Spots Analysis . It draws on posts to the city ’ s Web portals , the logs of the emergency response center and traffic on social networks to identify issues raised frequently by citizens that are not being properly addressed .
But technology is only part of the solution . Monthly meetings of the heads of all city departments review known and new Hot Spots and determine what actions the city should take to solve them . Going one step beyond , the decision-makers examine why the problem was not being addressed : whether a single agency was at fault or the issue was one that crossed over the boundaries of multiple agencies . Each Hot Spot is developed as a case , from identification of the problem to solution to the lessons learned , and each case becomes an online reference document accessible to both government officials and citizens .
In one example , citizens repeatedly flagged a problem on express buses bringing commuters into the city : the lack of enough capacity to handle rush hour passenger traffic . Investigating the issue , the city found that its own regulations prevented the buses from loading more passengers than they had seats for when the buses would be traveling on freeways at high speed .
The city was unwilling to relax this safety regulation , so it instead negotiated with the bus companies to offer a different service : shuttle buses operating on routes that connected outlying areas to train stations . This encouraged more passengers to take the train , which in turn reduced rush-hour wait times on the express bus routes from an average of 20 minutes down to less than 10 .
The city also noted a high level of complaints from its Indigenous citizens about receiving education subsidies for their children on time . It did not take long to identify the responsible agency . The Commission ordered the agency to standardize its processes , eliminate unnecessary paperwork and establish deadlines for turnaround . Processing time quickly dropped from an average of 35 days to only 15 days .
IS AI IN CHARGE ? From hackathons to education , video monitoring to hotspots analysis , these projects use technology , because it is a core part of most innovation today . But they are not about technology . They approach the problem , not as a Smart City fix , but as a long-term economic development investment in a better community .
Viewed through the lens we call the Intelligent Community , your tech options require a different approach . Are you using technology to make the place called home better ? Or are you adopting somebody ’ s tech solution because there is funding available and – why not ?
You can certainly do both if you have the resources . But it ’ s important to make a conscious decision about where you place your tech bets . If constituents see a lot of money going into smart and connected technology that doesn ’ t make their lives better , they just may decide there ’ s an evil AI in charge . And in today ’ s Digital Decades , they have all the user power they need to make sure everybody knows it .
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ROBERT BELL Robert Bell is co-founder of the Intelligent Community Forum ( www . intelligentcommunity . org ), where he heads its research , analysis and content development activities . He directs the multi-stage analysis of communities for the annual Intelligent Community Awards program and contributes to the in-depth profiles of Intelligent Communities that are core to ICF ’ s mission . Robert developed and leads the Intelligent Community Accelerator and Certification programs , and is a frequent speaker at municipal and telecom events
VOL 16 NO 3 2023 20 www . edaustralia . com . au