Skip to main content

The German Marshall Fund of the United States

  • Who we are
    • Programs
      • Alliance for Securing Democracy
      • Asia Program
      • Balkan Trust for Democracy
      • Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation
      • Congressional Affairs
      • Europe Program
      • Fund for Belarus Democracy
      • Future of Geopolitics
      • GMF Cities
      • GMF Digital
      • Leadership Programs
      • Mediterranean Program
      • Security and Defense
    • Offices
      • Ankara
      • Belgrade
      • Berlin
      • Brussels
      • Bucharest
      • Paris
      • Warsaw
      • Washington, DC
    • About Us
    • Marshall Plan
    • Our Partners
  • Experts
  • Events
    Jan
    21
    Upcoming Event

    The U.S.-EU Relationship in 2021 and Beyond - What Can We Expect From the Biden Administration?

    January 21, 2021 | 9:00AM to 10:00AM EST
    • Major Conferences & Forums
      GMF brings together hundreds of policymakers, elected officials, academics, and business leaders from around the world to discuss topics from energy to migration, economics to security, urban growth to diplomacy.
    All Events →
  • Our Work
    • Topics
      • America
      • Asia
      • Europe
      • Cities and Regions
      • Security
      • Trade and Economies
      • All Topics
    • Research
      • Publications
      • Transatlantic Takes
    • Perspectives
      • Audio
      • Video
      • Blog post
      • In The News
  • Stay Informed
Policy Paper

Smart Cities: An Answer to Social and Environment Risks?

March 6, 2018

Catherine Sabbah

The pace of technological change in the last 20 years has abounded. In some ways, we struggle to keep pace with these changes from a policy and practice perspective. This is perhaps nowhere more apparent than with the notion of “smart cities” and the use of “smart technology.” Much has been written about the implications of the use smart technology has on cities and here journalist and Urban and Regional Policy Fellow, Catherine Sabbah, joins the discussion by exploring how smart technology can address new social and environment risks in Paris — drawing on lessons learned from her case studies of how New York City and Chicago have incorporated smart technology into managing security and urban planning. She found that while there is great opportunity to harness the power of this technology and the corresponding data gathered to inform policy planning, design, and implementation, two things set the United States apart from the Paris example — and in fact pose something that Paris can learn from these two cities. First, a strong partnership between universities and the public sector (city government for example) is essential for development, analysis, and evaluation. While partnerships with the private sector are naturally relevant here and play a role, universities are taking a lead on understanding the implication the use of smart technology has in policy planning and design. Second, and drawing on the first point, universities are helping the public sector understand how to use the technology that is not just in the interest of the commercial and helps to ensure that the interest of smart technology remains in the domain of and for the public. This paper will explore these themes and more.   

Photo credit: Shutterstock.com

Download

Download PDF

Explore: Policy

Cities and Regions

Explore:

GMF Cities
Strengthening Transatlantic Cooperation

Our Organization

  • About GMF
  • Career Opportunities
  • Our Partners
  • Press Room
  • Support Our Work
  • Core Values

Our Work

  • Leadership
  • Policy
  • Civil Society
  • Research & Analysis

Our Experts

  • Find an Expert

Follow

  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Diversity Statement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Credits

Stay Informed

Don’t miss out on the latest from GMF. Sign up to receive emailed newsletters, announcements, and event notifications.

Subscribe