Niels Wouters
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode I have a fascinating talk with Niels Wouters. Niels is a designer and researcher with a particular interest in identifying architectural qualities and engagement opportunities afforded by digital media in public space. Niels is currently Head of Research for Science Gallery Melbourne, and Research Fellow in the School of Computing and Information Systems at the University of Melbourne.
Firstly Niels tells us about his varied background in computer science and architecture, his PHD focused on human computer interaction and his current work in the Smart Cities/Smart Digital ethics space. He tells us how he came to work in the space of ethics, technology and interaction in public spaces, the importance of quick and agile responses to ethical issues before sharing with us what a Smart Community is to him. Niels then tells us all about the Biometric Mirror project he has been working on and what is involved, we discuss the potential risk and bias…
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Aug 25, 2021
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities (Part 19)
Hello #smartcommunityfriends. I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:
•Jacqueline Nagle from Episode 247
•Dawid Jacobs from Episode 246
•Michael Healy from Episode 244
•And finally Dr. Kelly Turner from Episode 245
Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around the current population shift for regional communities, better collaboration and integration, interconnectedness and more human centric focus in communities.
The opportunities now for our regional communities to embrace the Smart Communities concept is growing and the learnings from Covid have shown us that work is no longer as location dependent and topics are not as geographically constrained. We have more resources available through technology and digital integration which gives us the ability to share knowle…
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Aug 22, 2021
The Power of Language to Navigate Change, with Jacqueline Nagle
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a fabulous chat with Jacqueline Nagle. Jacqueline is a mentor and coach, teaching people how to speak, sell and position themselves strategically for business development, and a very good friend of the podcast. As mentioned in this episode, Jacqueline has played a huge role in creating the Smart Community Podcast and we are thrilled to have her on as a guest.
Jacqueline begins by telling us about her diverse background, her current coaching and mentoring work and her passion for helping people reach their unfulfilled potential. We then discuss the power of language and communication, how to properly communicate and articulate language to be successful in business and navigate change, before Jacqueline shares what a Smart Community is to her. Jacqueline then shares examples of some of the clients she is currently working with and how she believes technology is crucial for seamless business operation and…
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Aug 15, 2021
Identity Management and Trust in Smart Communities, with Dawid Jacobs
Hi #smartcommunity friends. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat with Dawid Jacobs, a prominent Identity Management Specialist in South Africa. Dawid tells us about his interesting background in the police force being trained in forensics as a fingerprint expert and his passion for identity management. He tells us about his company Dal Global and its focus, what a Smart Community is to him and we discuss the importance of trust and identity in Smart Communities. Dawid then dives a bit deeper into Dal Global and shares more about what they do, as well as the applications their technology offers, before we chat about synthetic identities and the implication of deep fakes. We finish our conversation discussing the emerging trends of a more human element in Smart Communities, the micro and macro working together for communities, and the need for more regulation in the FinTech space. As always, we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoye…
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Aug 8, 2021
The Urban Heat Island Effect in Smart Communities, with Dr. Kelly Turner
Hi #smartcommunity friends. In this jam-packed episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great conversation with Dr. Kelly Turner, an assistant professor of urban planning at UCLA. Kelly begins by telling us about her current role and affiliations, her interesting and diverse background starting in politics, how her passion for research then led her to a PhD in Geography and Kelly tells us what a Smart Community is to her and how her current work fits into the Smart Communities space.
Kelly then dives into the urban heat island effect and discusses some of the factors that contribute to heat retention in cities. She talks about how communities can make 'cooler' decisions and what factors contribute to reducing heat, we talk about the need to flip the script on heat retention issues, have better accountability and better ways to measure these issues to drive change. Kelly then tells us about cool paint and some examples of how it can reduce surface temperatures in cities, before…
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Aug 1, 2021
Continuous Improvement of Smart Communities in Christchurch, with Michael Healy
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have an interesting conversation with Michael Healy, the Smart Cities Programme Manager at Christchurch City Council and Michael tells us all about what Smart Communities are up to in Christchurch. Michael starts by telling us about his diverse background and how this led him into several continuous improvement roles, his passion for making people's lives and communities better through more efficient processes and how he transitioned into his current role with the City of Christchurch.
Michael then shares with us what a Smart Community is to him and the wide range of projects he is currently working on, before sharing with us how the City of Christchurch began its Smart Communities journey. We then discuss the return on investment of Smart Community initiatives, whether they can be measured and how, and should Smart Communities be a core service of governments and councils.
We finish our chat discussing the…
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Jul 28, 2021
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities (Part 18)
Hello #smartcommunityfriends. I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:
•John Carr from Episode 241
•Lior Steinberg from Episode 242
•Edwina Griffin from Episode 238
•Scott Shepard from Episode 239
•And finally Felicity Furey from Episode 240
Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around communication, community engagement, knowledge and information sharing and better use of data and technology in our communities.
We all want better connected communities, which begins with better communication, transparency through knowledge and information sharing and using the data and technology available as enablers to allow communities to build those connections, digitally or physically.
It is important to understand the needs of the community, be able to translate solutions i…
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Jul 25, 2021
Measuring the Good Things in Smart Communities, with Lior Steinberg
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have an interesting conversation with Lior Steinberg. Lior is an urban planner currently based in Rotterdam and the co-founder of Humankind City, which is an agency for urban change helping cities, organisations, brands and other change makers tackle the most complex urban challenges. Lior tells us about his multidisciplinary background and how he came to be an urban planner, he talks about his love of technology and finding ways to make life better through technology before discussing the diverse backgrounds he sees in the world of urbanism.
Lior then discusses what a Smart Community is to him and how the concept of a 'stupid city' helps him determine are the cities we live in 'Smart Cities', before we talk about how some technology solutions are not always the most efficient and how more communities can incorporate different modes of transport. Lior then tells us about his company and some of the projects…
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Jul 18, 2021
Inland Rail and Digital Models, with John Carr
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a great conversation with John Carr. John is a project manager with ARTC currently delivering the Inland Rail project, specifically the North Star to Border segment which is a once in a generation cross border civil infrastructure project comprising of brownfield, greenfield and major floodplain crossings.
John starts by telling us about his background as a civil engineer, his passion for managing projects that solve problems and give him fulfilment including some examples of those projects before telling us what a Smart Community is to him. We then dive into Inland Rail and John gives us an overview of the project, some of the challenges he has faced and gives us examples of how some of the regional communities have begun to plan for and invest in Inland Rail. We then discuss what intermodal terminals are, their purpose and the desire that Inland Rail will increase the efficiency of freight through the…
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Jul 11, 2021
Inspiring and Empowering Future Leaders in Smart Communities, with Felicity Furey
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have such a great conversation with Felicity Furey, an engineer and award-winning entrepreneur who now works with high-performing teams to give leaders the skills they need to ignite new possibilities in business, education and STEM. Felicity starts by telling us about her background and how she came to be a civil engineer, as well as her passion for leadership, creativity, business engineering and women in STEM and how these led her into the education space. Felicity then shares with us what a Smart Community is to her and we discuss how important creativity and diverse skills are so important in the engineering industry.
She then tells us all about her three businesses; Power of Engineering, Maths in Real Life and WeAspire, and the amazing work they are doing with students and future leaders to inspire through education, before we discuss how STEM fits into the Smart Communities space. We then discuss the…
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Jul 4, 2021
The Changing Needs of Mobility, with Scott Shepard
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of The Smart Community Podcast, we welcome back Scott Shepard who you may remember from Episode 139 in 2019. Scott is an urban planner with Iomob - The Internet of Mobility currently based in Lisbon, Portugal and ready to talk about all things mobility. Scott first tells us about his passion for cities, places and people and how these link together with mobility and transport. As Scott is based in Portugal, he discusses the contrast and comparison in urban planning between the US and Europe, and how he looks for best practices for sustainable urbanism this way, we then go back to micromobility in 2019 and where it was at the last time Scott and I spoke.
We then talk about digital communication and digital trust and how these have shifted, as well as the focus now on human centric action and neighbourhood focused mobility as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. We talk more about the pandemic and the impacts it has had on our urban and digital…
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Jun 27, 2021
Wellness and Virtual Reality Meditation in Smart Communities, with Edwina Griffin
Hi #smartcommunity friends. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great conversation with Edwina Griffin, founder of AtOne, which is an immersive meditation experience using the AtOne app and virtual reality headset. Edwina tells us about her background in the health and wellness space, her passion for a healthy work culture and what a Smart Community is to her. Edwina then shares with us how her wellness journey inspired her to get into the tech space, before telling us all about her company AtOne and what is involved when using the products.
We then chat about Edwina's transition into the tech space to develop her company, how important it was during this time to surround herself with the right people, some of the lessons learned in the early stages of building her company and the amazing support she received from the tech community to develop a successful product and business. Edwina then dives a bit deeper into the AtOne product and explains how individuals and…
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Jun 23, 2021
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities (Part 17)
Hello #smartcommunityfriends. I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:
•Katie Patrick from Episode 234
•Ned Staebler from Episode 236
•Stefaan Verhulst from Episode 235
•And finally Marius Sylvestersen from Episode 233
Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around digital tools and technologies, data and how data can improve decision making. It is becoming more and more important to start showing our communities real time data to allow them to make better informed decisions. Digital tools and new technologies play a large role in this, firstly to disseminate collected data to the community and secondly, allowing for better public engagement, both contributing to better decision making. Without knowledge and good quality data, people do not have reason to take action, m…
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Jun 20, 2021
Building Inclusion and Equity in Detroit, with Ned Staebler
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great conversation with Ned Staebler, the President and CEO of TechTown, a Detroit based entrepreneur hub helping startups and local businesses launch and grow. Ned tells us a bit about his background, his passion for inclusive economic growth in the City of Detroit, before sharing with us what a Smart Community is to him and how his love for a sense of community led him into the Smart Communities space.
Ned then tells us about TechTown, how they started and some examples of the businesses they have helped, before discussing the history of Detroit and how its communities have evolved and changed over time. We then discuss the importance of the end user and public engagement when planning and making decisions for communities, as well as the need for diverse skill sets to then build solutions for those communities. We then discuss people's own skill sets and how important it is to recognise our own stre…
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Jun 13, 2021
Storytelling, Data and Decision Making in Smart Communities, with Stefaan Verhulst
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a very interesting conversation with Stefaan Verhulst, co-founder of The GovLab (The Governance Lab) whose mission is to transform the way people make decisions through new technologies and science. We begin by Stefaan telling us about his background in communications and Information Technology, his passion for making sense of the world through storytelling and narratives and how these can frame reality and ultimately affect decision making.
Stefaan then tells us how he co-founded The GovLab and shares a bit about the work they do before sharing with us what a Smart Community is to him. We talk more about how The GovLab connects in with Smart Communities and some of the challenges Stefaan has faced in the data collaboration world. We then discuss how social media affects the way people make decisions and how Artificial Intelligence can compliment Collective Intelligence.
We discuss the emerging trends…
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Jun 6, 2021
How to Save the World with Data and Humans, with Katie Patrick
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a fascinating conversation with Katie Patrick, an environmental engineer, software designer, author and co-founder of the two environmental database startups Energy Lollipop and Urban Canopy. We begin our conversation by Katie telling us her background as an environmental engineer, how she transitioned to running her own publishing company to now her own startups. Katie then shares with us what a Smart Community is to her and her passion for environmental data. We then talk more about environmental data and how it can help drive change in human behaviour before Katie talks about her interest in behavioural psychology. Katie then shares with us her two startups and the work they are involved in and we talk about her transition from a more conventional style of work to the startup space, before discussing personality types and the value different personalities can bring to an organisation. We talk about the…
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May 30, 2021
Smart Community Thinking in Copenhagen with Marius Sylvestersen
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the smart community podcast I have a great conversation with Marius Sylvestersen, the Smart City Program Director for the City of Copenhagen in the Solutions Lab.
We begin by Marius sharing with us his background in sustainability, how he got into the Smart Communities space, his passion for interlinking technology and nature as well as building public and private partnerships and Marius tells us what a Smart Community is to him.
We then discuss how the use of digital technologies helps engage better with the community to accelerate local democracy before Marius shares with us some of the sustainability and green transition projects he is currently working on with the City of Copenhagen.
We finish our chat with Marius sharing some examples of how the City of Copenhagen uses technology to measure carbon neutrality and how they are working towards better mobility in the city. Marius talks about how important it is to listen to the communi…
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May 26, 2021
Where to next for Smart Cities and Communities? (Part 16)
Hello #smartcommunityfriends. I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:
•Beate Kubitz from Episode 218
•Ashleigh Wilson from Episode 223
•Lea Hemetsberger from Episode 226
•Marcus Foth from Episode 230
•Jo Palmer from Episode 228
•Cristina Savian from Episode 229
•And finally Katya Petrikevich from Episode 231
Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around remote work, connectivity, knowledge sharing and accessibility of data for communities and individuals.
The impacts of COVID19 are becoming more apparent, we will see more remote work in communities and a shift in the way people can and want to access information and data, particularly in regional and rural areas. Better knowledge sharing and data bases are key to building better connected and smarter communi…
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May 23, 2021
Active Citizens, Community Engagement and Participation in Smart Communities with Katya Petrikevich
Hi #smartcommunity friends. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great conversation with Katya Petrikevich, the Co Founder and International Director of the two companies; Participation Factory a consultancy that mainstreams participation and data-driven approaches into governance and process design and Civic Port, a database helping connect cities, towns, and other governing institutions with the Civic Tech companies. We begin our discussion talking about Katya's background, her passion for human rights, specifically women's rights and inclusivity and Katya tells us what a Smart Community is to her. Katya then shares with us her insights into the upward trend of participation, community engagement and inclusivity. We discuss Civic Technology as a tool for dialogue and communication with the community before Katya shares with us the projects her two companies are currently working on. We finish our conversation talking about the importance of systematic and continuou…
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May 16, 2021
Data Care and More than Human, with Marcus Foth
Hi #smartcommunity friends. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have an interesting conversation with Marcus Foth, a professor at QUT in Brisbane, in the Creative Industries faculty design lab. You might remember, Marcus was one of our first guests on the podcast back in Episode 4 in 2018. In this episode we touch on Marcus's background and his current work across interaction design. As well as how his passion for creating a better world involves tackling things such as sustainability, resilience, climate change, circular economy and data. We talk about the importance of good governance models to create smart cities, and discuss the difference between security and privacy. Marcus then shares with us the Data Care initiative and the sustainability projects he is currently working on. We finish our conversation talking about the emerging trends of the 'more than human theme' and data sovereignty before Marcus shares how government and industry are beginning to recognise the…
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May 9, 2021
Digital Twins and Data-Based Decision Making, with Cristina Savian
Hi #smartcommunity friends. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great conversation with Cristina Savian, the founder of BE-WISE, an international consultancy focused on driving the adoption of technology bringing to market the most promising innovation in the construction and property industries across Europe, US and Australia. Cristina tells us about her background in civil engineering and technology in Italy, the UK and now Australia, as well as her passion for digital twins. We start with a bit of a Digital Twin 101 explanation, and Cristina tells us about how she works in this space. We discuss how digital twins fit into the Smart Community space, the benefits of digital twins as well as use cases for how digital twins can help in the area of mobility and construction. Cristina and I then talk about the challenge of working out what data is worth collecting for digital twins, as well as the access, management and governance of that data. We finish our chat disc…
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May 2, 2021
Remote Work in Smart Communities, with Jo Palmer
Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode I have a fantastic chat with Jo Palmer, the Founder and Managing Director of Pointer Remote, who work with communities, businesses and individuals to leverage remote work. Jo tells us about Pointer Remote and why she started it, as well as the changes to the business model that evolved over 2019 and 2020. We discuss the common struggles organisations face in being set up for remote work, as well as the opportunities and challenges in the remote work space since the pandemic. Jo and I explore the power of local champions to change mindsets about remote work in regional and rural areas and ways local government can support that. Jo explains why in-person meetings with your remote workforce are still required and the importance of a digital footprint to build trust in our digital world. We finish our chat discussing the impact putting women in work has on local economies, and the emerging trend of attracting and retaining professionals in rural…
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Apr 28, 2021
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities (Part 15)
Hello #smartcommunityfriends. I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:
•Warren Dean from Episode 196
•Sandra Phillips from Episode 219
•Oliver Lock from Episode 222
•Priscilla Radice from Episode 220
•Chad Ramage from Episode 221
•Elisa Choy from Episode 224 and
•Bratton Riley from Episode 225
Some themes come through in the guest answers around data, trust in government, and community engagement.
Getting accurate, up to date, open, private and safe data continues to be a core factor in so many aspects of Smart Communities, from better resource management to decision making to the ability to collaborate and integrate across disciplines, sectors and industries.
And all of these things, including the communication of data protocols and decisions continue to be factors that im…
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Apr 25, 2021
Open and Agile Smart Cities, with Lea Hemetsberger
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Hi #smartcommunity friends. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant conversation with Lea Hemetsberger, the Communications and Projects Director for Open and Agile Smart Cities, which is an international network of cities and communities. Lea tells us about her background in journalism and passion for cities, mobility and literature, before sharing with us how her Masters degree sparked her interest in the Smart City space. We discuss the importance of having a long term vision and strong basic foundations for Smart Cities, as well as a bit about how Open and Agile Cities came to be and what they do. Then we dive into a great chat about digital twins, exploring the real use cases as a way of moving through the hype-disillusionment cycle and the mindset changes that are needed to get all stakeholders onboard. We finish our conversation discussing the emerging trends of standards and interoperability. As alway…
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Apr 18, 2021
Connecting Residents and Government through Digital Platforms, with Bratton Riley
Hi #smartcommunityfriends. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a interesting chat with Bratton Riley, the Founder of CitiBot, a customer service tool for governments and companies. Bratton tells us about his background in local government and community, and his shift into business and technology, as well as his passion for connecting residents and government through digital platforms. We discuss how important trust is between local governments and residents, the challenges and opportunities of working in public service, and why supportive leadership is so important in local government. Bratton then shares with us a bit about CitiBot and the work his company does, as well as why it's so important to them to facilitate equal access to government institutions in underserved communities or those with accessibility challenges. He tell us about some of the key learnings and successes from working with cities and counties in the US, as well as ways local governments can use…
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Apr 11, 2021
Making Better Decisions with Data, with Elisa Choy
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant chat with Elisa Choy, an economist and data strategist and the Founder of Maven Data. We talk about Elisa's background in data and strategy and her passion for making better decisions with data, as well as why it's important to the Smart Community space. Elisa tells us what Maven Data does and shares some really interesting examples of some of their research and insights, such as around the COVID vaccine in Australia, racism in Australia, and also wellness trends globally. We talk about the way data can help us predict trends and behaviour change, and what local governments can learn from the insights from Maven Data, as well as bringing traditional research methods, new market data insights and key stakeholders together to have better conversations. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of questioning existing systems and challenging the status quo, particularly with regards to the rise of women's voices, a…
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Apr 4, 2021
The Importance of Neurodiversity in Smart Communities, with Ashleigh Wilson
Hi #smartcommunityfriends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great conversation with Ashleigh Wilson, a Community Manager at Coder Academy and a Neurodiversity Advocate. We recorded this in late 2020 so you may hear us refer to 2021 a lot. In this episode we talk about Ashleigh's background and how an interest in tech led to her studying IT and then becoming passionate about diversity and community in the tech world. Ashleigh tells us about her experience disclosing her Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis to her work and community and how this has led to her public speaking and neurodiversity advocacy work. Ashleigh explains the importance of neurodiversity in Smart Communities, and why she advocates for hybrid approaches to work and business rather than traditional silos. We talk about Ashleigh's role at Coder Academy and how her willingness to follow curiosity and give new things a go has led to her career progression there. Ashleigh and I then discuss the importance…
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Mar 28, 2021
Participatory Analytics in Smart Communities, with Oliver Lock
Hello #smartcommunity friends and welcome back to #mobilitymarch! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great follow up conversation with Oliver Lock, Urbanist and Spacial Data Scientist currently finishing up his PhD in Participatory Analytics. You might or might not remember that I spoke with Oliver way back in episode 41, in 2018 back when we were called the Smart City podcast. We talked then about engaging people with smart cities and so in this episode Oliver tells us about his passion for engaging people with how their data is being used. Oliver tells us a bit about how he got into this space and what's changed since he was last on the podcast, before we dive into a great chat about his PhD and key findings from his research into participatory analytics. He tells us what participatory analytics is and how it works to connect the tech, decision makers and the community, plus a bit about the Civic Labs accelerator program he's currently working on. We discuss the…
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Mar 21, 2021
Meeting the Needs of our Smart Communities, with Chad Ramage
Hello #smartcommunity friends and welcome back to #mobilitymarch! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great follow up chat with Chad Ramage, Founder of Accessibility in the City, an online mapping solution that helps support those with accessibility issues with navigation. You might remember I spoke with Chad about this time last year in Episode 162 about about inclusivity and accessibility in Smart Cities. In this episode, Chad tells us about how his experiences trying to find accessible places for his wheelchair sparked his interest in the accessible Smart Community conversation and he tells us how that eventually led to his business Accessibility in the City. We discuss the development of the MVP of the platform and the community engagement they've been doing with underserved groups, plus the opportunities and challenges of mapping accessibility points of interest like noise level and accessible toilets, which aren't quite as simple as things like whether or not…
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Mar 14, 2021
Systems Thinking and Infrastructure in Smart Communities, with Priscilla Radice
Hello #smartcommunity friends and welcome back to #mobilitymarch! All of this month we are talking all things Mobility, which by now you probably know is one of my favourite topics. In this episode I have a fascinating conversation with Priscilla Radice, the CEO of the Infrastructure Association of Queensland and CoFounder of Contribute Consulting. Priscilla and I have a brilliant chat about so many things, and it's not a strictly transport based mobility conversation, although we touch on that, but it is about the mobility of our societies and Smart Communities as we move into the future. We talk about using technology as an enabler and tool rather than a driver, and the importance of digital literacy in overcoming the cultural and behavioural barriers that lead to the Digital divide. Priscilla tells us how she sees Australia embracing these Smart concepts, and the need for brave and informed leadership to see further shifts in this space. We talk a lot about the power of language and…
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Mar 7, 2021
Shared Mobility and Collaboration in Smart Communities, with Sandra Phillips
Hello #smartcommunity friends and welcome back to #mobilitymarch! All of this month we are talking all things Mobility, which by now you probably know is one of my favourite topics. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant chat with Sandra Phillips, Shared Mobility Architect and the founder/CEO of Movmi, a boutique agency that turns new mobility visions into reality. Sandra tells us about her background and her passion for shared mobility, and how working at Car2Go sparked her interest in the Smart Mobility Space. We talked about how transport and mobility fits into the Smart Community space, and what a Smart Community with a Smart Transportation Ecosystem means to Sandra. Sandra then tells us about Car2Go and MovMi, and why she founded it. We discuss mobility infrastructure in metro versus regional, and better planning and policy for new forms of mobility, plus partnerships and genuine collaboration between public and private sector. We finish our chat discus…
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Feb 28, 2021
Balancing Urban, Regional and Rural Smart Mobility, with Beate Kubitz
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have another great chat with Beate Kubitz, a Transport Consultant and Future Mobility Researcher in the UK. I spoke with Beate in Episode 194 about her Cargo Bike food delivery service in May 2020, and was keen to chat to her further. In this episode, Beate gives us an update on the cargo bike delivery service and what's changed since we last spoke, and what their plans are for 2021. We also discussed the data they're collecting on how many car journeys the cargo bike service is saving, which is just great to hear!
Beate then tells us how she ended up in the Smart Mobility and Transport space, and we discuss why it's so helpful and important to have a range of different voices and different experiences in the Smart Community conversation. We talk about solving the wicked problem of reduced use of public transport and increased single-occupant car journeys due to social distancing, as well as the challenges of mobility and transport in…
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Feb 25, 2021
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities (Part 14)
Hello #smartcommunityfriends, it's our podcast birthday! The Smart Community Podcast has turned 3 years old! So to celebrate we're doing a week of bonus episodes, bringing together multiple guest answers over multiple days to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from a range of our guests this past year:
•Leanne Kemp from Episode 155
•Andrew Mears from Episode 195
•Adam Davis from Episode 197
•Julia Spicer from Episode 152
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.
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Feb 24, 2021
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities (Part 13)
Hello #smartcommunityfriends, it's our podcast birthday! The Smart Community Podcast has turned 3 years old! So to celebrate we're doing a week of bonus episodes, bringing together multiple guest answers over multiple days to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from a range of our guests this past year:
•Nathaniel Bavinton from Episode 183
•Allan Murphy from Episode 168
•Chris Rowlands from Episode 156
•Eleanor Carey from Episode 159
•Calum Cameron from Episode 185
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.
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Feb 23, 2021
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities (Part 12)
Hello #smartcommunityfriends, it's our podcast birthday! The Smart Community Podcast has turned 3 years old! So to celebrate we're doing a week of bonus episodes, bringing together multiple guest answers over multiple days to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from a range of our guests this past year:
•Susan Shaheen from Episode 184
•Michael Milford from Episode 160
•Renee Ray from Episode 163
•Kris Libunao from Episode 191
•And Chad Ramage from Episode 162
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.
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Feb 22, 2021
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities (Part 11)
Hello #smartcommunityfriends, it's our podcast birthday! The Smart Community Podcast has turned 3 years old! So to celebrate we're doing a week of bonus episodes, bringing together multiple guest answers over multiple days to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from a range of our guests this past year:
•Hyma Vulpala from Episode 167
•Zaheer Allam from Episode 158
•Vi Le from Episode 199
•And Teresa Harding from Episode 193
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.
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Feb 21, 2021
Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities (Part 10)
Hello #smartcommunityfriends, it's our podcast birthday! The Smart Community Podcast turns 3 on the 23rd February! So to celebrate we're doing a week of bonus episodes, bringing together multiple guest answers over multiple days to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from a range of our guests this past year:
•Mark Thomas from Episode 187
•Sabrina Chakori from Episode 179
•Michael Holmstrom from Episode 201
•Imogen Schifferle from Episode 189
•And Deke Copenhaver from Episode 186
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.
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Feb 14, 2021
People, Data and Ethics in Smart Communities, with Rohan Light
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat with Rohan Light, a public interest technologist who works on data strategy, governance and risk problems. Rohan tells us about his dual background in the country and the city, and his passion for people, communities, the society we live in and data governance. Rohan and I discuss how he got into the Smart Community space and what a Smart Community is to him, as well as what data means for our communities and how data governance issues can become democratic issues.
We discuss why it's important that communities and government are engaging with data conversations and ethics, and the power of not only asking the communities the right questions but also of understanding the differences in language in their answers.
Rohan and I talk about the hidden problem of people who are not tech-enabled getting left behind, and the opportunities and challenges of baking Smart Community thinking and engagement into our essential serv…
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Feb 7, 2021
Smart Country and Smart Communities, with Dr Emma Lee
In this episode I had a wonderful conversation with Dr. Emma Lee, a trawlwulwuy woman of tebrakunna country in north east Tasmania, and an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Research Fellow at Centre for Social Impact, Swinburne University of Technology. Her research fields over the last 25 years have focused on Indigenous affairs, land and sea management, policy and governance of Australian regulatory environments.
In this episode Emma tells us about her background in Indigenous archeology and land management, and passion for First Nations social impact and regional development. I flip the script a little bit from our usual question order and in this episode we start with discussing the emerging trend of Smart Country that people definitely aren't talking about enough. Emma explains what country is and the connection to country that First Nations people have, some of the things we can learn from Smart Country like fire management, a broader concept of conservation, and a reciprocal relatio…
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Jan 31, 2021
Summer Series: Smart Initiatives Bridging Gaps in Underserved Communities, with Lara Allen and Ashok Das (Royal Academy of Engineering)
Hi #smartcommunity friends! We are finishing up our summer series with an extra special episode, before we shift back into regular content again. In this episode I'm excited to share a brilliant conversation I had with Lara Allen and Ashok Das.
Lara and Ashok are event chairs for the upcoming Royal Academy of Engineering's Frontiers event on Smart communities, which focus on interdisciplinary research to address global development challenges. This event will focus on low-tech solutions and innovations, as well as bottom-up, context specific approaches that can be used to improve lives of the most underserved, mainly rural, communities in developing countries. The theme will also touch on the unintended consequences of some of those solutions in communities. I'm excited to be involved in this event, delivering the key note speech. You can www.raeng.org.uk/frontiers for more information on future opportunities. Now back to Lara and Ashok.
Lara is the CEO of the Centre for Global Equali…
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Jan 24, 2021
Summer Series: Using Smart Technology in Local Government, James Peet
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we're taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of your all time favourite episodes. This week we're sharing my interview with James Peet from Episode 146. This episode is from late in 2019, when we did a special feature in November called MOVE-ember, about moving from old ways of doing things to new ways, particularly in local government.
James Peet, the Chief Digital Officer at Moreton Bay Regional Council in South East Queensland. James tells us about his background in architecture and passion for using technology to help make things better, and how that has led him to his role in local government. James and I discuss what really sparked his interest in the Smart Community space and why he sees the concept as so important, firstly because digital disruption is happening and we need to keep u…
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Jan 17, 2021
Summer Series: Smarter and greener without over investing, with Chungha Cha
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we're taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of your all time favourite episodes. This week we're sharing my interview with Chungha Cha from Episode 110. This interview was recorded in early 2019 and then aired in mid 2019, while I was on my Churchill Fellowship trip.
Chungha Cha is the Co-founder and Chair of the Re-Imagining Cities Foundation. Zoe and Cha discuss his background in finance and how he became passionate about Smart Communities, plus some of the organisations he works with around the world. Cha tells us how he thinks Korea is currently embracing Smart concepts, projects he's currently working on, and why accelerating Smart Communities is the most effective way to positively influence whole cities and regions. They discuss the gaps and the greenwashing that can exist between di…
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Jan 10, 2021
Summer Series: Advancing Equity in Smart Cities, with Emily Royall
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we're taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of your all time favourite episodes. This week we're sharing my interview with Emily Royall, from way back in Episode 122, from mid 2019, soon after I got back to Australia from my Churchill Fellowship trip.
Emily is the Smart City Coordinator of the City of San Antonio, Texas. Emily tells us about her passion for advancing equity in Smart Cities, and the Community Driven Smart City model that San Antonio is pursuing. We discuss the digital divide in San Antonio and the equity questions municipalities need to think about when being marketed to by the companies mediating Smart City data. Emily then tells us about a number of really interesting and innovative projects the City of San Antonio is working on, including how they've partnered with kids i…
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Jan 3, 2021
Summer Series: Smart Lessons from New York City, with Dr Amen Ra Mashariki
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome to 2021, can you believe it? And welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we're taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of your all time favourite episodes. I'm also walking my talk this week and having a digital break so even though the podcast is still going out and my team will be popping some posts up on the socials, I'll be giving my brain and body a much needed rest and getting back to nature. This week we're sharing my interview with Dr. Amen Ra Mashariki, from way back in Episode 89. This episode was right at the beginning of 2019, soon after we'd shifted from Smart City Podcast to the Smart Community podcast.
At the time of recording, Amen was the head of Urban Analytics at global GIS company, Esri, but now he's Global Director, Data Lab at the World Resources Institute. Amen has a really interesting background, ran…
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Dec 27, 2020
Summer Series: Spatial Literacy and Understanding Data, with Jack Barton
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As a reminder, we're taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of your all time favourite episodes. This week we're sharing my interview with architect Jack Barton, from way back in Episode 83. This episode was right at the end of 2018, soon after we'd shifted from Smart City Podcast to the Smart Community podcast.
Jack is the Outreach Manager at the GeoSpatial Research Innovation and Development Lab at the University of NSW. He was also running his private practice Jack Barton Digital Design (JBDD).
Jack and I have a great discussion about how his upbringing in a regional area, his interest in cities, and his love of digital technology all combined to spark his interest in the Smart space. We talk about why Smart Cities is a good buzz word, and the reasons connections and communication are important in Sm…
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Dec 20, 2020
Summer Series: Convergence of Energy, Infrastructure and Transport, with Carola Jonas
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As a reminder, we're taking a little break from new content over The Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. This week is my interview from 2018 with Carola Jonas, the CEO and Co-Founder of Everty, who build software for electric vehicle charging. This interview was Episode 65 when we were still called the Smart City Podcast so you'll hear more references to Smart City than Smart Community.
In this episode, Carola tells us about her background in logistics and freight and how her passion for clean tech has led her to the Smart City space, as well as the convergence of trends that make it so important. We talk about some of the impacts of energy infrastructure and transport coming together in a digital sense, and Carola then talks about some of the leading initiatives happening in Australia. She shares what Everty doe…
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Dec 13, 2020
Summer Series: Technology as an enabler for social justice, with Nancy Odendaal
Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. We're taking a little break from new content over The Australian summer holidays, but with more than 200 episodes in the bank, we've got plenty for you to catch up on. During this Summer Series, we'll be sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. And this week we're starting right back in the beginning when we were still called The Smart City Podcast with Nancy Odendaal, who was on Episode 3! Nancy is an Urban Planner and an Associate Professor in City planning at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
In this episode not only will you hear Nancy and I discuss the cool new idea of a podcast about Smart Cities, we also talk about her background in urban planning and how she's been involved in the concept of Smart since the 1990s when it was called Digital City. We also discuss how informality is often core to understanding a city in the global South, the difference be…
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Dec 6, 2020
Ethical Data and a User-First Focus in Smart Communities, with Brooke Jamieson
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a brilliant conversation with Brooke Jamieson, the Experience Lead at PlaceOS. Brooke tells us about her background in mathematics and marketing, her passion for putting the user first and how she fell into the Smart Community space. We talk about the importance of helping people to make sense of data and the power for us as adults of doing things that are difficult and that we're not good at but persisting anyway. Brooke then tells us a bit about her work at PlaceOS and why she chose to do further study in Data Engineering, as well as why a focus on ethics and philosophy is such an important piece of the puzzle in all careers, but especially in tech. We discuss the importance of nurturing critical thinking and getting more diversity behind the code, as well as changing ways of working and the opportunities that come from proactively responding to disruption. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of platform versus produ…
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Nov 29, 2020
STEM Education in our Smart Communities, with Michael Holmstrom
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat with Michael Holstrom, the CEO of STEM Punks (and that's STEM as in Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths.) STEM Punks provides immersive STEM programs for students and teachers from grade 1 to 12 and through their programs, enables creative and entrepreneurial thinking to inspire tomorrow's innovators. In this episode Michael and I discuss his background as an engineer and in technology commercialization and startup development, as well as what sparked his interest in the Smart Community concept. Michael then explains how STEM Punks came to be and why the real world application of STEM skills is so important, not just learning to code in isolation. We share our thoughts on buzzwords and acronyms, like STEAM, but why STEM is the foundation. Michael tells us what STEM punks does in both the education and home market and how they've shifted this year with COVID accelerating their shift to online delivery. We discuss te…
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Nov 22, 2020
Episode 200 Celebration: Ask Zoe Anything!
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, host Zoe Eather is back in the hot seat! In celebration of this being episode 200, Zoe and producer Ellen Ronalds Keene sat down for a chat where she answers questions from you, the audience of the Smart Community Podcast.
We can't believe we're at 200 episode and now over 100,000 downloads. It's nearly been 3 years of the show and thank you so much for all of you for tuning in! Zoe answers 4 questions today from the many that were sent through via LinkedIn and email. Thank you to those of you who submitted questions! As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.
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Nov 15, 2020
Standards, Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration in Smart Communities, with Vi Le
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a fantastic conversation with Vi Le, Stakeholder Engagement Manager for the ICT and Agriculture Sector, with Standards Australia. Vi tells us about her background in ICT and telecommunications for both government and corporate, and what sparked her interest in the Smart Community space. We discuss why Smart Communities are so important and how Vi sees Australia embracing Smart concepts currently. Vi and I explore the challenges and opportunities of multidisciplinary conversations and the importance of having agreed upon operating models when having many stakeholders with different contexts and different ideologies at the same table. Vi then tells us about the work she does at Standards Australia and the Smart City Standards Roadmap for Australia they have developed. We then talk about why it's so valuable to have all three levels of government-national, state and local-in the implementation conversation so we can integrate better, m…
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Nov 8, 2020
An Update on Smart Initiatives in India, with Aditi Padhi
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great catch up chat with Aditi Padhi, Deputy Director - Planning for Yashi Consulting Services. You might remember I spoke with Aditi in July last year, in Episode 120. In this episode Aditi gives us a bit of an update on the projects she's working on and how COVID has changed some of their plans. We discuss how COVID has affected Aditi and her work this year, and a bit about the lockdown and semi-lockdown situation in India this year. Aditi tells us about some of the challenges their team has faced in getting the data from different disciplines to match and talk to each other, as well as the differences in the scale of areas of interest of different disciplines. We talk about how COVID has exposed the delicate balance between interconnected and self-reliant cities, and the way we look at distribution of population in a more complex way. Aditi and I then discuss the emerging trends of engaged citizens and having feedback mechanism…
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Nov 1, 2020
The Art of the Possible, with Adam Davis
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great conversation with Adam Davis. Adam is the director of TPL Connect, and TPL Connect are actually our sponsor for the month of November 2020, which we're super excited about. Now, you may remember Adam from Episode 90, which is over 100 episodes ago, where we talked about starting with the foundations. Now, in this episode, Adam and I discuss his background and his passion for delivering real results in the Smart City space, and not just tech for tech's sake. Adam shares with us learnings from a number of projects he's been working on, as well as sharing some of the challenges that companies and governments are facing when it comes to IoT and implementation of Smart Community projects. We talk a lot about use cases and enabling thinking and enabling technology and the art of the possible. Adam shares with us some of the projects he's currently working on with his team. We finish our chat talking about emerging trends in under…
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Oct 25, 2020
Data Governance, Culture and Communities, with Warren Dean
In this episode I have a brilliant chat with Warren Dean, Data Analyst and the Founder of DataTale, which is a company that provides Power BI solutions and training to local government. BI stands for Business Intelligence, by the way. It is important you know that because we will say it a lot of times in this episode. Warren tells us about his background in data analytics for both State and Local Governments, and how that led to his founding of DataTale. We discuss the importance of data storytelling and Warren shares some great examples of how Councils can use data more effectively as an asset to make decisions that better serve their communities. Warren and I discuss the importance of strong data governance and creating data cultures and data communities, as well as some of the things Warren considers when pulling data sets together. We talk about data being the common denominator and therefore possibly the key to integrating across disciplines, industries and governments, and Warren…
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Oct 18, 2020
Energy Enabled Services in Smart Communities, with Andrew Mears
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I had a brilliant conversation with Andrew Mears, the Founder and CEO of SwitchdIn, a software and IoT company that provides a solution for managing distribute energy resources to enable high penetration of renewable energy. Andrew tells us about his background as an electrical engineer and working on renewable energy projects in developing countries, and how that led to the founding of his company, SwitchdIn. We discuss how the approach to energy services is different in developing countries and the innovation there has been around renewables and energy service business models. Andrew then tells us what a prosumer is and why the maturity of our energy market in Australia isn't set up for prosumers-yet! We then talk about SwitchdIn and some of the projects they've been working on, plus why Australia is a great place in the world to be building a product like SwitchdIn. Andrew explains the difference between a microgrid, Smartgrid and virtu…
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Oct 11, 2020
Cargo Bike Food Delivery in Regional Smart Communities, with Beate Kubitz
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat with Beate Kubitz, a Transport Consultant and Future Mobility Researcher in the UK. This podcast episode is another audio from the YouTube series I've been doing catching up with previous podcast guests during the pandemic. We recorded this chat in May 2020 but I'm definitely going to get Beate back on the podcast to give us all an update down the track.
In this episode, Beate tells us all about her passion for transport and the way it impacts our lives, plus her interest in the innovations happening in the Mobility space. She then tells us about the Cargo Bike Delivery Service that came about out of a desire to meet demand for deliveries in the early days of the pandemic lockdown. We talk about the challenges of regular delivery models, such as vehicle access in very narrow lanes, and how the cargo bike idea was initially a crisis response to make sure people in the local community were able to access food during loc…
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Oct 4, 2020
Transparency and Accountability in Local Governments, with Teresa Harding
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a fantastic conversation with Teresa Harding, the Mayor of Ipswich City in QLD, Australia. Teresa tells us about her varied background in the Defence Force, small business and IT, and her dual passion for local communities and veterans affairs. We discuss what sparked her interest in Smart concepts and why it's so important to have a balance of logic and creativity, vision and implementation in our Smart Communities. Teresa then tells us about the work Ipswich Council has done this year on setting up a Transparency and Integrity Hub to ensure trust is rebuilt with citizens and the local government is held accountable. Teresa tells us about this Hub works, the feedback they're getting on it and the benefits of adopting open data practices into local government. We also discuss how Ipswich integrates across disciplines, governments and industries and their plans for continued community engagement and a more participatory approach to p…
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Sep 27, 2020
A Practical Futurist Living in the Moment, with Andrew Grill
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a great conversation with Practical Futurist, Andrew Grill, who you may remember from Episodes 38 and 136. This podcast episode is another audio from the YouTube series I've been doing catching up with previous podcast guests during the pandemic.
In this chat, Andrew and I discuss how the pandemic has not only brought in a whole lot of new rules and social norms, but it's also accelerated his futurist predictions. Things that he was predicting to change such as in the future of work, have come to pass incredibly quickly. Andrew tells us how the disruption is a huge opportunity for change but is also exposing the weak points in every ecosystem, and increasing the digital divide. We talk about that digital divide particularly in the education space, where already disadvantaged students are being further disadvantaged, and teachers who were already comfortable with technology are more advantaged and able to be more effective than the…
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Sep 20, 2020
Smart Communities in Developing Nations, with Kris Libunao
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat to Kris Libunao, the Executive Director and Chief Sustainability Officer of Smart CT, a nonprofit organization based in the Philippines. Kris tells us about her background in urban planning, law and policy research, and what sparked her interest in the space, as well as what a Smart Community means to her. We discuss how Smart City practices need to be different in developing countries and the importance of data gathering, data literacy and community engagement. Kris and I talk about how the Philippines is embracing Smart Concepts and the challenges and opportunities that have been brought to the forefront this year during the pandemic. Kris then tells us about Smart CT and how they're building a community around the organisation. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of data appreciation and literacy, digital infrastructure and bottom up approaches, plus some of Kris's favourite Smart Community resources.…
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Sep 13, 2020
Smart Community Insights Across Borders, with Peter Bjorn Larson
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a great conversation with Peter Bjorn Llarson, the Director of Smart City Insights. This podcast episode is another audio from the YouTube series I've been doing catching up with previous podcast guests during the pandemic. We recorded this chat on the 1st of May, and since then Peter tells me he's doing well, he's doing a couple of nice local Smart City projects because obviously he's not travelling very much anymore.
In this conversation, Peter and I chat about what the situation was like in Denmark pandemic-wise in May, as well as some of the key differences between Denmark and Sweden's approach. We then discuss the ways the Smart City concepts of digital transformation and data sharing and privacy have come to the forefront during this crisis, and how the private sector has been well placed to respond quickly, having already much of the foundational pieces already in place. We cover data collaboratives, data privacy and securi…
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Sep 6, 2020
Rural and Regional Smart Community Strategies, with Imogen Schifferle
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant conversation with Imogen Schifferle, the Regional Partnerships Innovation Coordinator at Albury City and Wodonga City Councils. Now, in case you don't know because you're not from Australia, Albury and Wodonga are twin Australian cities located on either side of the Murray River and the state border between Victoria and New South Wales. The twin cities are a real hub for the region, and have been heavily impacted by the state border closures and lockdowns during the pandemic. So in this episode, Imogen first tells us about her background in digital technologies, particularly mobile technologies, as she's worked for both Telstra and Samsung, and how she's now working in Local Government. We discuss the differences in drivers and attitude between private companies and public service, as well as the differences in Smart Community ideas between regional and urban environments. She then tells us about the Rural Smart Communi…
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Aug 30, 2020
Where to Next For Smart Cities and Communities? (Part 9)
Hello #smartcommunityfriends, I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community podcast that brings together multiple guest answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from a range of our guests this year:
•Charlie Hamer from Episode 172
•Courtney Ehrlichman from Episode 181
•Debbie Reynolds from Episode 166
•Jamie Leach from Episode 171
•And finally Luke Stow from Episode 173
The themes that come through in all of the guest answers are around sustainability of Smart Communities, but not so much from an environmental perspective. These guests are focused on the sustainability of communities and of Smart projects from the perspectives of sustainable funding, sustainable data driven decision making, and sustainable access to resources, be they local or global.
Several guests make important points about the fact that without sustainable investment of actual dollars, many Smart project…
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Aug 23, 2020
Smart Communities and the COVID Chance, with Mark Thomas
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a brilliant chat with Mark Thomas, the Founder and Managing Director of Serviceworks, an international consultancy providing strategic counsel on city building, smart city application, strategy, public policy and customer service. This is the second time Mark has been on the podcast, the last time was back in Episode 111, and this interview was recorded in mid July 2020. So we talk about Mark's background and his passion for solving wicked problems that matter to citizens, as well as what's been happening for him and how he's adjusted his business since COVID. But of course since we recorded this episode, Auckland New Zealand has also seen an outbreak, so just keep in mind that we recorded before that and don't mention it at all. It's a bit tricky this year given that I often record interviews way in advance of when they get released on the podcast, and obviously things with COVID change so rapidly but I know you're all Smart people…
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Aug 16, 2020
Leadership and Changemakers in Smart Communities, with Deke Copenhaver
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a great chat with Deke Copenhaver, the author of "The Changemaker: the Art of Building Better Leaders". Deke was Mayor of Augusta, Georgia for 9 years, and is currently the principal of Copenhaver Consulting. Deke and I met when I visited the US in January 2020 and we were introduced by our good friend Kerry Grace. Deke tells us about his background in business, real estate and land conservation, and how that sparked his interest in Smart Communities, which only deepened in his time as Mayor of Augusta. Deke shares what both Smart Community and leadership means to him and why long-term thinking is key to both, plus why he thinks Millennials will be the next great generation of leaders. Deke and I discuss some of his favourite community projects while in office, including the Laney Walker Bethlehem Revitalisation Project, and how the community engagement aspects worked in that project. We talk a bit about COVID and how Deke has been…
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Aug 9, 2020
Smart Digital Societies: Lessons from Estonia, with Calum Cameron
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a really interesting conversation with Calum Cameron, an Aussie based in Estonia, which is the world's first digital society and Europe's favourite startup ecosystem. Responding to the COVID-19 lockdown in Estonia he helped trigger the Hack the Crisis movement and was an organiser The Global Hackathon which combined connected more than 250k people from over 100 countries to develop and implement immediate solutions to the crises, which we talk about in this episode. We start by discussing Calum's background in IT helping the financial services digitalise, and how he came to be in Estonia. Calum then shares with us a history of Estonia, why they focused heavily on digitalisation in the 1990s, plus some of the interesting ways that manifests, like their digital citizen or e-residency program. Calum tells us how he got into this Smart Community space and why a diverse cross section from society is so important in getting different per…
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Aug 2, 2020
The Nexus of Technology, Human Behaviour and Public Policy, with Susan Shaheen
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a fascinating chat with Susan Shaheen, Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Co-Director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. Susan and I chat about her interest in the nexus of technology, human behaviour and public policy, and how the US Smart Cities Challenge sparked her interest in the space, when she was involved with San Francisco's application. We discuss how pivotal and galvanising that grant was for many cities around America, and how the community engagement framework they used for the San Francisco application really valued a co-creation model between public, private and community. Susan then tells us about some of the projects she's been working on, including some research documenting the learnings from the cities of their experience of the Smart Cities Challenge. She tells us some of the takeaways from that research, including the four catego…
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Jul 26, 2020
Smart Local Government and Engaged Communities, with Nathaniel Bavinton
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a brilliant chat with Dr. Nathaniel Bavinton, the Innovation and Futures Manager at the City of Newcastle in NSW. Nathaniel and I discuss his background as an urban sociologist and social researcher and how his interest how cities impact cultures and societies has led to his work as a city strategist and sparked his interest in the Smart Community space. Nathaniel tells us about the Newcastle, including the revitalisation that is happening there, and how the community came up with their own 3-part definition for what a Smart City means to them. We discuss how Nathaniel sees Australia embracing Smart concepts, and the opportunities, outcomes and obstacles of knowledge sharing and collaborating with neighbouring cities and local governments. We talk about the way the City of Newcastle has responded to COVID, and how the digital transformation and behavioural changes that were already underway in the local government really enabled tho…
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Jul 23, 2020
BONUS! Where to Next for Smart Cities and Communities (Part 8)
Hello #smartcommunityfriends, I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community podcast that brings together multiple guest answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from a range of our guests this year:
•Jennifer Sanders from Episode 170
•Andrew Funk from Episode 157
•Melissa Dark from Episode 169
•Marco Marechal from Episode 165
•And finally Joy Taylor from Episode 154
The themes that come through in all of the guest answers are around inclusive local communities, community engagement and knowledge sharing in our Smart Communities. Several guests make the point that we need to be having real conversation about what people want and need, and inviting them to be involved in designing the solutions for their local communities. Bringing people along the journey is not easy, and of course this is all easier said than done. It's easy to say we need better community engagement but to m…
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Jul 19, 2020
Mobility that Serves Smart Communities, with Courtney Ehrlichman
In this episode, I have a brilliant conversation with Courtney Ehrlichman, the CEO at The Ehrlichman Group & Co-founder of RoadBotics. We recorded this interview in early June 2020. Courtney tells us about her background in urban studies, planning and transport and her passions for community, mobility and solving problems across industries. We talk about the concept of Universal Basic Mobility, and what a Smart Community means to Courtney, and why it's so important that technology is used as a tool to decrease divides and serve human needs. Courtney and I discuss how data can build wealthier communities and why efficiency is so important both from a local government economic development perspective, and from a citizen user perspective. We have a great chat about autonomous vehicle shuttles, and some of the moral, ethical and labour issues associated with them, as well as the other complex pieces of the mobility conversation, such as urban density, land use, housing affordability, emplo…
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Jul 12, 2020
Systems Thinking in Smart Communities, with Zaheer Allam
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a great conversation with Urban Strategist Zaheer Allam. You might remember I spoke with Zaheer earlier in the year in Episode 158 and when COVID-19 broke out I knew I wanted to catch up with him again. So this podcast episode is another audio from the YouTube series I've been doing catching up with previous podcast guests during the pandemic. We recorded this chat on the 4th of May, and since then Zaheer tells me he's doing fine, he's still doing lots of writing because borders are still closed, but work is slowly resuming.
In this conversation, Zaheer tells us what the situation is like in Mauritius at the time of recording, what's changed such as working from home, flexible work options in general and the disruptions for Zaheer personally. We cover a big range of things all along the themes of how COVID has impacted every industry and brought to the forefront a lot of Smart concepts, such as the importance of data, digital lite…
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Jul 5, 2020
Community as the Next Metric in Smart Economies, with Sabrina Chakori
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a brilliant chat with Sabrina Chakori, the founder of the Brisbane Tool Library. Sabrina tells us about her background in environmental economics and her passion for creating a sustainable society, as well as what sparked her interest in Smart Community concepts. We discuss why democratising the economy is so important and the need for other economic models and using metrics other than just GDP. Sabrina tells us about the Brisbane Tool Library and how it fits in the sharing economy, as well as what she's learned through the process. We explore the concepts of access versus ownership, abundance versus scarcity and the balance between localisation and globalisation. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of alternative economic models and ways to structure our communities. As always, we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect w…
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Jun 28, 2020
The Now of Work in Smart Communities, with Kim Seeling Smith
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a fantastic conversation with Kim Seeling Smith, the CEO of Ignite Global. Kim used to call herself a 'Future of Work' expert, but these days she says the future has arrived so she's become a 'Now of Work' expert. This is another audio from the YouTube series I've been doing catching up with previous podcast guests and although Kim is not a previous podcast guest she is a good friend of the Smart Community Podcast.
In this episode, Kim and I discuss her background and her work, and how it's really accelerated with the current crisis. She tells us about her research on what people are learning from this COVID work-from-home experiment, and why we all need to take this disruption seriously, learn from it, and be as prepared as we can be for ongoing disruptions into the future. We explore the relationship between COVID, under- and unemployment, and the critical skills shortage, as well as what the workplace will look like post-COVID…
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Jun 21, 2020
Digital and data literacy in Smart Communities, with Debbie Reynolds
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I had a wonderful chat with Debbie Reynolds, AKA The Data Diva. Now you may remember Debbie was a guest on the podcast just back in March 2020, but we had actually recorded that interview in December 2019. So then when COVID-19 broke out I knew I wanted to catch up again with Debbie and this podcast episode another audio from the YouTube series I've been doing catching up with previous podcast guests during the pandemic.
So in this episode, Debbie and I discuss what she's been up to since we last spoke and how COVID has changed her work schedule. We cover the fact that there is an increased need for data privacy and cyber security expertise during this time while so many people are on the internet more, as well as the need for both digital literacy and data literacy. Debbie and I explore the convergence of our digital personas with our real lives, and how to encourage people to take advantage of the benefits of being online while being d…
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Jun 14, 2020
Making Sustainability Accessible in Smart Communities, with Johanna Kloot
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a brilliant chat with Johanna Kloot, the founder of sustainability software GreenKPI. Johanna tells us about her background as a pilot, plus how an illness and her mission of making the world a better place for her nephew led to her career as a sustainability consultant. We discuss what sustainability is, why Smart Cities and Smart Communities are so important and how Johanna sees Australia embracing these concepts. Johanna and I then discuss the projects she's working on and how GreenKPI came to be. She tells us about the 3 main barriers businesses face in implementing sustainability as well as how important it is to be engaging and empowering people working at the ground level-not just those in head office. We explore making sustainability accessible and the need for small to medium enterprises to be included, plus the three-pronged approach to sustainability integration across consumer, business and government. We finish our chat…
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Jun 7, 2020
Regional Australian Communities coping with Crisis, with Kim Houghton
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a brilliant chat with Kim Houghton, the Chief Economist Officer at the Regional Australia Institute. Now this is another audio from the YouTube series I've been doing catching up with previous podcast guests and although Kim is not a previous podcast guest he is a good friend of the Smart Community Podcast. When we recorded this in mid April 2020, Kim was in quarantine in a hotel in Hobart. I am pleased to share an update that he is out of quarantine and everything is going ok.
In this interview Kim and I discuss what COVID has exposed for us, particularly in regional areas, such as connectivity issues, lack of digital literacy and the re-emergence of the decade old conversation about the digital divide in regions. We talk about online learning tools and the wider implications of that for those who don't have reliable internet, plus the need for capacity and confidence building in digital skills for both young and old in regional a…
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May 31, 2020
Behaviour Change, Empowered Citizens and Sustainable Communities, with Rachel Smith
In this episode I have a fantastic conversation with Rachel Smith, who is a previous podcast guest, and also a transport planning and demand management consultant. This episode is actually the audio from the video interview I did with Rachel, which is part of the series I've been doing on YouTube catching up with previous guests during this time of much change in the world. So if you want to see those interviews you can head on over to our YouTube channel to catch up with what previous guests like Ryan McManus, Debbie Reynolds, Sally Illingworth, and Jonathan Reichental have been getting up to in the last few months.
In this episode Rachel and I chat about the work she does in demand management and why it's important to Smart Community approach, plus what crises can show us about how we can use resources in Smart ways. We discuss what COVID has exposed about the way people live, and the relationship between consumerism and mobility/transport. Rachel and I also talk about why it's so i…
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May 24, 2020
Technology as an enabler for healthy and connected Smart Communities, with Luke Stow
In this episode I have a fabulous chat with Luke Stow, the CEO of Alchemy Solutions, which is an Australian company that specialises in helping organisations make shifts with emerging technology, but they come at it from a people centric perspective. Luke tells us about his background as a technologist and why he's passionate about how technology can enable our businesses, communities and lives. We recorded this just as the COVID crisis was ramping up here in Australia and lockdowns were beginning, so that gives you a little bit of context for our conversation. We talk about how lockdowns are highlighting the opportunities and challenges of connectivity and the impacts of COVID responses on the digital divide, work-life flexibility, health prevention and treatments, as well as many aspects of our culture.
Luke and I discuss the robust conversations that are needed around privacy and data during and after this crisis, and the need for us to intentionally choose the 'new normal' going f…
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May 17, 2020
Sharing real stories and facilitating Smart Community conversations, with Charlie Hamer
In this episode I have a fascinating chat with Charlie Hamer, the CoFounder of Public Sector Network. Charlie tells us about his background in computer science, environment and events, and how he ended up starting the Public Sector Nector community platform. He has a passion for technology and the environment, and for facilitating connections so he tells us about why he started PSN and the reasons they expanded from Australia to the US, Canada, New Zealand and soon the UK as well. Charlie tells us what sparked his interest in the Smart Community space, and we discuss what the terms Smart City and Intelligent Community mean, as well as how the movement has been maturing over the last few years. We cover how Charlie sees Australia embracing Smart concepts, and what he's seen in Canada as a result of the Smart City Challenge that was run by the Canadian government there. We discuss how to balance funding and marketing with the real substance of Smart Community projects, and the importance…
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May 10, 2020
Data Governance and Digital Maturity in Smart Communities, with Jamie Leach
In this episode I had a fantastic chat with Jamie Leach, a Data Technologist and the the CEO and Founder of Open Data Australia. She has an extensive background in project management, finance, technology, and defence, as well as leading data and technology companies through capital-raising and global expansion. A reminder that like all our recent episodes this one was recorded before the global pandemic but I think it's a fantastic and really relevant conversation all the same.
In this episode, Jamie and I discuss her passion for the transformative potential of data if it is leveraged and harnessed in a positive way. We talk about what sparked her interest in data and Smart Communities, and how making good use of data can help future proof businesses and organisations going forwards. We cover so much, including the challenges and opportunities of using and analysing data well, particularly for governments, and the different skillsets that are needed. Jamie tells us why it's so importa…
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May 3, 2020
Moving from Smart Cities to Smart Regions, with Jennifer Sanders
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a great conversation with Jennifer Sanders, the Co-Founder and Executive Director at the Dallas Innovation Alliance or DIA as she refers to it a lot in this episode. Jennifer tells us about the DIA, how it came to be and the needs-based, neighbourhood-centric approach that they take. We cover the importance of educating and empowering citizens, especially young people and people from underserved neighbourhoods, on how they can engaged with their communities and Jennifer shares a great story about the benefits of giving kids a seat at the table when discussing solutions to community problems. We discuss how Dallas is embracing the Smart City concept and the real impacts and benefits of the openness, transparency and knowledge-sharing that goes on between individuals and organisations in the Smart City space. Jennifer tells us about the projects she's working on with the DIA, including their focus on equity, digital inclusion and havi…
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Apr 26, 2020
Trust, Empathy and Smart Community Engagement, with Melissa Dark
In this episode of the podcast I have a brilliant conversation with Melissa Dark, a communications and stakeholder engagement consultant. Melissa is the Chief Collaborator at Common Place Communication and the Co-Founder of Busting Silos, and she is passionate about how we involve people in the decisions that affect them. Now, like all the recent episodes on the podcast, this conversation was recorded before Covid-19 changed the world, however I think it's fair to say that communications and stakeholder engagement has only gotten more important since then-as we say at the end of this interview, communication skills can be really undervalued until they're really needed, and that's exactly what we're seeing play out in the world today.
If you are wanting more up to date pandemic related content, I am doing a series of interviews on YouTube with previous podcast guests that checks in with them to see how their organisations are changing or not during this time, and how the Smart Communit…
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Apr 19, 2020
Contributing to society through Smart Projects, with Alan Murphy
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I had a great conversation with Alan Murphy, the Smart Dublin Regional Lead. Please note: this episode was recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic. Smart Dublin is an initiative of the four Dublin Local Authorities to engage with smart technology providers, researchers and citizens to solve challenges and improve city life. In this episode Alan tells us about his background in IT consulting and his passion for new ways of doing things using technology. He tells us about what sparked his interest in this Smart space, including friend of the podcast, Jonathan Reichental who you may remember from episode 77. Alan and I then discuss what Smart Dublin actually is and some of the projects Alan's been working on with Smart Dublin in the areas of mobility, environment, energy and citizen engagement. Alan shares with us how he sees Ireland embracing Smart concepts, and the maturing of the conversation around Smart Communities. We talk about integrat…
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Apr 12, 2020
Digital Transformation in Smart Communities, with Hyma Vulpala
In this episode I have a fascinating chat with Hyma Vulpala, the Deputy Director of Digital Workplace, Research and Academic Information Services at La Trobe University. Now, when we recorded this a few months back Hyma was Head of Digital and Data for Yarra Ranges Council in Victoria, so you'll hear us refer to that in this episode.
Hyma tells us about her background in IT and digital and her passion for the opportunities that the ever-changing digital space provides. She tells us some of the changes she's seen in the space over the last 2 decades and how the rates of technological change are really increasing, especially in the last 5 years. We discuss why Smart City and Community concepts are so important and will continue to be into the future. Hyma and I talk about the different industries in Australia that are adopting Smart concepts, and the dangers of not embracing digital transformation, including not attracting and retaining the required skills sets.
We discuss some of the…
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Apr 5, 2020
The power and peril of data in Smart Communities, with Debbie Reynolds
In this episode, I have a brilliant conversation with Debbie Reynolds, also known as The Data Diva. Debbie is a thought-leader and advisor to Multinational Corporations for handling global data privacy, cyber data breach planning and response, and complex cross-functional management of data-centric projects.
In this episode, Debbie and I talk about the divide she saw growing up between the opportunities available in big cities like Chicago compared to nearby small towns and suburbs, and how that sparked her interest in the Smart Community space. Debbie shares with us the trends and considerations she sees related to the digital divide, and how it plays out differently in the US compared to Europe and elsewhere, plus why it's so important to inform citizens about data transparency, privacy and protection issues so that they can make informed decisions. We talk about the new data privacy laws in California that came into effect in January 2020 and the impacts Debbie expects, both at the…
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Mar 29, 2020
Smart Mobility lessons from The Netherlands, with Marco Maréchal
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great conversation with Marco Maréchal, the Strategic Advisor of Communication and Innovation for Smart City and Smart Mobility to the Netherlands. He is also the author of the book "Mobility in the Future 2030: Finally the people have the say" so I felt he was a great guest to round out our month here focusing on #mobiliitymarch.
In this episode, Marco tells us about the project on cooperative vehicles that sparked his interest in Smart Communities 6 years ago and why Smart Communities with humans at the centre are so important to him. We talk about how the Netherlands have embraced Smart concepts, and the Mobility as a Service project Marco is working on reduce congestion and incentivise people to use alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles when commuting to work. Marco shares the biggest benefits he sees in Mobility as a Service and ways the business model of MaaS is still changing and evolving. We discuss ways to better i…
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Mar 22, 2020
Shared Mobility in Smart Communities, with Ryan McManus
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a brilliant chat with Ryan McManus, the Founder and CEO of SHARE Mobility, a mobility company that helps organisations and cities solve big transportation problems with mobility-as-a-service. Ryan and I met on my trip recently to Columbus, Ohio, which was in January, 2020. I met Ryan at a meeting with Smart Columbus where I learned about the work they're doing. Now obviously, this episode was recorded before the corona virus became a pandemic. Currently SHARE is repurposing their shared transport network and customer support staff to serve the needs of the people who are staying at home.
On the topic of Covid-19, I just want to give you a little bit of an update of what our team is doing to respond. Our My Smart Community team was virtual already and will remain this way. We are following the health advice and following hygiene and social distancing precautions. For now, the podcast will continue as per usual while the situation c…
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Mar 18, 2020
Smart Mobility that serves everybody, with Renee Autumn Ray
In this episode I have a fantastic conversation with Renee Autumn Ray. Renee is an urban planner who has worked in transportation planning, policy, operations, and data evaluation. She is currently the Strategy and Innovation Leader at Conduent Transportation, a technology company which includes payments and data analytics for transit, curb-side management, road user charging, and public safety. She also serves on the Transportation Research Board committees for Intelligent Transportation Systems and Innovative Public Transport Services and Technologies, and the Board of Directors for Georgia Bikes, so she's another great guest in the #mobilitymarch series. Renee and I discuss the early career experiences that sparked her interest in Smart Community concepts and the power of bringing data, including qualitative data, into decision making. Renee tells us about some of the projects she's been working on, including curating panels for conferences with a focus on mobility and accessibility…
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Mar 15, 2020
Inclusivity and Accessibility in the Smart City, with Chad Ramage
In this episode I have a fascinating conversation with Chad Ramage, Founder of Accessibility in the City, an online mapping solution that helps support those with accessibility issues with navigation. As someone in a wheelchair himself who is actively working on an innovative solution to accessibility problems, I knew Chad was going to be an excellent guest for our #mobilitymarch series. In this episode Chad tells us about his background in information technology and his passion for accessibility, including his experiences being in a wheelchair that really sparked his interest in the Smart Community and Accessibility space. Chad and I discuss what a Smart Community is and why the concepts of accessibility and inclusion so important, plus the need for genuine consultation on accessibility solutions with the people who have accessibility problems. We talk about how data can help Chad with planning accessible journeys, and all about his platform to help others do just that. Chat explains…
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Mar 8, 2020
Digital Equity and Engagement in Mobility, with Crissy Ditmore
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great chat with Crissy Ditmore, the Director of Strategy for Cubic Transportation Systems, where she is working on the expansion of Mobility as a Service across the globe. Crissy is also Chair of the Board or the TravelSpirit Foundation North America, Co Chair for the Mobility on Demand Alliance Public Policy Committee, is active with the Coalition for Smarter Transportation and a 2019 MaaS Transit Magazine Top 40 Under 40. It's fair to say she was a perfect guest for our #mobilitymarch series.
In this episode, Crissy and I discuss her background of over 15 years in the mobility industry and why she's so passionate about the opportunity for mobility to be an equaliser and reduce divides within our community. We talk about Digital Equity when it comes to mobility, especially Mobility as a Service, and the importance of real stakeholder engagement in this space. Crissy shares with us her perspective on the future of transport and h…
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Mar 1, 2020
Autonomous Vehicle Updates, with Michael Milford
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant chat with Michael Milford, a Professor of Robotics at Queensland University of Technology. You may remember Michael from an earlier episode, way back in Episode 22 when we were still called the Smart City Podcast, which was actually over 18 months ago now. So I wanted to have him back on the show to share what's changed in the AV space in that time, and he's the perfect guest to kick off our Mobility March series.
In this episode, Michael and I discuss some of the projects he's been working on to do with infrastructure and road readiness for driverless cars, and the key problems with automating driving in complex urban environments versus highway driving. He tells us about the use of high resolution maps of the environment for the functioning of AVs, and how Cooperative Vehicles and Connected Vulnerable Road User fit into this space/framework.
We talk about the technology development in the driverless cars space that…
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Feb 23, 2020
The Power of Micro-Adventures, with Eleanor Carey
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a fascinating conversation with Eleanor Carey, a dual world record holding adventurer and successful entrepreneur. In June 2018, she spent 62 days crossing the Pacific Ocean by human power in a 25 foot ocean rowing boat, and prior to this cycled solo across Europe. In this episode she tells us about those two adventures, as well as her passion for getting people out into the outdoors and using physical adventures to improve people's lives. We discuss what a micro-adventure is and how it helps improve psychological fitness in the workplace, as well as creativity and productivity. Eleanor then tells us about the benefits of disconnecting from technology and connecting with nature, as well as her thoughts on the future of work. We talk about the decision making process Eleanor advocates for choosing what is right for you and how we can shift our mindset to overcome overwhelm and confusion, whether that be on an individual adventure or…
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Feb 16, 2020
Resilience and Urban Regeneration in Developing Countries, with Zaheer Allam
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a brilliant chat with Zaheer Allam. Zaheer was the co-founder of the 'Platform Citoyenne', and NGO that successfully stopped the proliferation of coal fired plants in Mauritius. He is today an Urban Strategist for the Port Louis Development Initiative where he contributed to the drafting of a 'National Regeneration Scheme' aimed at economically incentivising urban regeneration. The scheme was successfully adopted by the Government of Mauritius in the National Budget of 2018-2019.
In this episode, we discuss Zaheer's background as an Urban Strategist and his interest in looking at how to regenerate cities. Zaheer tells us how he thinks Mauritius is currently embracing Smart concepts and the unique way they are encouraging Urban Regeneration projects. We talk about the importance of democratising not only access to data but also knowledge of data to create more sustainable, more resilient Smart Cities, as well as the challenges of b…
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Feb 9, 2020
Active Citizenship and inclusive Smart Communities, with Andrew Funk
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat with Andrew Funk, international keynote speaker and Impact Activist for homeless people. Andrew believes that work and active citizenship will end homelessness for and with those willing to participate in the process, which is why he created a model to end homelessness that embraces the concept of Smart Cities becoming even Smarter. In this episode, Andrew and I discuss his background from teaching English through to a digital consultancy, and the very personal story of how he started Homeless Entrepreneur. Andrew tells us about the steps he took to get out of homelessness and why inclusive Smart Communities full of active citizens are so important. He tells us how he sees Spain embracing Smart concepts, and about the projects he's working on included Homeless Entrepreneur and Afloat. We then discuss the importance of including people who are affected by the problems you're trying to solve so as to avoid tokenistic app…
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Feb 2, 2020
Smart Community Standards & Future Government Planning, with Chris Rowlands
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I had a brilliant conversation with Chris Rowlands, the City Innovation Officer at the City of Greater Bendigo in Victoria. Chris and I discuss his background in Town Planning and why he's so passionate about making liveable regions and communities. We talk about why Smart City standards are so powerful as principles that can be applied to communities of any size, and as a great platform to start the conversation with communities about what they want their city or town to be in the future. Chris also covers the importance of having many people involved in the conversation and especially of getting children and school students at the table, because it's their future we're planning.
Chris then tells us about the projects he's been working on at Bendigo, including the Clever Weather IoT project which is a collaboration with La Trobe University. He also shares a great story about how transparent conversations help the City of Bendigo's Garba…
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Jan 29, 2020
BONUS Building Intelligent Communities in Smart Regions, with Leanne Kemp
In this episode, I have a great chat with Leanne Kemp, the Founder and CEO of Everledger and Queensland Chief Entrepreneur. Leanne's company Everledger uses Blockchain technology to track high-value assets such as diamonds, art and wine with the aim of increasing transparency and trust with technology. As the Queensland Chief Entrepreneur, her role is to develop the state's startup ecosystem, attract investment and support job creation.
You may remember Leanne from Episode 33, way back when we were called the Smart City Podcast. In that episode I interviewed her together with Louise Mercer, then Head of Everledger Australia, New Zealand, now Chief Experience Officer of Everledger and spoke to them both about blockchain, how they use it and why it's the next wave of the internet.
In this episode, I asked Leanne about what has happened since she was last on the podcast, and she shared a bit about her work as Queensland's Chief Entrepreneur. We talked about the crucial differences betwe…
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Jan 26, 2020
Working and Learning Together in Regional Communities Joy Taylor
In this episode I have a brilliant chat with Joy Taylor, the Co-Founder and Community Manager of Canvas Coworking Space here in Toowoomba, QLD. She is also a Startup Weekend Global Facilitator and has been recognised as an Advance Queensland Community Digital Champion for her work teaching kids to create with technology at CoderDojo Toowoomba. Joy tells us about her background in finance and agribusiness, and her journey from there to the coworking and startup space. We discuss the various programs and projects Joy works on to support Regional Communities here in Toowoomba and also across Australia, and the three main elements she focuses on when mentoring: skill development, behaviours and connection. We then dive deep into one of the Smart projects Joy champions, which is CoderDojo. You may remember back in Episode 122 Emily Royalle told us about the CoderDojo program and how it has benefited both the children involved and the city of San Antonio, Texas, US. Joy is one of the mentors…
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Jan 19, 2020
Smart Health in Regional Areas, with Bruce Winzar
In this episode I had a really fascinating conversation with Bruce Winzar, the Executive Director of Innovation & Digital Services and Chief Information Officer responsible for Information Technology, Architectures and Applications, Innovation & Research at Bendigo Health. As part of our spotlight on the regions this month, I wanted to speak with Bruce specifically about his experiences fostering Smart Health initiatives in the Bendigo region of Victoria. In this episode, Bruce and I discuss how as visit to Amsterdam in 2007 sparked his interest in Smart Cities and Smart Community concepts, and why he believes it's so important for the economic and community development in regional areas.
Bruce explains the power of the strengths-based approach to Smart Communities in regional areas, which for Bendigo means a focus on Smart Health initiatives. He shares a bit about the projects he's working on, including the new Bendigo Hospital ICT and ePR project, with its focus on data and innovati…
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Jan 12, 2020
Resourcefulness and Resilience in Smart Regions, with Julia Spicer
In this episode I had a brilliant chat with Julia Spicer, Founder of two regional businesses based in Goondiwindi, Qld - Engage & Create Consulting and the Goondiwindi Business Hub. Julia and I met recently at the QRRRWN conference where I did a workshop, but actually we know each other from way back when I was living in Roma. Julia's mission is to contribute to the vibrancy and viability of rural and regional Australia by helping businesses grow so she was an obvious choice to interview for our 'Spotlight on the Regions' series.
In this episode Julia tells us about her background in regional Queensland, what sparked her interest Smart concepts and how they can provide real opportunities for small communities in regional areas. We discuss the concepts of resourcefulness and resilience as objectives for Smart Regions, how the social fabric of a small town can be a blessing and a curse, and why it's so important for communities to have a sense of control over their own destiny. Julia sh…
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Jan 8, 2020
BONUS | Where to next for Smart Cities and Communities? (Part 7)
I'm back with another bonus episode of the podcast that brings together multiple guests answers to the question "Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from December guests, plus a number of our guests from earlier in 2019:
•Heath Raftery from Episode 113
•Vitor Pereira from Episode 106
•Cornelia Levy-Bencheton and MIke Barlow from Episodes 114 and 115
•Chad Renando from Episode 145
•James Peet from Episode 146
•Karen Corr from Episode 147
•Paolo Galelli from E148
•Nathaniel Mason from E149
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter
The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.
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Jan 5, 2020
Episode 150 Celebration: Ask Zoe Anything
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, host Zoe Eather is back in the hot seat! In celebration of this being episode 150, Zoe and producer Ellen Ronalds Keene sat down for a chat where she answers questions from you, the audience of the Smart Community Podcast.
We can't believe we're at 150 episode and it's fitting that this celebratory episode is the first episode of 2020. 2019 was a whirlwind year and 2020 is shaping up to be just as exciting.
Zoe answers 3 questions today from the many that were sent through via LinkedIn and email. Thank you to those of you who submitted questions! We will be doing more 'AZA' episodes this year so we can answer more of your questions throughout the year.
As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @SmartCommHQ
The Smart Community Podcast is produce…
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Dec 29, 2019
Information Sharing in Smart Communities, with Nathaniel Mason
In this episode I have a really great conversation with Nathaniel Mason, the Team Leader of Business Solutions at the City fo Tea Tree Gully in South Australia. This episode is personal opinion only and does not represent any government or agency. Nathaniel is a member of LGITSA, the Local Government IT Association of South Australia. Nathaniel and I met at the LGITSA conference in 2019 where I spoke about my Churchill Fellowship and shared learnings for local government.
In this episode, Nathaniel tells us about his varied background beginning in customer service and hospitality but ending up in IT and local government. He shares with us his passion for volunteering and why he believes getting involved in contribution and collaboration is so important to our Smart Communities. Nathaniel tells us what a Smart Community is to him and why he feels it is so important in this ever-changing world.
We discuss the impact of policy and the concept of Continuous Improvement, and how this is n…
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Dec 22, 2019
Engaging Young People in Regional Communities, with Paolo Galelli
In this episode, I have a great chat with Paolo Galelli, Building Energy Efficiency Engineer at BuildTech s.r.l. and Research fellow at the University of Genoa in Italy. Paolo shares with us what sparked his interest in Smart Community concepts and why he feels they are so important, especially for engaging with young people. Paolo tells us about how he sees Italy embracing Smart concepts, and the reason he thinks his town, Sestri Levante, is a great example of a Smart Community. We then discuss the ways that proactive participatory approaches to engagement are even more important in small and regional towns than in metro areas. Paolo tells us about the app he is working on called Nassa that helps engage young people and how they've integrated across governments and disciplines. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trend of the different and often technologically-driven ways young people engage in community and civic life, and how Paolo and his team have used that to their advant…
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Dec 15, 2019
Liveability, Resilience and Engagement in Regional Communities, with Karen Corr
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat with Karen Corr, a Community Engagement and Development Specialist and the Founder and Executive Director of Make a Change Australia. Karen and I met when we were on a panel together. We were talking about liveability at the Bendigo Invention and Innovation Festival earlier in 2019. In this episode, Karen shares with us her journey from being a Water Engineer to becoming passionate about culture change and how that led to her work with Make a Change Australia. We discuss the power of engaging with the "Smartness" of people that live in regional communities and harnessing their local knowledge for ownership of Smart solutions. Karen and I chat about why liveability is so important, and the need for equity of access to liveability, connectivity and accessibility solutions in small towns and regional areas. Karen tells us about the Ramp Up Resilience project that she's been working on, and it is just a brilliant example o…
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Dec 8, 2019
Using Smart Technology in Local Government, James Peet
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat with James Peet, the Chief Digital Officer at Moreton Bay Regional Council in South East Queensland. James tells us about his background in architecture and passion for using technology to help make things better, and how that has led him to his role in local government. James and I discuss what really sparked his interest in the Smart Community space and why he sees the concept as so important, firstly because digital disruption is happening and we need to keep up, but also because of the benefits and efficiencies it can provide in local council for things like asset maintenance. James then shares how he sees his region embracing these concepts, and a number of the projects he is currently working on. James and I then talk about the importance of having both an OT (operational technology) as well as an IT team, and why councils need to be planning for those skillsets now. We finish our chat discussing the big opportun…
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Dec 1, 2019
Entrepreneur Ecosystems and Community Resilience, with Chad Renando
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant conversation with Chad Randando, director for the not for profit Startup Status, Managing Director Australia for the Global Entrepreneurship network, and current PhD researcher exploring the connection between entrepreneur ecosystems and community resilience. Chad and I discuss his varied background that spans the US Navy, manufacturing, innovation hubs and a stint as a radio DJ, and how some of those experiences sparked his interest in the Smart Regions and Smart Communities space. We talk about the different types of resilience that communities, especially regional communities, need in this ever changing world and the importance of asking the question 'Who is not in the room?' When it comes to Smart initiatives. Chad tells us how he sees Australia currently embracing Smart concepts, and the need for bottom up approaches driven by the regions rather than top down solutions handed to them. Chad shares with us a bit abou…
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Nov 27, 2019
Where to next for Smart Cities and Communities? (Part 6)
I'm back with another bonus episode of the podcast that brings together multiple guests answers to the question "Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from MOVE-ember guests, plus a number of our guests from earlier this year:
Scott Shepherd in Episode 139
Rachel De Sain in Episode 142
Samson Williams from way back in Episode 107
Kylie Nixon in Episode 97
Prugya Maini 109
And David Catalovski from Episode 140.
The theme of the month, MOVE-ember has been about moving from old ways of doing things to new, in healthcare, in local government, in transport and mobility and in human behaviour. The themes in this mix of guest answers are similar. Whether it's in data governance and privacy, or investment in infrastructure and new frameworks and policies for government and how they interact with citizens and private companies, these guests agree that we need to be considering the opportunities and the dangers of this hyperconnected s…
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Nov 24, 2019
Churchill Fellowship Zoe's Smart Mobility Report Part 1
In this episode I share with you the overview of my findings from my Winston Churchill Fellowship, which I undertook earlier in 2019 by visiting 7 countries around the world to investigate the integration of Smart Mobility to enable more liveable Australian communities. This will be the first in a series of episodes about my findings. There's so much to say so today is just the overview and I'll be back diving a little deeper into some of the topics in another episode soon. If you can't wait for that, then you can of course read my whole report, which you can find via the link in the show notes and the description of this episode.
Also, just a little update for you all - as you may know if you've been following us on the socials, My Smart Community has had a beautiful visual rebrand in the last month. We've got a new website that now combines my consulting work, which I used to do under the name Zemcon, with the podcast and the other things on offer at My Smart Community. So, the podc…
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Nov 17, 2019
Digital Transformation for Smarter Healthcare, with Rachel De Sain
In this episode I have a brilliant conversation with Rachel De Sain, Founder and lead Advisor at Codesain. Rachel tells us about her background across a range of digital transformation and innovation disciplines, and her passion for using technology to make healthcare better. Rachel and I talk about what digital transformation really means-it's not just making your paper forms into online forms!-and why it's so important that we develop Smart concepts to really rethink how we deliver services to the community. Rachel shares with us some of the projects she's currently working on, and why she moved out of Sydney to find more liveability regionally. We have a really great conversation about the impacts of commuting on health and wellbeing, and why we should be focusing more on this and not just on the problem of congestion. We discuss how technology can help us fail in safer, faster ways and why we need governments that are more risk-tolerant to allow this iterative approach. Rachel and…
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Nov 13, 2019
Where to next for Smart Cities and Communities? (Part 5)
I'm back with another bonus episode of the podcast that brings together multiple guests answers to the question "Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from a number of our guests from earlier this year:
E108 Abel Immaraj
E95 Natalie Malligan
E119 Aileen Gemma Smith
E92 Chris Cooper
E112 Flora Salim
E98 Jacob Baskin
E86 Joaquim Alvarez
There are a few main themes that come up over and over again in the podcast, and these are reflected here in the various guest answers. The three themes that Abel mentioned of trust, engagement and partnerships are common threads throughout these clips. I always ask guests how we can better integrate across disciplines, etc, and many of these guests mention the need to continue working together, communicating and breaking down silos in order to solve the problems our communities are facing.
The other interesting theme from this selection of clips is the idea of the interaction between human beh…
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Nov 10, 2019
Positive Human Behaviour in Smart Communities, with David Catalovski
In this episode I have a really fascinating conversation with David Catalovski, co-founder of GreenBe, a company that provides a cloud-based platform and solutions for government and utilities to drive smart technology adoption and hard-to-reach user behaviours. David and I discuss his background as a lawyer and what sparked his interest in the Smart Community space, and why he believes a Smart City is more about serving residents than any technology solution. David tells us about some of the projects he's working on, including the work GreenBe has done with the City of Blacktown and how their services uses gamification to shift human behaviour in cities for the triple bottom line benefit. We discuss why it's so important for cities and government services to be benchmarking themselves against the service and engagement of private entities, plus the challenges of reinvention and keeping up with changing customer expectations. David and I touch on the future of work in local government,…
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Nov 3, 2019
Looking past the hype in Smart Mobility trends, with Scott Shepard
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a really great chat with Scott Shepard, the Chief Commercial Officer with mobility aggregator and service provider, Free2Move. Scott tells us about his background in urban planning and data analytics and how that led to his focus on transportation and new mobility in cities. We discuss why empowering citifies and improving community quality of life is really the whole point of the Smart Communities movement, and the real need for regional inclusiveness when it comes to tech, mobility and planning. Scott and I discuss the ways new technologies pose a risk for increasing divide and disadvantage within our communities, and also the importance of looking past the hype in order to see those [deeper problems/the real implications of the new tech on the most vulnerable in our communities. Having lived and worked in both places, Scott then tells us about Free2Move, and shares with us his perspective on the similarities and differences betwe…
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Oct 30, 2019
Where to next for Smart Cities and Communities? (Part 4)
I'm back with another bonus episode of the podcast that brings together multiple guests answers to the question "Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" As the focus this month has been the future of work, this time I'm sharing with you the answers from our guests this month:
E133 Sally Illingworth
E134 Thea O'Connor
E135 Anuraj Gambhir
E136 was Andrew Grill, and I didn't actually ask him this question specifically because the whole episode was really about what's next!
E137 Colin Kinner
There are a couple of main themes in this episode. You'll hear these guests talk a lot about the various stakeholders and humans at the centre of work, and the way technology is changing that, so how do we strike that balance between the technology and automation side of things, with the people, the jobs and most importantly the human brains and bodies and how they actually function best. Creativity and critical thinking is a key theme, as is the importance of keeping the focus on communiti…
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Oct 27, 2019
The Future of Work: The role of startups and businesses in Smart Communities, with Colin Kinner
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat with Colin Dinner. Colin is a startup ecosystem specialist, company director with over twenty years' experience working with high-growth technology-based companies and a startup coach and trainer, so I knew he was the right person to speak to about the role of startups and small businesses in the future of work in Smart Communities. Colin shares a bit about his background in startups in lots of different contexts, and why it's important that Australia gets better at building an economy based on high value, knowledge-intensive jobs rather than just resources and agriculture. We discuss how Smart Companies contribute to not only Smart Communities but economically prosperous ones too, and some examples from places like Singapore where investing in young people's knowledge to build Smarter Cities. Colin tells us about Startup Onramp, and what he's observed during the program about innovation in regional Australia and the r…
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Oct 20, 2019
The Future of Work: Digital Footprints, Data Literacy and Informed Citizens, with Andrew Grill
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant conversation with Technologist, Engineer, Futurist and host of the Practical Futurist Podcast, Andrew Grill. You might remember Andrew Grill from Episode 38, way back when we were called the Smart City Podcast. Since we're talking about the Future of Work this month, I knew it was the perfect time to have him back on the show. In this episode, Andrew and I discuss the skills to implement now to stay ahead of the curve in the future of work space, and why we should be designing offices for the future flexible workforce. Andrew tells us why he predicts the gig economy trend is going to reach C-suite and Executive level, and the three Ps of the future of work: people, place and purpose. We also cover the importance of the personal brand and how the notion of personal brands and digital footprints have changed over Andrew's career, plus the idea of employees renting their personal brands to employers. We discuss the need to…
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Oct 16, 2019
The Future of Work: Evolving Career Trajectories and Transdisciplinarity, with Anuraj Gambhir
In this episode I have a really interesting chat with Anuraj Gambhir, an innovation evangelist, business strategist and a philosopher as well. Anuraj tells us in this episode about his really varied career trajectory starting from the telecommunications and mobile technology industry, through to startups and entrepreneurship, and now the holistic Smart Cities space. Anuraj and I discuss the need for meaningful interaction with technology the power of what he calls 'transdisciplinarity' or the disruptive creativity that comes from integration across different disciplines and industries. Anuraj also explains his focus on where technology and spirituality meet, and the importance of keeping humanity at the centre of all the tech. Anuraj tells us about a couple of projects he's been involved with that connect dots between industries and some real use cases of data and predictive analytics helping keep humans safe and well. We finish our chat talking about the emerging trends of neuro-tech…
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Oct 13, 2019
The Future of Work: the Importance of Body Intelligence in Workplace Culture and Design, with Thea O'Connor
In this episode, I had a wonderful chat with Thea O'Connor, a body advocate and Workplace Wellbeing and Productivity Advisor. Thea and I met last year at the Bellingen Ignite conference run but the RDA Mid-North Coast and it was great to chat again. In this episode Thea shares with us what sparked her interest in the link between technology and health, and the impacts of workplace culture on health and also productivity. She tells us why we need body intelligence in our personal lives and in our workplaces, as well as why we need more power naps! Thea shares with us some techniques that can improve the way we work into the future and cultivate Smarter workplaces now, as well as some tips and tricks to combat white collar fatigue. We also have a really interesting discussion about the opportunities and challenges in the uptake of designing workplaces to support human bodies and brains, and the dangers of the intense, hustle culture in the startup scene. We finish our chat discussing the…
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Oct 6, 2019
The Future of Work: Personal Branding and Talent Retention in the Digital Age, with Sally Illingworth
In this episode, I have a truly fantastic conversation with Sally Illingworth, a strategic thinker and calculative action taker who thrives in fast-paced and complex-adaptive environments. Sally tells us about her really interesting background from starting in a pizza shop and working her way up the food retail industry, to moving into management consulting and the world of digital marketing. The theme on the podcast this month is the future of work and this is a brilliant interview to kick us off. Sally and I discuss how her career progressed and why she believes that hard work and a willingness to learn can help anyone make similar moves in their career. We cover the skills that are needed in the future of work, including the importance of creativity and curiosity, as well as the challenges and opportunities facing businesses and organisations trying to attract and retain talent in this digital age. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of the speed at which jobs are bein…
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Sep 29, 2019
Using technology to make people happier and healthier, with Declan Edwards
In this episode I had a fascinating chat with Declan Edwards, Founder and CEO of BU Coaching and non-technical founder of the soon-to-be-launched PocketCoach App. Declan tells us how his background in physical health and wellbeing led to his passion for the mental and emotional health and wellbeing space, and how despite only hearing about the term Smart Cities and Smart Communities this year, he's right on board with the concept. Declan and I discuss how Smart Cities can make people happier and healthier, and the importance of doing so in order to tap into the vast amounts of human potential that is unfulfilled right now. We talk about the cultural impact of Tall Poppy Syndrome on the willingness of Australia as a country and Australians as individuals to act on big ideas. Declan then tells us about his PocketCoach app, including how it was an advantage to be a non-tech founder and the way his team works remotely. We finish our chat talking about the emerging trend of measuring Gross…
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Sep 25, 2019
Where to next for Smart Cities and Communities? (Part 3)
I'm back with another bonus episode of the podcast that brings together multiple guests answers to the question "where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" As it's #selfcareseptember to round out the theme of health and wellbeing, this time I'm sharing with you the answers from our guests this month.
You'll hear from Katherine Flynn from Episode 127, Monica Olyslagers from Episode 128, Dr. Katherine Loflin from Episode 129, Sophia Arkinstall from Episode 130 and Declan Edwards from Episode 132, which will be out on Monday.
There are a couple of main themes in this episode. You'll hear these guests talk a lot about using data for various aspects of health and safety within cities, and the privacy implications that come from that, so how do we strike that balance between protecting individual privacy but also using data to keep people safe and well and supported when they're experiencing health or wellbeing challenges, and as Declan puts it, between Smart citizens and happy citi…
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Sep 22, 2019
Promoting Health in our Smart Communities, with Sophia Arkinstall
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a fantastic conversation with Sophia Arkinstall. Sophia is the Project Lead at Springfield City Group in the Health, Education and Smart City Division, and she's also an MBA candidate at the University of Queensland. Sophia is passionate about creating healthier and happier cities through creativity, sustainability and design. In this episode, we discuss how we can bring that health aspect into the Smart City and why it's so important to do so, as well as the lessons on this that Sophia has learned from visiting various countries and cities around the world, including France, Switzerland, Denmark and the United Arab Emirates. Sophia also tells us how she sees Australia embracing Smart Community concepts, and about the learning city projects she's working on right now to help with the Smart People aspect of Smart Cities. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of the economic impact of sustainable practices, and the health…
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Sep 15, 2019
Smart Communities that help people thrive, with Katherine Loflin
In this episode I had a brilliant chat with Dr. Katherine Loflin, an award-winning, internationally-recognized trailblazer in place science, earning her the moniker of The City Doctor. Katherine tells us about her background in social work and why that's so powerful in the place making space. Katherine and I discuss the idea of Smart Community as a deliberate community, and why it's important to be aware when there may be a tale of two cities happening, where one part of the community is thriving while others are just surviving. We explore how fundamental place is to human existence and wellbeing, and the interconnection between place and work. Katherine then tells us about some of the work she does as the Place Doctor, including with cities charting attachment to place, with corporations to help them attract and retain talent, and with Amazing Place Productions, which tells the stories of places. Katherine explains how work-life balance has become more of a focus for citizens and why…
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Sep 8, 2019
The connection between health outcomes and transport options in Smart Communities, with Monica Olyslagers
In this episode, I have a fascinating conversation with Monica Olyslagers, the Safe Cities Specialist at iRAP, the International Road Assessment Programme. Monica tells us how moving to Ho Chi Min City at the age of 12 sparked her interest in Cities, and why she is so passionate about cycling and the involvement of women in the transport sector. Monica explains a bit about the work IRAP does in assessing star ratings for road safety for different road user groups. For the past four years, Monica lived in Beijing, China at a time when the city experienced its very own "bicycle revolution" driven by new technologies and we discuss some of the projects she's worked on there. Monica and I also cover the enormous challenge of improving road safety, and how improving health outcomes in the community is inextricably linked with improving transport options. We finish our conversation discussing the need to question emerging technology trends in light of what kind of world we actually want to l…
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Sep 1, 2019
Smart Strategies for Mental Health, with Katherine Flynn
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a really interesting conversation with mental health disruptor and innovator, Katherine Flynn. Katherine tells us about her background in mental health and PR, and why she's so passionate about Smart Strategies for mental health. We talk about how learning about how data can be used in marketing is what sparked her interest in ways we could be using data and technology to support people's mental health. Katherine shares with us how she sees Australia embracing Smart concepts in this space currently, and two projects she's working on - Listen In and Cre8 Dance - that use music and dance, combined with mindfulness practices and technology to support people's mental health. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of technology such as Apps being used in mental health prevention as well as crisis support. As always, I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes at: www.my…
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Aug 28, 2019
Where to next for Smart Cities and Communities? (Part 2)
I'm back with another bonus episode of the podcast that brings together multiple guests answers to the question "where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" As it's ASCA August/to round out ASCA August, this time I'm sharing with you the answers from our guests this month.
You'll hear from Emily Royall from Episode 122, Matt Schultz from Episode 123, Sean Audain from Episode 124 and Marissa Racolamera from Episode 125.
There are a couple of main themes in this episode. You'll hear these guests talk about being community driven and taking the obligations of government towards their constituents very seriously, as well as issues of scalability and questions around ethics and social licence when it comes to emerging technology.
All the guests agree that we need to be engaging with these wicked problems and asking the hard-to-answer questions now, so that we can create a future that is more liveable for all in our communities going forwards.
This episode was brought to you by the…
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Aug 25, 2019
Finding the WHY in Smart Communities, with Marissa Racomelara
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a really interesting chat with Marissa Racomelara, the Director for Transformation and Change at Georges River Council, and Board Secretary of the Australian Smart Communities Association. We talk about how Marissa's background in criminology and designing spaces to prevent crime really sparked her interest in Smart Cities and Communities, and why she believes they're so important. Marissa shares with us how she sees Australia embracing Smart concepts, as well as the necessary balance between professionals guiding Smart processes and intentional community engagement or feedback. Marissa then tells us about the Smart City projects she's working on at George's River Council and the work we're doing at ASCA. We finish our conversation discussing the emerging trends of having a common purpose when collaborating, and focusing on the 'why' and real problem solving in Smart Communities rather than only thinking about the new shiny tech. Th…
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Aug 18, 2019
Data-Sharing and Digital Twins in Smart Communities, with Sean Audain
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a great chat with Sean Audain, the City Innovation Lead at Wellington City Council in New Zealand. Sean and I discuss the way the public service role of government shapes how decisions are made, and that this comes with both opportunities and challenges for the government that can differ significantly from the responsibilities and operations of private companies. Sean then tells us how he sees New Zealand embracing Smart concepts, and a bit about the digital twin projects that he is working on in Wellington. We talk about the benefits of using digital twin technology and how it's being used to build a new call centre and a new library. We finish our conversation discussing the need for indigenous voices in the Smart Cities discourse and the ways different worldviews shape our Smart Communities. As always, I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Co…
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Aug 11, 2019
The important role of local government in Smart Communities, Matthew Schultz
In this episode I had a great conversation with Matt Schultz, City Digital Officer at Ipswich City Council in Queensland and the National President of the Australia Smart Communities Association. Matt and I cover his wide and varied career in technology and local government, and why Matt is so passionate about helping people. We also discuss how important and complex the role of local government actually is, and why Smart Communities are so important. Matt tells us how he sees Australia embracing Smart concepts, as well as the many interesting projects Ipswich City Council is working on to make it an open and interoperable city moving forwards. Matt then explains how ASCA came to be, from its beginnings in 2009 as the Broadband Today Alliance, and how it developed into what it is today, helping with connecting and integrating across different disciplines and industries in Australia today. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of 5G, AI, ML, IOT and blockchain, and the oppor…
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Aug 4, 2019
Advancing Equity in Smart Cities, with Emily Royall
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a really fascinating discussion with Emily Royall, the Smart City Coordinator of the City of San Antonio, Texas. Emily tells us about her passion for advancing equity in Smart Cities, and the Community Driven Smart City model that San Antonio is pursuing. We discuss the digital divide in San Antonio and the equity questions municipalities need to think about when being marketed to by the companies mediating Smart City data. Emily then tells us about a number of really interesting and innovative projects the City of San Antonio is working on, including how they've partnered with kids in the local CoderDojo coding program to get viable prototypes for their community. Emily and I finish our conversation discussing her thoughts on integrating across disciplines and the jobs of the future, as well as the emerging trends of digital justice and digital equity. As always, I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed makin…
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Jul 31, 2019
What is ASCA August?
This is a quick episode to introduce our ASCA August special here on the Smart Community Podcast.
What is ASCA?
ASCA is the Australia Smart Communities Association of which Zoe is a volunteer board member.
In August, all episodes of the Smart Community Podcast will be brought to you by the Australian Smart Communities Association with a focus on the needs of ASCA members. So we're bringing you conversations, stories and learnings from local government agencies around the world, as well as from the board members.
Connect with ASCA at www.australiansmartcommunities.org.au
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod
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Jul 28, 2019
Smart Initiatives and Using Resources in India, with Aditi Padhi
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great conversation with Aditi Padhi, a Senior Associate in Planning and Smart City Initiative at infrastructure and urban development company, Surbana Jurong. Aditi tells us about her background in business and architecture, and her passion for Smart Community solutions, as well as why the concept is so important to her personally. She tells us how she sees India embracing Smart City initiatives, and we also talk in depth about two projects she's worked on. We discuss how cities must carefully manage their resources, and the very real need to educate both citizens and local government administration and other professionals to be able to fully engage in and maintain Smart initiatives. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of disaster management and multi-use facilities within cities. As always I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community…
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Jul 21, 2019
Using data to enable change and foster inclusivity, with Aileen Gemma Smith
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a fascinating conversation with Aileen Gemma Smith the CEO at Vizalytics Technology Incorporated. Aileen Gemma tells us a bit about her very varied background from English Literature to Allied Health to data analytics, and how she became interested in the Smart City and Community space. We discuss why it's so important to understand the needs of all users so we can better deliver services to our community, and how data can help do us do this. Aileen Gemma also tells us how she sees Australia embracing Smart Concepts and some of the projects she's working on right now, including with Transport NSW. We then discuss the power of having executive buy in and support to empower and enable teams to do things differently, and she uses the term 'fluency' to define the different and varied expertise and experiences we all have, and why we really need to be honouring and respecting our different expertise, experiences and fluencies when it co…
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Jul 14, 2019
Smart Mobility Lessons from Mexico City, with Pablo Lazo
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a great conversation on location in Mexico City with architect and city planner Pablo Lazo. I recorded this while I was away on my Churchill Fellowship visit to Mexico in March and I really enjoyed this conversation. If you want to hear my reflections on my visit to Mexico City, as well as the other places I visited while I was away, you should subscribe to my exclusive podcast about my Churchill Fellowship. It's exclusively for supporters on Pozible, so head to Pozible.com today, search for My Smart Community, and hit support. There's several episodes there already for you to get stuck into and hear about the various people, places and platforms I investigated as part of her Churchill Fellowship.
In this episode, Pablo and I discuss his passion for cities and his interest in Smart Mobility. We really focus in on Mexico City and the opportunities and challenges the city is facing in terms of transport, urban sprawl, population and…
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Jul 7, 2019
Nurturing Smart Regional Hubs, with Sofie Pringle
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a brilliant conversation with Sofie Pringle, a designer with a passion for creating cities and urban places that increase people's happiness and mental well-being. She is currently completing a doctorate in urban planning and design at Queensland University of Technology, focusing on the positive and negative effects that design and planning features have on user happiness and well-being. In this episode Sofie tells us about her PhD and what sparked her interest in this space, as well as why she believes there is a gap in the Smart Community conversation around the concept of happiness in the city. We also discuss sustainable urbanisation and the compact city fallacy, and why nurturing our Smart Regional Hubs is so crucial. We finish the chat discussing the emerging trend of the neuroscience research into the impact urban environments have on human brains, and how we're just not talking about that enough. As always, I hope you enjoy…
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Jun 30, 2019
Where to next for Smart Cities and Communities? (Part 1)
Zoe is back behind the mic after her Churchill Fellowship world tour so you'll start hearing her voice again at the start of the regular podcast episodes. In this episode we're doing things a little differently. Throughout this year, Zoe has asked each guests an extra question which was edited out of the regular interview: "Where to next for Smart Cities and Communities?" In this episode you are going to hear an amalgamation of a few of the answers from this year's guests.
The loose theme of this episode is around the need for decision making and action on climate change: you'll hear from Don McLean from episode 102, Mark Thomas from episode 111, Lisa McLean from episode 105, Ricardo Van Leunen from episode104 And finally Chunga Cha from episode 110.
All the guests agree that we need some urgent action and we need to think not just about what's happening now, but more about the long term. We need to make decisions now that may not benefit people now, but will be beneficial in the lon…
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Jun 23, 2019
Citizenship, Democracy and Data in the Smart Community (Part 2), with Cornelia Levy-Bencheton and Mike Barlow
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, we hear part 2 of Zoe's interview with Cornelia Levy-Bencheton and Mike Barlow. In Part 2, which is the previous episode, Zoe and Mike and Cornelia discussed the power of Smart Communities to engage citizens which can lead to a more effective and empowered democracy. They also shared how they see the US embracing the Smart City space and gave some great examples of some Smart concepts being implemented there. If you haven't yet listened to Part 1 of this interview, go and do that before listening to this episode. In Part 2, Cornelia and Mike tell us about their book, "Smart Cities, Smart Futures: Showcasing Tomorrow." And about some of the projects that they're working on right now. They cover the future of work and the opportunities and challenges that come from the range of generations in the work force right now. Zoe, Mike and Cornelia also discuss blockchain and the concept of data as labour, and why Smart Cities and Smart Communities…
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Jun 16, 2019
Citizenship, Democracy and Data in the Smart Community (Part 1), with Cornelia Levy-Bencheton and Mike Barlow
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe has a fascinating and really great conversation with Cornelia Levy-Bencheton and Mike Barlow, the authors of the book "Smart Cities, Smart Futures: Showcasing Tomorrow." Cornelia and Mike tell us about their backgrounds and how they became so passionate about the Smart City and Smart Community space. They share with us their desire to educate and inspire people about these concepts so that we can collectively be more engaged citizens, have a more effective and empowered democracy, and solve problems both big and small in our communities, cities, countries and the world.
Cornelia and Mike share examples of Smart Concepts being used in real places, why being engaged citizens is so important, and what they see as the six facets of a Smart City. This was a longer interview that usual, so we've split the conversation into two parts. You will hear Part 1 today and stay tuned for part 2. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episod…
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Jun 9, 2019
The power of local champions in Smart Regions, with Heath Raftery
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe speaks with Heath Raftery, Head of Technology at boutique electronic product consultancy, Newie Ventures. Heath tells us about his background in computing and electrical engineering, and why the strengths and weaknesses of engineers led him to study economics, communication and human behaviour. He explains how he became interested in Smart concepts thanks to initiatives of the City of Newcastle, and how he sees Australia embracing the Smart Community space. Heath shares some of the projects he's currently working on, including the Smart Play initiative, which involves playful ways to capture, use and communicate Smart City data. Zoe and Heath then cover why integration really needs organisations being supportive of individuals being collaborative, and the emerging trend of making grass roots projects sustainable through financial as well as community support. A quick warning, the audio quality of this episode does diminish in the last…
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May 30, 2019
Putting data in the hands of people, with Flora Salim
In this episode, Zoe had a fantastic chat to Dr. Flora Salim, Associate Professor at the School of Computer Science and Information Technology, RMIT University. She obtained her PhD in Computer Science from Monash University and her research areas are mobile and pervasive computing, urban computing, activity and behaviour recognition, and applied data mining and machine learning for ambient intelligence.
Flora shares with us how she sees Australia embracing Smart Community concepts, as well as some of the projects she's working on right now, including a foot traffic prediction app in Melbourne and a tool to help residents and tourists plan their BBQs in public parks. Zoe and Flora discuss change management and better integrating across disciplines, governments and industries.
They finish their conversation discussing the emerging trend of the good things happening because of AI, the need for choice and control when it comes to our data, and the concept of algorithmic governance. As a…
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May 23, 2019
Smart Community Thinking Solving Wicked Problems, with Mark Thomas
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe chats with Mark Thomas, the Managing Director of Serviceworks group, an international Smart City Consultancy. Zoe and Mark discuss how council amalgamations sparked Mark's interest in the Smart City space and led to a stint in local politics, as well as how he sees New Zealand currently embracing the Smart Community concepts. Mark shares numerous great examples of how Smart Community thinking can be used to solve wicked problems and engage and empower citizens at the same time. Zoe and Mark also discuss Smart Stadiums, what we can learn from Singapore's approach to integration, and the emerging trends of Digital Twins, AI and blockchain being used in cities. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with Mark on LinkedIn and on Twitter @markthomasnz or email him at Mark@serviceworks.co.nz
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart…
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May 22, 2019
Smarter and greener without overinvesting, with Chungha Cha
In this epsiode of the Smart Communtiy Podcast, Zoe has a fascinting conversation with Chunga Cha, the Co-founder and Chair of the Re-Imagining Cities Foundation. Zoe and Cha discuss his background in finance and how he became passionate about Smart Communities, plus some of the organisations he works with around the world. Cha tells us how he thinks Korea is currently embracing Smart concepts, projects he's currently working on, and why accelerating Smart Communities is the most effective way to positively influence whole cities and regions. They discuss the gaps and the greenwashing that can exist between different disciplines, and some ideas for better integration. Zoe and Cha finish their chat discussing the emerging trend of overwhelm in the face of the urgent climate crisis, and why we need financial arguments, not just people- or planted-focused arguments, in order to achieve true sustainable solutions. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed…
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May 19, 2019
Evidence-based, adaptable and iterative approaches to planning and design, with Prugya Maini
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe has a great chat with Prugya Maini, an urban ist with a background in planning and design. Prugya tells us how evidence-based planning frameworks, or lack thereof, sparked her interest in the Smart City space, and why we need more adaptability and iterative approaches. Zoe and Prugya discuss how Australia is embracing Smart concepts, as well as the need for upskilling and knowledge sharing to address the current skills gaps. Prugya shares how important it is to speak with and actually listen to people from other disciplines, as well as the power of open mindedness and high trust, high respect environments for sparking innovation and creating integration. They finish their conversation discussing trends of accountability, adaptability and the relationship between failure and innovation. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect wi…
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May 12, 2019
Urban mining and the value of citizen thinking, with Abel Immaraj
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, Zoe has a fascinating conversation with Abel Immaraj, a consultant and hydraulic engineer with a background in natural resource management and national, state and local water reforms. In this episode, Zoe and Abel discuss the value of citizen thinking and the unintended consequences of individuals adopting technology without thinking of it as a community issue, as well as how he sees Australia embracing the Smart Community concepts. Abel tells us about the concept of urban mining and why the circular economy should always be in the same conversation as Smart Communities, as well as why the nexus of water, energy, waste and the land is so important. Zoe and Abel finish their conversation discussing the emerging trends of information poverty, the increasing complexity of the world, the bundling of service providers and how brokers are now becoming more common to help us navigate the increasing choices we have. As always, we hope you enjoy l…
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May 9, 2019
Considering the impacts of emerging technologies on all members of a Smart Community, with Samson Williams
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe has an interesting chat with Samson Williams, Principal Consultant at Axes and Eggs, a thinktank and digital advisor on emerging technologies. Samson shares a bit about his work at Axes and Eggs, and why his background in anthropology sparked his interest in Smart Communities. He also has a really interesting perspective on how the US is embracing Smart concepts, and shares about the problem of food deserts, financial deserts, and 3G being a luxury. Zoe and Samson finish their conversation discussing the emerging trends of the millennial generation becoming policy and decision makers, and the negative health impacts of technology making life more convenient.
You will hear that this episode was recorded before Zoe left on her Churchill Fellowship, and she is talking about her trip to the US in the future, but it's now actually in the past, and you can hear Zoe's wrap up of each stage of her trip on her special podcast about her Church…
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May 5, 2019
Hype, Substance, Technology and Humanity, with Victor Pereira
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe speaks with Vitor Pereira, the cofounder and Director of Zoom Smart Cities. Zoe and Vitor discuss his background in journalism and in interest in technology, and how being involved in tourism and events sparked his interest in the Smart Community space. Vitor explains why the ability to reflect and receive criticism is crucial for any Smart City, and gives the example of Amsterdam's rebrand over the last 10 years. He goes on to tell us how Portugal is embracing Smart concepts and some of the projects he's involved in, including Zoom Global Smart City Association. Vitor and Zoe then discuss the need to cut through the hype and find the substance in a noisy, saturated Smart City market as well as why we need to break down silos and foster integration in order to tackle the urgent and important decisions humanity is facing right now. They finish their conversation discussing the emerging trends of ethics and transparency when it comes to…
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Apr 28, 2019
Next Generation Infrastructure and a Zero Carbon Future, with Lisa McLean
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe has a really interesting chat with Lisa McLean, CEO of the Open Cities Alliance. Lisa covers her passion for Next Generation Infrastructure, what that is, and why Smart Community or Next Gen thinking is so important. Zoe and Lisa discuss how Lisa sees Australia embracing Smart Concepts and some of the projects Lisa is currently working on, as well as what Open Cities does. They then talk about the convergence of utilities like water, waste and energy that used to be separate but that are now becoming more interconnected, and the power of aggregating voices to move government policy, breakdown silos and improve integration. Zoe and Lisa finish their chat discussing the emerging trends of the new utility model and the circular economy, as well as "pro-sumers" and why we need new business models in the future. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart…
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Apr 21, 2019
When immediate needs drive Smart Community thinking, with Ricardo Van Loenen
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe has a fascinating conversation with Ricardo Van Loenen, the CEO and co-Founder of B. Building Business in Amsterdam. As this episode goes live Zoe will be in Amsterdam as part of her Churchill Fellowship, and if you want to hear all about her trip, remember to head to Pozible.com to get access to her special podcast all about what she's learning on her Fellowship. It's available exclusively to supporters so head to Pozible.com now, search My Smart Community, and hit support to get access to those bonus podcast episodes.
In this episode, Ricardo tells us about B Building Business, the startup ecosystem turned Smart City Hub he has been a part of creating in Amsterdam and how it has really sparked his interest in the Smart Community Space. Zoe and Ricardo discuss how the Netherlands is embracing Smart concepts, and the power of having an immediate need driving innovation and investment. Ricardo shares some of the projects he's been wor…
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Apr 14, 2019
The role of education and ethics in the design of self-driving cars, with Vienna Harvey
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe brings you an interview she did on location in Silicon Valley as part of her Churchill Fellowship trip investigating Smart Mobility around the world. By the way, if you want to hear more from Zoe about her trip, you should subscribe to her exclusive podcast about her Churchill Fellowship. It's exclusively for her supporters on Pozible, so head to Pozible.com today, search for My Smart Community, and hit support. There's several episodes there already for you to get stuck into and hear Zoe's insights from the various people, places and platforms she's been exploring as part of her Churchill Fellowship.
In this episode, Zoe speaks with Vienna Harvey from online learning company, Udacity. Vienna is a Learning Technologist that specialises in the Self-Driving Car nano-degrees at Udacity. She also did a thesis project about the role of ethics in the design of self-driving cars, and she shares some really interesting findings from her rese…
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Apr 10, 2019
Climate change, energy efficiency and the built environment, with Don McLean
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe has a fascinating conversation with Don McLean from IES. Don has been in the energy space for nearly 40 years, and is truly passionate about finding intelligent ways to improve energy efficiency as a way of combating climate change. Don shares why he believes aggregation and using the collective is imperative to making better decisions and being more efficient, as well as how he sees Scotland embracing Smart Concepts. He then tells us about his company IES, and how their 'digital twin' simulation technology helps in the design of energy efficient buildings, as well as some other technologies they are developing to support the creation of energy efficient groups of buildings, such as university campuses or city districts. Don then explains some of the barriers he sees to integrating across disciplines and really solving our energy problems in order to combat climate change. Zoe and Don finish their chat discussing the emerging trend of…
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Apr 7, 2019
User Experience at the Intersection of Digital & Physical Environments with Martin Tomitsch
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe speaks with Martin Tomitsch, Associate Professor in Design at the University of Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning, Chair of Design, and Research Director of the Design Lab - an interdisciplinary research group that investigates the role of design across a range of domains and contexts. Martin shares with Zoe the concepts of media architecture and hybrid infrastructure and how it can improve the lives of citizens in Smart Communities, as well as the importance of user experience design principles when designing Smart Cities. Martin tells us about his new book, "Making Cities Smarter, Designing Interactive Urban Applications" and some interesting projects designed to use emerging technologies to in one case reduce litter, and in another case make traffic lights not only fun, but safer. Zoe and Martin finish their conversation discussing the emerging trends of bio design, and cathedral thinking, and why we should be thin…
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Apr 3, 2019
Episode 100 Celebration: Ask Zoe Anything!
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, host Zoe Eather is back in the hot seat! In celebration of this being episode 100, Zoe and Ellen sat down for a chat where she answers questions from you, the audience of the Smart Community Podcast. Fittingly, when this episode goes to air, as well as being episode 100, it's also exactly one year since Zoe started her own Smart Community consultancy Zemcon. It's been a whirlwind time and Zoe is currently on her round the world Smart Mobility investigation via her Churchill Fellowship. In this episode Zoe shares her thoughts and experiences in response to the questions some of the community has asked, but if you want her up to date news of her trip, head over to Pozible.com and search My Smart Community to get access to the exclusive podcast all about her Churchill Fellowship journey. In the meantime, enjoy this 'ask me anything' episode with Zoe, and as always we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!…
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Mar 31, 2019
Solving Problems with Smart Concepts And Tools, with Alexis Hannah Smith
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe had a great conversation with Alexis Hannah Smith, the Founder and CEO of IMGeospatial. Alexis shares with us a bit about her background in business and how she stumbled into the Smart Community space because of her passion for helping people and make change for a better world. Zoe and Alexis talk about the gap between the ideal world and reality when it comes to sensors and data, some projects that are happening in the UK, including the Satellite Applications Catapult, plus some projects Alexis is currently working on. Alexis then shares what IMGeospatial and AI Holdings does, and why not being an engineer has been an advantage for her. They finish their chat discussing the emerging trend of branding and re-branding Smart City concepts. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with Alexis on the website or Twitter: @imgeospatia…
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Mar 27, 2019
Using Data to Manage City Curbs, with Jacob Baskin
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe speaks with computer programmer and transportation enthusiast, Jacob Baskin. Jacob is the CTO at Coord, New York-based tech company that helps government agencies, companies and professionals get the valuable data they need to build and regulate transportation infrastructure in the way that works best for everyone in the city. In this episode Jacob shares what sparked his interest in the Smart Communities space, and why he feels it's important. Zoe and Jacob discuss how the US is currently embracing Smart City concepts, including cities taking the lead and putting communities back at the centre of decision making. Jacob also explains a bit about Coord, and why curb-side management is needed more and more in today's world of ecommerce and ride-share platforms. They also discuss how open data is crucial for any kind of integration and why shared data standards are so important. Zoe and Jacob talking about the emerging trend of cities do…
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Mar 24, 2019
Integrating Active Transport and Infrastructure into Smart Mobility, with Kylie Nixon
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe has an interesting conversation with traffic engineer and transport planner, Kylie Nixon. Kylie is the Vice President of PedBikeTrans - the Pedestrian and Bicycle Transport Institute of Australasia and an Associate in Transport Planning at Arup, and in this episode she shares her passion for active transport and integrating it into our Smart communities. Zoe and Kylie discuss what walking might look like in an autonomous vehicle world, and the need for planning, technology and infrastructure that facilitates accessibility and walkability. Kylie shares some of the projects she's currently working on, including PedBikeTrans and Whole Journey Guide for Accessible Public Transport, and what she's learned about integrating across disciplines, government and industry. They finish the chat discussing what all this transport technology means for our health and wellbeing, and why it's an emerging trend we should be talking about more. As alway…
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Mar 17, 2019
Public-Private Integration and Interoperability, with David Pickeral
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe has an interesting discussion with entrepreneur and Smart Mobility advisor, David Pickeral. David shares his varied background from Naval Officer to practicing Law, to working with a variety of public and private organisations in the transit and technology arena. He tells us what sparked his interest in the Smart Mobility space, and how he sees the US embracing the Smart City and Community concepts. Zoe and David then cover the advantages of bottom-up, individualised approaches, and how integration and interoperability between government, industry and academia is key. They finish their chat discussing the emerging trend of public-private collaborations in the realm of Smart Mobility. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community
Connect with David via LinkedIn
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter…
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Mar 13, 2019
How Uber Sees the Future of Transport, with Natalie Malligan
In this bonus #mobilitymarch episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe has a fascinating chat with Natalie Malligan, the Head of Cities for Australia and New Zealand at Uber. This is a short but jam packed episode, and it's also a perfect follow up to our previous episode featuring Sampo Hietanen, all about Mobility as a Service, so if you haven't listened to that episode yet, I'd recommend you go back and listen to it before this one, as Zoe and Natalie do talk about MaaS a bit here so Sampo's episode will be useful for a bit more context in that regard. In this episode, Natalie shares a bit about how Uber sees the future of transport and some of their projects worldwide, including taking part in the Transport NSW Mobility as a Service Challenge, and integrating the public transport services into the Uber App in the City of Denver in the US. Zoe and Natalie discuss how Australian consumers and governments are embracing Smart concepts, and how this has changed over time, as well as w…
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Mar 10, 2019
Mobility as a Service to rival private car ownership, with Sampo Hietanen
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe speaks with Sampo Hietanen, the Founder and CEO at Maas Global, the world's first Mobility-as-a-Service company. Zoe and Sampo discuss his background in transport planning and what sparked his interest in the Smart Community space, as well as how Finland is embracing Smart Concepts, including working towards a life where citizens don't actually NEED a car. Sampo explains what "Mobility as a Service" is, and how his company MaaS Global came to be. He also shares a bit about its success in a relatively short period of time in Finland, and the plans to go live in other cities in the world, including Sydney. Zoe and Sampo explore why Mobility as a Service can only work when there is integration across different suppliers and systems and the importance of building trust with both the end user and mobility providers in order to facilitate that integration. They finish the conversation talking about the question we really should be asking ab…
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Mar 3, 2019
Investigating Smart Mobility around the World, with Zoe Eather
In this episode, producer Ellen Ronalds Keene interviews host Zoe Eather. Zoe shares what #MobilityMarch is, why she's created it and what to expect on the show this month. Zoe also discusses a range of different aspects of Smart Mobility and explains how mobility is different from transport.
Next, Zoe talks about her up-coming Churchill Fellowship project which will see her travel across the world investigating Smart Mobility. She tells us where she's going, who she's meeting with and what she's hoping to get out of the investigation.
Find the full show notes as: www.mysmart.community
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod
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Feb 24, 2019
Smart Standards and Open Data, with Chris Cooper
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a fascinating chat with Chris Cooper, engineer, social scientist and CTO of KnowNow Information Ltd. Chris tells us about his background and how understanding the causes of things that happen can help create change. We discuss how Chris sees the UK embracing Smart concepts and why Smart Standards are key to collaboration and interoperability in Smart Communities, as well as how to stay flexible even while using standards. We finish our conversation talking about the emerging trend of making open data compelling for the everyday person so we can hold leaders to account to make evidence-based decisions, especially in the age of things like Brexit. As always, I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes as: www.mysmart.community
Connect with Chris on Twitter @MobilityCoopers or via email chris.cooper@kn-i.com
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect via Linked…
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Feb 17, 2019
Actioning Alternative Fuels and Decarbonisation, with Larissa Rose
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a brilliant conversation with Larissa Rose, the Managing Director for the Queensland Renewable Fuels Association. We discuss Larissa's background as an environmental consultant, her Masters degree in renewable fuels and advanced biofuels, and how this sparked her interest in the Smart Community Space. Larissa tells us about the importance of future proofing a city, and how that relates to Smart City concepts, as well as what biofuels actually are, and some examples of different types of low carbon fuels. We talk about what's happening in Australia regarding transitions to global regulatory pressure to reduce emissions, and the often overlooked health aspects of creating Smart Cities and Smart Communities. Larissa makes a point about air quality that might make you rethink your morning jog through the city streets.
We then explore how low carbon fuels, electric vehicles and hydrogen powered vehicles all fit together and specifically…
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Feb 10, 2019
Starting with Smart Foundations, with Adam Davis
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I spoke with Adam Davis, the Director of TPL Connect, and a consultant in the design and delivery of Wired and Wireless Networks in Smart Cities, Data Centres, IoT, Telecommunications and Enterprise sectors. Adam shares with us his background as a cabling technician and project manager, and how working with local councils in ICT design and strategy really sparked his interest in the Smart City space. Adam tells us how he sees Australia currently embracing the Smart City or Smart Region concept, and some of the mistakes he's seen Councils make when adopting new technology. We discuss the importance of having an overarching vision or roadmap when undertaking any kind of Smart City planning, and what some of the key components of such a framework are. Adam shares some of the projects he's currently working on, primarily focusing on the foundation layer such as fibre infrastructure to support wireless and sensor networks, and the amount of th…
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Feb 3, 2019
Smart Lessons from New York City, with Dr Amen Ra Mashariki
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a really interesting conversation with Dr Amen Ra Mashariki, the head of Urban Analytics at global GIS company, Esri (pronounced Ez-ree). Amen has a really interesting background, ranging from computer science and being a software engineer at Motorola, to bioinformatics and Cancer Research Analytics, to being a Political Appointee in the Obama Administration and then the Chief Analytics Officer at the Mayors Office in New York City. He shares with us the personal story that sparked his interest in this Smart Community space and the key lessons he's learned about developing Smart Communities over his career. We talk about what Urban Analytics is and why it's so valuable in developing Smart thinking, and how Amen works with cities and operational officials in the areas of data science, analytics and location intelligence. Amen tells us about his visit to Australia to meet with some of those operational officials, as well as an interes…
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Jan 31, 2019
The future of public and private transit systems, with Matthew Booterbaugh
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I had a really great chat with Matthew Booterbaugh, the Vice President of Continuous Improvement at RATP Dev North America. We discuss Matthew's background in IT, his interest in helping organisations build efficiencies in their processes, and how that has led him to the public transit industry. Matthew tells us what RATP Dev does, some of the projects he's been working on in Europe and Asia, and what we can learn from those projects, including the electrification of bus fleets in France. We talk about why Smart Cities and in particular Smart Mobility is so important, as well as how Matthew sees the US embracing Smart Concepts. We cover the cost effectiveness of on-demand transit services compared with traditional services, and some ways to better integrate between the public and private sectors in the transit industry. Matthew also tells us about a project involving social media and news listening platforms being used to collect real-tim…
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Jan 28, 2019
Grassroots and Green Roofs, with Catherine Caruana-McManus
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I had a really fascinating conversation with Catherine Caruana-McManus. Catherine is the Director of Meshed IoT, an Australian-based IoT Integrator, and the founder of the global community Giant Ideas for Smart Cities, and the co-founder of the IoT Alliance. Catherine recently won an IoT Ambassador Award for Australia and Smart Cities Industry Leader at the recent Smart Cities Council Awards. Catherine has been in the cities business her whole career and even though it wasn't called Smart Cities, she shares how she's been working in the space for 25 years. We discuss the economic imperative for cities to get Smarter and more sustainable, as well as a bit about the history and evolution of Smart Cities as a concept over the last 30 years from it being purely about urban development, to now being acted upon at the grassroots level. Catherine has some really interesting observations about how Australia is currently embracing Smart Concepts, h…
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Jan 20, 2019
Smart Citizens in Barcelona and Beyond, with Joaquim Alvarez
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a fascinating conversation with Smart City Speaker and Digital Business Strategist, Joaquim Alvarez. We discuss his technical background in telecommunications and engineering, as well as his career working on a range of big projects for governments, companies and other private organisations. Joaquim shares how working on Barcelona City's Smart City Projects sparked his interest in the space, and why having Smart Citizens in the Smart Community is so important. We discuss his work with Barcelona City, including the four agents they look at when developing an ecosystem of integration within the Smart City. Joaquim also talks about his upcoming 5 city tour of Australia, brought to you by Delos Delta, where he will share more about his work with Barcelona City and teach his own methodology for developing digital projects. Finally, we talk about emerging trends and why it's so hard to predict the future. As always, I hope you enjoy liste…
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Jan 13, 2019
Getting Smart about Flood Mapping with Juliette Murphy
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I speak with Juliette Murphy, the CEO and Cofounder of FloodMapp, a predictive flood mapping initiative that uses real time data and Smart alerts to deliver timely and location specific flood warnings. Juliette shares with me her background in environmental engineering in water resources and hydrology, and how the 2011 Queensland floods sparked her interest in the Smart Community space.
Juliette's experiences of flooding, both personally and professionally, and nationally and internationally, as well as an app building hobby that started in her spare time, have combined in her work at FloodMapp. Juliette and I discuss the gaps in our communications during emergencies, and also the gaps in accessibility and understanding when citizens receive these communications. We cover the dual meanings of 'connection' in the Smart Community and why it's so important, and well as how well Juliette sees Australia embracing Smart concepts. We discuss wh…
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Jan 6, 2019
Smart Community Thinking from the Regional to the Precinct Level, with Pascal Perez
Happy New Year! Welcome back to the Smart Community Podcast for 2019. In the first episode for the new year I had a great conversation with Pascal Perez. But just before I tell you about that, I wanted to give a quick shout out to my first patrons! As you might know, I have started a Patreon page over at patreon.com/smartcommpod for fans of the podcast who want to support the show and get access to exclusive content. A big thank you to my first patrons for helping keep this show in your podcatchers week after week. If you'd like to support the show, head over to patreon.com/smartcommpod
Ok, on with the episode. Pascal Perez is the Director of the SMART Infrastructure Facility at the University of Wollongong. In this episode he tells us about his background in agricultural and environmental engineering around the world, and how he now applies that in the urban development/infrastructure space here in Australia. Pascal shares what sparked his interest in the Smart Community space and wh…
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Dec 16, 2018
Spatial Literacy and Understanding Data, with Jack Barton
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a great chat with architect Jack Barton. Jack is an Associate at SGS Economics and Planning, and also Manager of Stakeholder Engagement and Business Development for the GeoSpatial Research Innovation and Development Lab at the University of NSW. He also runs his private practice JBDD. Jack and I have a great discussion about how his upbringing in a regional area, his interest in cities, and his love of digital technology all combined to spark his interest in the Smart space. We talk about why Smart Cities is a good buzz word, and the reasons connections and communication are important in Smart Communities. Jack shares his view on how Australia is embracing Smart concepts, and why long term vision is important, especially during this age of experimental pilot programs. We cover Smart City Standards and what they mean for people working in the space; the importance of digital and spatial literacy, and the need for more people to prope…
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Dec 9, 2018
Bringing Science Fiction to Life, with Shara Evans
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a fascinating conversation with Shara Evans, Technologist, Futurist, Keynote Speaker and Self-Proclaimed Sci-Fi Geek. Shara and I discuss her background, how she transitioned from technologist to futurist, and what sparked her interest in the Smart Community space. We have a really interesting chat about all kinds of futuristic technologies and some great examples of Smart concepts, including self-repairing cities using fleets of autonomous robots and drones. Shara shares how this is already being implemented to various degrees today in a range of places around the world, and the future of this technology. We cover driverless cars, drones and hyper loops, and the opportunities and challenges these technologies pose to Australia, as well as how Shara sees Australia embracing Smart concepts. We also discuss the future of work and the new categories of jobs that we will see as our homes and cities become Smarter. We finish off talking…
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Dec 6, 2018
Sharing Smart Stories, with Sarah Wray
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a great conversation with Sarah Wray, the editor at Smart Cities World, an online publication covering all the latest news and trends around Smart Cities and Smart Communities. Sarah and I discuss her background in writing for telecommunications and how that led her to this Smart space, as well as why she believes it's important that the Smart concepts don't get kept only in the cities but that small towns and regional communities can benefit from them too. We talk about how the UK is embracing the Smart concepts, and a number of really interesting projects that are happening both in the UK and globally. Sarah and I also talk about how to better integrate across disciplines, and the emerging trends of cybersecurity and of Smarts being visible, but not secret. As always, I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.
You can now support the Smart Community Podcast via Patreon, at patreon.com/smartcommpod…
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Dec 2, 2018
Embracing future ways of working through intentional design, with Andrew Pettifer and Steve Coster
This episode of the Smart Community Podcast is brought to you by Arup, an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants and technical specialists, working across every aspect of today's built environment. In this episode, I had a brilliant conversation with Andrew Pettifer, the NSW Region Leader of Arup, and Steve Coster, the Managing Director at international design practice, HASSELL. We have a fascinating discussion about the impact of technology, design and leadership on the way we work, and how this fits in the Smart Community arena.
Arup has just opened three new buildings for their workforce in Sydney, Melbourne and Singapore, and we talk about the guiding principals for these buildings, and why it is so important to have this forward thinking approach rather than just leasing an existing office building. I have visited both the Sydney and Melbourne sites and I must say, the intentional design really does make a difference.
Andrew and Steve explain the process…
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Nov 25, 2018
Smart Shared Mobility, with Alex Girard
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a really great conversation with Alex Girard, the CTO of Liftango. Alex tells us about his background and what he's passionate about, and also what a Smart City means to him. We also talk about what's happening in France and Australia in terms of transportation as a pillar for society, and the differences between the two. Alex then shares about what Liftango does, including carpooling and on-demand bus solutions. We then talk about how open data is a means of integrating across the different disciplines. We finish up talking about while the spotlight is on EVs and AVs, electric and autonomous vehicles, we need to start talking about how they fit into the shared mobility space. As always, I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes as: www.mysmart.community
Connect with Alex via LinkedIn or email him alex@liftango.com
Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community
Conne…
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Nov 18, 2018
Smart Water Management, with Frank Burns
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a great conversation with Frank Burns, President and Co-Founder of Apana, a technology company that is currently applying its IoT and Prescriptive Analytics suites to solve problems with water use inside the built environment. Frank shares his background in waste water management, his passion for eliminating water waste and contamination in the commercial, industrial and institutional sector, and how it sparked his interest in the Smart Cities/Smart Communities space. We discuss the way Apana uses technology and data for Smart Water Management, and why it's so important not only in individual companies but at the city level. Frank shares his thoughts on how this is currently happening in the US, the tug of war between the tech-focused approach and the bottom-up approach to Smart cities and why meaningful measurement is the key to integration and collaboration across sectors and disciplines. We finish our chat talking about water bei…
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Nov 11, 2018
The Power of Leadership and Technology in Smart Communities, with Jonathan Reichental
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a fascinating conversation with Jonathan Reichental, the Chief Information Officer for the City of Palo Alto, California. Jonathan shared a bit about his background in technology, why he loves the way technology can make positive things happen for individuals and the world. He talks about what it's been like being, in his words, a bit of a maverick from the private sector, now being a public servant and working for local government. Jonathan shares how the City of Palo Alto is working on digitisation and the high degree of importance they place on collaboration with the community. We talk about what a Smart City or Smart Community means to Jonathan, why it's so important and how being in the opening chapters of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is creating a lot of change for all of us. Jonathan also explains why cities or urban locations are the future, not only in terms of where most humans will live going forwards, but also in ter…
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Nov 8, 2018
Smart Regions and Communities for the Next Generation, with Kerry Anderson
In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have an awesome conversation with Kerry Anderson, the founder of Operation NextGen and the author of Entrepreneurship: It's everybody's business. Kerry is passionate about sharing stories from rural and regional Australia.
Kerry tells us a little secret to start with, and also the importance of having new conversations with new people in new places. Kerry and I discuss the concept of Smart Towns and Smart Communities, and how these towns and communities have to embrace change and be willing to experiment.
Kerry then talks about the value of entrepreneurs in the region, and how complacency can affect the growth of a regional area. Kerry then shares about some of the regional conferences and events that are happening, shares some stories and tells us about Operation NextGen.
Kerry tells us about the research she completed overseas and the importance of collaboration and champions to better integrate across the different disciplines, go…
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Nov 6, 2018
Mobility, Trust and Seamless Payments in the Smart Community, with Stephen Coulter
In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I have a great chat with Stephen Coulter from Localift. Stephen tells us about his background in financial services, banking and later startups, and how the two have now combined in his interest in the Smart Mobility space. We talk about Smart Cities being made up of a series of hyper-local communities, and why it's not just technology but also psychology that we need to be looking at when preparing for and encouraging the changes that are coming, whether they happen cooperatively or disruptively. Stephen then shares with us some of the projects he's currently working on, including Local Lift, and why trust and seamless payment processes are so important in the Smart Mobility space. We discuss the concept of shared mobility and why it's an emerging trend not being talked about enough, despite the fact that it's an important part of the 21st Century solution to the 20th Century problem of congestion. As always, I hope you enjoy listening t…
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Nov 4, 2018
Startups, Coworking and Smart Tech, with Monica Wulff
Hello #smartfriends and welcome to the first interview episode of the Smart Community Podcast. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go back and listen to yesterday's episode which is all about why I've rebranded to expand the conversation away from just cities. As you probably know by now, the conversations always come back to the human beings at the centre anyway, so broadening the conversation to be about Smart Communities is important. Having said all of that, we will still be using the term Smart Cities, because it is a common industry term and because most people are quite familiar with it. This episode is no different, and although the first part of the conversation is very much around Smart Cities, you will see that we do shift focus to me more inclusive of the Smart Community focus about halfway.
So, in this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I interview Monica Wulff, Cofounder of Startup Muster, a data-focused company that measures and publishes the progress, chal…
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Nov 3, 2018
Welcome to the Smart Community Podcast
On The Smart City Podcast, what I've realised is, we're not actually talking Smart Cities per se, we're talking Smart Communities and Smart Regions. The term Smart City is not as inclusive as it could be, because we also want to talk to people, or talk about things that are happening in our regional areas and across borders.
I want to shift my language from Smart City to Smart Community, and under Smart Community, encompass Smart City, Smart Town and Smart Region. Then extending on that, Smart People, because we need Smart Citizens to know that they're Smart Citizens in order to enact their Smart Community and Smart Lives.
Find the full show notes as: www.mysmart.community
Email: hello@mysmart.community
Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod
The Smart City Podcast is produced by Ellen Ronalds Keene.
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Nov 1, 2018
The Empowerment of Smartivists, with Tom Mueller
In this episode of the Smart City Podcast, I had a fascinating conversation with Tom Muller, an Economic Geographer and one of the cofounders of Bee Smart City. He shares with us how Bee Smart City came to be, what they do and a bit about their database connecting Smart City providers with people seeking their services. We also discuss the fact that Smart Cities really needs to be acknowledging that it's not always about the big cities, but municipalities of any size, which you might have noticed is an increasingly common conversation on the podcast, so watch this space....
Tom also shares his perspective on how Germany is embracing Smart concepts and the opportunities and challenges of this new paradigm globally, as well as the emerging trend of bottom-up initiatives and empowering Smart Citizens, who Tom calls Smartivists. As always, I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes: thesmartcitypodcast.com
Connect with Tom and Bee…
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Oct 31, 2018
Sparking an interest in 3D printing, with Stephanie Piper
In this episode of the Smart City Podcast, I interview Stephanie Piper, 3D printing enthusiast, and the Community Engagement Coordinator at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba, where she runs their Maker Space. In this episode we discuss Steph's journey from studying biomedicine and vaccine development, to being involved in the 3D printing space and why she's so passionate about the possibilities and opportunities 3D printing technology provides for Smart Cities. Steph explains what 3D printing actually is, and what kind of people and projects are happening at her Maker Space, as well as some of the ways 3D printing can be used to help recycle and reuse plastics, and implications for the circular economy in these particular areas. Steph shares her passion for educating people about this technology, and her views about integrating across disciplines, governments and academia, as well as some of the emerging trends in the 3D printing and maker space arena. What we don't di…
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Oct 30, 2018
Getting Data Sharing Right in the Smart Community, with Geof Heydon
In this episode of the Smart City podcast, I have a great chat with Geof Heyden, Associate at data-sharing company CreatorTech and Co-Founder of the IOT Alliance in Australia. Geof shares his background in the telecommunications industry, and how that sparked his interest in the Smart City space. He is passionate about helping all levels of government to really understand the importance of data and data sharing in a digital economy, and how we all need to be on the same page with protecting and sharing appropriately sometimes quite sensitive data. We also discuss the importance of councils and state governments, taking stock of what's happening internally first in order to make Smart decisions about what Smart applications are needed, and the interesting evolution in thinking going on about what makes a liveable city or community. Geof shares his thoughts on the patchiness of Australia's adoption of Smart concepts, and explains how the IoT Alliance came to be. We also discuss why colla…
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Oct 29, 2018
SCP E69: The importance of privacy protections in the Smart City, with Nicole Stephensen
In this episode of the Smart City Podcast, I had a really interesting conversation with Nicole Stephenson, a Privacy Consultant originally from Canada but now based in Ipswich, Queensland. Nicole shares why privacy is such an important part of the Smart City conversation, and one that currently isn't being embraced enough across the board. We discuss how Australia is currently embracing the Smart City concept and how we could still have a data driven and tech-enabled community that balances the privacy and security of citizen data. Nicole explains some of the projects she's currently working on, including her role with the Internet of Things Security Institute, an Australian Not-For-Profit organisation in the privacy space. We also talk about privacy legislation in Australia and across the world, such as GDPR - Europe's General Data Protection Regulation, and what that means for the Smart City space here and abroad. Nicole explains the biggest mistakes a Smart City project or agency ca…
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Oct 28, 2018
SCP E68: Being Smart for the Local Community, with Khal Asfour - Mayor of the City of Canterbury Bankstown
Hello #smartfriends, welcome to Smart Cities Week! This week we are going to release one episode every day Monday to Friday to celebrate Smart Cities Week. This first episode of the Smart City Podcast this week is with Mayer Khal Asfour, who is the Mayor of City of Canterbury-Bankstown. I had a really great conversation with the mayor about what the Smart City concept means to him, which is about solving real problems for the community and also about making government processes more efficient and providing savings to the community. The mayor shares insights on the trip he recently took to the US to look at Smart Cities, and what he's brought back to Australia, as well as the Canterbury-Bankstown roadmap that has just been released and the importance of having a strategy. We also talk about some of the other projects and initiatives the council is working on as well as emerging trends, including foundational processes and opening up the data. The mayor is also very keen to collaborate a…
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Oct 21, 2018
SCP E67: Smart Stakeholder and Community Engagement, with Amelia Loye
In this episode of the Smart City Podcast, I had a fantastic conversation with Amelia Loye. Amelia is a Community and Stakeholder Engagement Specialist who and the Founder of engage2, a public participation and stakeholder engagement consultancy. We begin by discussing the concept of Smart Government and Amelia explains why she's so passionate about balancing the interests of different groups.
We also discuss the upcoming Smart Cities Week events in Sydney from the 29th of October to the 2nd of November, including the EngageTech Forum at the NSW State Library on the 1st of November which Amelia's team have deliberately designed to provide a participatory experience and to facilitate connections and collaborations amongst attendees.
Amelia then dives into a favourite technique of hers to integrate across different disciplines, industries and governments and given this is her area of specialty, her answer digs right down, which is great. We finish by discussing the emerging trends Amel…
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Oct 14, 2018
SCP E66: Visionaries creating a new Smart narrative, Mateusz Jarosiewicz
In this episode of the Smart City Podcast, I had a really great conversation with Mateusz Jarosiewicz from Poland. He is the Program Coordinator for Smart City Polska. We talk about collaborating so we don't have to reinvent the wheel, and he talks about how Smart City can be an ideology, a movement and a community. He also talks about making the Smart City concept more understandable for the greater audience, particularly starting in schools. Mat then shares some of the things he's working on at the moment, including Road Map and Vision Poland, and Do Tanks rather than just thinking. He also talks about the importance of having visionaries and facilitators to integrate across the different disciplines, industries and government. The last thing we talk about is going from the internet to real places as an emerging trend. As always, I hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes: thesmartcitypodcast.com
Connect with Mat on LinkedIn…
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Oct 7, 2018
SCP E65: Convergence of Energy, Infrastructure and Transport, with Carola Jonas
In this episode of the Smart City Podcast, I had a really great conversation with Carola Jonas. Carola is the CEO and Co-Founder of Everty, who build software for electric vehicle charging. She has a background in logistics and freight, and has moved into green tech. She is very passionate about keeping our planet clean and green. We talk about some of the impacts of energy infrastructure and transport coming together in a digital sense, and Carola then talks about some of the leading initiatives happening in Australia. She shares what Everty does and what they are doing in the Smart City Space. She also shares some learnings from around the world, including how to increase uptake and also getting the infrastructure ready. We have a little bit of a chat about demand on the energy grid, and finish talking about connected and automated vehicles integrating into our public infrastructure, and then some examples of emerging trends from overseas. As always, I hope you enjoyed listening to t…
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Oct 3, 2018
SCP E64: Bonus Episode | 21st Century Solutions to Current Day Problems, with Dean Madison
In this bonus episode of the Smart City Podcast, I had a really great conversation with Dean Madison, the founder and CEO of T. D. Madison and Associates. Dean has a background in broadband and we first start talking bout IOT and the next generation of services, and how we need to start applying 21st century solutions to our current day problems. Dean is passionate about empowering cities to manage their own complex services and resources, and we also talk about the idea of buying back time and setting up the right foundational infrastructure for a Smart City. Dean shares some of the things he's currently working on, which includes setting up this foundational infrastructure and he also talks about setting up a Smart City Ecosystem of open data to allow integration. We talk about some of the emerging trends, particularly the economic and environmental impacts of not implementing Smart city practices and finish talking about using technology instead of trying to build our way out of con…
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Sep 30, 2018
SCP E63: Smart from the Start, with Merrick Spain
In this episode of the Smart City Podcast, I had a fantastic conversation with Merrick Spain, the Smart Cities Lead for Telstra. We discuss the importance of community and civic innovation in the Smart City space, and also the need to develop a data culture before we get too excited about the tech. We also explore some of the projects Merrick is working on, particularly in the realm of Smart Regions, and the emerging trend of genuine collaboration. Merrick's favourite term is 'Smart from the Start' which I really enjoy. As always, I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes: thesmartcitypodcast.com
You can connect with Merrick on LinkedIn and via Twitter @MerrickSpain
Connect with me via email: zoe@thesmartcitypodcast.com
Connect via Twitter and Facebook @smartcitypod
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Sep 23, 2018
SCP E62: Underspent Smart Communities, with Rachel Smith
In this episode of the Smart City Podcast I had a fantastic conversation with Rachel Smith, the author of Decongestion and also Underspent. A transport planner by trade, Rachel tells us about the BMW Guggenheim Lab she participated in where she travelled the world with the theme 'cities of the future.' We talk about the idea of underspent cities and how Smart Cities is about the intentional use of resources. We discuss the sharing economy and Rachel's experience of this overseas. She then shares the importance of people in the Smart City and the drivers of behavioural change. We finish on the emerging trend that people aren't talking about enough, which is the changes in retail that are already happening. As always, I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes: thesmartcitypodcast.com
Connect with Rachel via LinkedIn, her website www.cyclingrachelsmith.com or @cyclingrsmith on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
Connect with me via em…
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Sep 16, 2018
SCP E61: Interoperability and Power the Key to Smart Cities, with Robert Linsdell
In this episode of the Smart City Podcast, I had a fantastic conversation with Robert Linsdell, the Managing Director of Vertiv for Australia and New Zealand. He is passionate about technology; he grew up with it and has worked with it all of his life. We first talked about the different sectors of the Smart City and what is to come. We then talk about the importance of uninterrupted connectivity and power supply for a Smart City. Robert then talks about how important it is for interoperability to occur, to collaborate instead of compete. Robert shares was Vertiv does, particular with regards to data centres and UPS - uninterruptible power supply. We then talk about how unforgiving we are of technology and that we need to start talking about what to do if it fails. Finally, we discuss how important it is for government to keep up with technology when doing policy and planning. As always I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes…
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Sep 12, 2018
SCP E60: Bonus | Sustainability, Liveability and Making the World Better, with Will Davies
In this episode of the Smart City Podcast, I interview the CEO of Car Next Door, Will Davies. Will starts with discussing how he started to follow his passion for reducing our carbon footprint, and then how to utilise our resources better and how that fits into the Smart City space. We take a bit of a deep dive into car sharing and public transport attitudes as well as equal access to mobility. He has an exciting idea about how every new human could make the world a better place. We talk a lot about what Car Next door actually does, and finish our conversation talking about impacts on infrastructure and costs of autonomous vehicles, public transport and car sharing. As always I hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes: thesmartcitypodcast.com
Connect with will via the website carnextdoor.com.au or email him at
will@carnextdoor.com.au
Connect with me via email: zoe@thesmartcitypodcast.com
Connect via Twitter and Facebook @smar…
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Sep 9, 2018
SCP E59: Integrating Technologies and Embracing the Digital Age, with Emma Hendry
In this episode of the Smart City Podcast, I had a fantastic conversation with Emma Hendry. Emma is the CEO of Hendry Group and was also a member of the Future Leaders, Future Cities delegation to Japan. Emma and I discuss incorporating tech into everyday business and how to move into the digital age. We also discuss learnings from Japan, what Emma has been up to lately, and how we can better integrate across the different disciplines using technology. We also talk about some of the emerging trends, global conversations and how to deal with risk. As always I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes: thesmartcitypodcast.com
You can connect with Emma via the Contact page on the Hendry Group website, www.hendry.com.au or reach out to her on LinkedIn
Connect with me via email: zoe@thesmartcitypodcast.com
Connect via Twitter and Facebook @smartcitypod
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Sep 2, 2018
SCP E58: Smart Cities as a way of thinking, with David Batchelor
In this episode of the Smart City Podcast, I had a fantastic conversation with David Batchelor, a planner and history buff from Wellington, passionate about heritage and culture in our cities.
He is also a member of the Smart Cities Council Emerging Innovators and talks about Smart Cities being a way to create great connected spaces for the people in them, and about Smart Cities being a universal language, a level playing field where we can all communicate.
David tells us how New Zealand is currently embracing the Smart City concept and the importance of overall vision and strategy. He discusses some of the things that are happening in Wellington, particularly to do with resilience and tells us some really cool stuff about Smart heritage. We finish our conversation about public trust and the different types of feedback.
Disclaimer: Everything discussed is personal opinion only and does not represent any company or government agency.
Find the full show notes: thesmartcitypodcast.com…
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Aug 26, 2018
SCP E57: City Deals for Integrated Cities, with Michael Comninos
In this episode of the Smart City Podcast, I had a great chat with Michael Comninos, the Managing Director of Astrolabe Group. First he tells us about his background in mathematics and growth infrastructure planning, so how cities grow. He also talks about the Smart City being about people and place, and also the importance of governance reform and leadership. Michael also tells us about some of the things he's been working on, including City Deals, and how it's important for the government to shift their thinking from being a regulator to moving to a customer-centric approach. We also talk about some emerging trends and the fact that everyone is still learning. As always I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed making it.
Find the full show notes: thesmartcitypodcast.com
Connect with Michael via LinkedIn or on Twitter @astrolabe_au
Connect with me via email: zoe@thesmartcitypodcast.com
Connect via Twitter and Facebook @smartcitypod