Smart City Expo in "Big Apple"

I believe the city of New York will continue to innovate and collaborate with various stakeholders to create a more sustainable future for all residents and global tourists.

It’s been quite a while since I visited Big Apple. Here I come again, participating in the smart city expo and visiting a few great places. New York City is called the “Big Apple” for reasons. It is comprised of five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island; it has more than ten million people; and it covers approximately 300 square miles; all of which make the city diversified and dynamic, full of energy.

The Smart City exhibition started very early, about 7:30 am in the morning, near the ocean pier in Manhattan. When I walked across the street, lots of construction was going on near Pier 36. Looking around the surroundings, you can see the Brooklyn Bridge that spans the East River connecting the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, with a shade of gray; you can also view the Manhattan Bridge, another iconic bridge painted with a silver-gray hue.

Accessing the exhibition center, many people already had the seats and were prepared for the morning events. The staff was friendly and the conference was well organized. In the early sessions, the top government officers of New York City made keynote speeches and a series of presentations about how the Big Apple keeps leveraging advanced technology to reinvent itself; New York’s strength and capacity limitation; resilience and adaptability; energy efficiency, and sustainability. Managing one of the biggest cities in the world is, in fact, a great challenge.

A few large technology organizations and fast-growing startups showcased their products and services to improve the city’s competitive advantage, mostly related to smart cities, urban development, renewable energy, infrastructure enhancement, talent training, and more.

The agenda of the Smart City Expo was tight, there were a lot of presentations and panel discussions by executives, policymakers, and academia or industry experts with digital themes related to smart cities, urban innovation, talent development, and sustainability. Artificial Intelligence is the hot topic that the presenters emphasized. The conference facilitators invited government and IT executives across the nation to share their ideas and experiences on diverse projects for reinventing the modern metropolitan city. Here are some highlights of the conference agenda: 

• NYC: The Future is Here
• Leading NYC into the Future
• How AI Can Power a More Sustainable Future
• Innovation in Sports
• Chief Innovation and Technology Officer, City of Las Vegas
• Data-Driven Healthcare
• Gov + Smart Cities Talk
• Local Social Media Influencers: The Future of Government 
• AI + The City: Optimizing Public Services
• Modern Procurement, Modern Cities
• Sustainable Investments for a Clean Energy Future
• New York State’s AI and Innovation Agenda
• Moving the Masses: Innovations in Transportation
• What Works Cities Presents: AI Shaping Cities of the Future
• The Promise of Universal Connectivity
• Product Lead for Sustainable Cities
• Emission-Free Cities
• Technology Reporter, Route Fifty
• Innovation and Infrastructure for Large-Scale Events
• Ethical and Inclusive Civic AI
• NYC: Harbor of the Future
• Global-View on Smart Cities
• Future of Transportation
• Universities to Unicorns: Commercialization, Piloting, and Tech Transfer
• Skills, STEM, and a 21st Century Workforce
• Accelerating Impact: Data, Analytics, and GenAI
• Testbeds: Scaling and Piloting Frontier Tech
• Heat Waves to Sea Rise: Combating Climate Change
• Accessible Cities
• Digital Trust in Public Spaces
• EquiTech Cities: Increasing Access to Capital
• Safe Cities: Public Safety and Emergency Management
• Justice Forward Cities
• Cities Coalition for Digital Rights 
• Cities Computing on the Edge
• Optimizing Govt with ADA & Multilingual Chatbots
• Catalysts of Change: Leading Innovations in Clean Energy Solutions
• Accelerators, Incubators, and Innovative City Solutions
• Future of Transit-Oriented Development  
• Smart Solutions Startup Competition Winner Announcement 
• AI + Philanthropy
• Building Cities of the Future

Here are a few of my additional thoughts and suggestions for participating in the conference: 

Scale up the Exhibition: The exhibition has limited booths in the exhibition hall. I believe more organizations should be passionate about such events, come by to introduce themselves, and their products/services, build a strong brand, and contribute to the city's success.

Improve People Centricity via structural approach: Because New Yorkers are diverse and dynamic, people perhaps have different viewpoints and experiences when exploring this large metropolitan city. The presentation and exhibition could emphasize more on how to build a people-centric great city with a holistic vision, integral perspective, coherent community view, structural practices, and influential leadership tone. 

• What do global tourists expect to see the Big Apple when they come to visit? How to provide them with personalized experiences? 
• What would the residents here expect their city to be in the future? Abundant resources, supportive communities, or enriched cultural events/activities, etc, how to delight people of all kinds?

The Big Apple has a lot of things many of us are impressed by: The skyscraper buildings, fashion streets, open ocean views, charming city gardens, iconic bridges; the variety of gourmet food, culture-enriched marketplaces, and of course, friendly people, etc. To manage such a dynamic large city, it’s important to take structural approaches and lead changes holistically. I believe the city of New York will continue to innovate and collaborate with various stakeholders to create a more sustainable future for all residents and global tourists.

Posted in: Big Data,Global Perspective,Global Trips