What does ‘smart city’ mean to Philadelphia?

The next century of living in Philadelphia (or any city, really) will be drastically transformed by the different ways technology enters the picture.

For local governments, that will mean finding solutions to the city’s problems and cranking up efficiencies across the board.

But what does that mean for citizens, and how can they participate in the process?

Technologists and the public at large can get an answer to those queries on Wednesday, May 30, at the first project night of Tech in the Commons, our sister site Generocity’s free tech bootcamp series for nonprofits, presented by the Knight Foundation and Comcast NBCUniversal.

"Being a Smart City isn't just about waste management or public safety but it's how all these different business needs can be helped by technology" @ellen_hwang_phl @PhiladelphiaGov #TechCommonsPHL

it's "The Art of the Possible" pic.twitter.com/Mw8Wq0byvd

— Generocity (@Generocity) May 15, 2018

Happening at the City of Philadelphia’s Innovation Lab in the Municipal Services Building, the three-hour program will be led by Ellen Hwang, assistant director of strategic initiatives in the Office of Innovation Management.

Last year,Philadelphia was awarded a grant on “smart city readiness” from the Smart Cities Council, which included in-kind financial support from the Council to develop a roadmap for applying smart technologies, as well as ongoing guidance from the Council and access to products and services. For its part, Comcast is investing in smart-city technology via its machineQ initiative. Here are some machineQ projects hacked together by local technologists last June.