Last Tuesday (Sept. 18th), I was invited to speak with CBC Radio 1 Here and Now host Laura Di Battista about the importance of the Information Highway as an essential infrastructure for every community and every country. Canada has a long way to go, and is not yet recognizing the importance of ICT networks as critical utilities for the success of our Nation.
The interview was an introduction to Cisco’s participation in Evergreen Brick Works’ (EBW) MOVE 2012 exhibition. Until October EBW will showcase innovations in matters of infrastructure, mobility and transportation. For every Tuesday until October 9th, EBW is hosting INNOVATION TALKS where different voices from the community, government and business are asked to openly share their thoughts on the future of mobility in increasingly denser communities.
At the INNOVATION TALKS on September 18, the conversation was about LAND USE: the way we use scarce resources in our communities for insufficient and inadequate transportation. Two very different, yet similar, proposals were presented. One on creating ‘Huburbia’s’, new mobility hubs in the suburbs that become lifestyle centers on nodes of infrastructure networks. The other on revitalizing existing infrastructure challenges in existing and under-served communities, with the help of the people in those communities, while being creative with very limited (read: virtually no) funding.
Clearly lots of challenges exist out there that require millions and billions of dollars to be properly addressed.
My thesis: include ICT as a way to better manage, control and optimize existing and new infrastructures, consequently making better investment prioritizations and decisions, and as a way to possibly reduce the pressures on our existing infrastructure as we change the way we work, learn, live and play (do we really need to go downtown?).
…interestingly and coincidentally (or is it?), this is a continuation of last week’s discussions at Canada’s Infrastructure Summit and FCM’s Municipal Infrastructure Forum.
I will be moderating the next INNOVATION TALKS event on October 2, 2012 about the Environment. To register for this event visit the Evergreen Brick Works website.
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