The Missing Political Debate Over the Digital Economy

This U.S. presidential election season is leading us to rethink a lot of norms. But while it feels like a lot of our political conventional wisdom is getting turned on its head, one thing that hasn’t appeared to move forward is how we talk about the economy. We’re focused on jobs, but we’re skipping a necessary discussion of how the digital economy is shaping those jobs. The content of the campaigns still seems largely rooted in the 20th century while much of our work is rushing to meet the demands of the 21st.

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How Food Fed the Vision for San Antonio’s Pearl Complex

Once among the San Antonio’s largest employers, the Pearl Brewery closed in 2001, and the surrounding area had been neglected as development focused on the suburbs, said Bill Shown, managing director of real estate at Pearl developer Silver Ventures, speaking at the recent ULI Texas Forum. Shown’s firm decided to take a chance converting the run-down property into a mixed-use destination.

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Report: Smart city investment will double by 2021

A report published Tuesday found that the smart city market reached $342.4 billion in 2016 and is projected to more than double by 2021, to an estimated $774.8 billion. The increase equates to an overall 17.7 percent growth rate. But despite this rapid growth, researchers estimate it will be years before the smart city sensor systems, predictive analytics tools and energy efficient buildings now being purchased become ubiquitous technologies.

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Smart Cities Connect & US Ignite Application Summit Explore Perennial Challenges, New Solutions

It’s perhaps fitting that the Smart Cities Connect Conference and Expo– held in Austin last week, and collocated with the US Ignite Application Summit – wrapped on the eve of a (very) long 4th of July weekend. Because rethinking the running and management of our cities–with the help of new technology and data tools– is a good way to honor this country’s birthday. If sorting out the key smart cities issues means looking beyond past accomplishments and entering some uncharted waters at the confluence of deep technical, political, and demographic tides, all the more reason to jump in feet first. And jump in we did last week in Austin, with a major conference exploring the use of technology, policy, data, and more to help cities become more efficient, secure, and sustainable–while improving the quality of life of its citizens and visitors.

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