Rebuilding a Smarter City: Lessons from Houston

Smart Cities are the future. So when Houston, Texas faced rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 2017, it seized the opportunity to transform itself as a tech-centric, smart city by incorporating emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence, IoT, Machine Learning and data analytics. Houston is being extremely planful in building multiple innovative solutions across departments at the same time that communicate with one another which is significantly increasing the positive impact it’s bringing to its citizens. As a result, Houston has come to serve as a model for Smart City initiatives.

We will hear from those responsible for Houston’s transformation and examine what others - from policymakers to city officials to business leaders - can learn from their experience. What does it mean to be a ‘smart’ city? Why is it critical to success that this be a collaborative process across city departments? How do you do it? And how do you achieve the advantages of new technology without compromising security and privacy?

Please join us for a conversation on Houston’s path to becoming a smart city, what they’re doing that no other city has done before them that’s enabling them to share new best practices, and learn more about what is on the horizon as more U.S. cities employ smart technologies to improve safety, sustainability, mobility, city services and quality of life for residents.

Participants:

Mayor Sylvester Turner, @SylvesterTurner, @HoustonTX
Mayor, City of Houston

Toni Townes-Whitley, @ToniTWhitley
President, U.S. Regulated Industries, Microsoft

Natasha Cohen, @tashabcohen
Cybersecurity Fellow, New America

Moderator:

Kristin Musulin, @kristinmusulin + @smartcitiesdive
Senior Editor, SmartCities Dive

Follow the conversation online using #SmartCity and following @NewAmerica