Intelligent Community Forum name Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2015

03 February 2015

by Richard Forster

The Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) has announced the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2015 in an online event hosted by Finland’s former Minister of Communications, Suvi Linden. The Top7 list included cities and towns from five different nations.

The 2015 Top7 Intelligent Communities are:

·     Arlington County, Virginia, USA

·     Columbus, Ohio, USA

·     Ipswich, Queensland, Australia

·     Mitchell, South Dakota, USA

·     New Taipei City, Taiwan

·     Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

·     Surrey, British Columbia, Canada

“What sets these seven cities apart is how they excelled against our sixth indicator, or criteria, which we call the Revolutionary Community,” Louis Zacharilla, ICF co-founder, told Cities Today. “The revolutionary aspect is the communities’ planning for the future in multiple ways, each with an acknowledgement that the digital economy will be a key to their success but also with an eye on the restoration of civic pride and what is commonly called social capital.”

The Top7 Intelligent Communities showcase a variety of solutions to the many challenges faced by the world’s cities ranging from economic growth to the environment. They have embraced the opportunities brought about by high speed Internet, just as US President Barrack Obama recently noted that “High-speed broadband isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity”.

In 2014 the US Department of Commerce recognised the Intelligent Community Forum’s model as a key way for communities to build a workforce suitable for the 21st Century.

“The Top7 represents a range of different approaches and planning strategies,” added Zacharilla. “Each is revolutionary in its own way, and each has planned its future in a way that is consistent with its cultural identity, while using universally available digital tools and broadband technology. As we have seen each year, cities, towns and regions that continue to work with these tools and concepts transform themselves from ‘smart’ to ‘intelligent,’ which is how real sustainable growth and investment will arrive.”

In order to qualify as a Top7 Intelligent Community, these cities and regions first needed to become an Intelligent Community Forum Smart21 Intelligent Community. The Smart21, named in October 2014, were chosen from hundreds of evaluated communities from around the world.

Intillegent Community Forum
Louis Zacharilla, ICF co-founder

Candidates are evaluated based on the five Intelligent Community Indicators, which provide the conceptual framework for understanding all of the factors that determine a community’s competitiveness and point to its success in what the Intelligent Community Forum calls, “The Broadband Economy.”

“We have set up the ICF Foundation, to allow the designated Intelligent Communities of the world to remain together so that they and others can continue to improve,” said Zacharilla. “This is really not at all about making “lists” or getting to the top spot, but about an inter-generational adventure that is taking relatively unknown places, like Surrey, Mitchell and Whanganui into the future.”

The Intelligent Community Awards Program is guided by an annual theme, which in 2015 is The Revolutionary Community. This is an attempt to study and have a global dialogue about urban and regional planning and how it is impacting the way people live, work and create in their cities and towns.

The programme concludes in Toronto in June 2015 during the Intelligent Community Forum’s Annual Summit, where one of the Top7 Intelligent Communities will succeed Toronto, Canada, as 2015 Intelligent Community of the Year.

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