The Future of Smart Cities: Challenges and Opportunities

On Wednesday April 20th the FAU Student Chapter of the International City/County Managers Association, along with the School of Public Administration and the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions hosted a webinar on “The Future of Smart Cities: Challenges and Opportunities.” The keynote speaker was Mr. Clarence Anthony (CEO and Executive Director of the National League of Cities, and MPA alum ’82). The event was moderated by Dr. John Renne, Director of CUES, introductions was provided by Dean Michael Horswell (Dorothy F. Schmidt College for Arts and Letters) and Patricio Coicou (President, FAU Student Chapter of the ICMA). 

Mr. Anthony began his career in public service as the Mayor of South Bay, FL, for 24 years. He is known as a creative and thoughtful leader in his community. He is considered an expert in citizen engagement and techniques that build a "sense of community" within cities. Mr. Anthony has been on the forefront of politics in the United States and internationally for the past 20 years, culminating with productive presidencies of the Florida League of Cities and the National League of Cities (NLC), respectively.

One of Mr. Anthony’s key takeaways was that cities and counties need to address the equity issues associated with broadband access, including building the necessary infrastructure to support citizen engagement from all segments of society. He further stated that MPA students need to become familiar with big data, artificial intelligence, and links to technology that are growing exponentially in the hallways of city hall. “Local governments are driving the smart city initiatives,” and Mr. Anthony noted that a number of cities and counties are more advanced, including Dallas, Portland and New York city. However, a number of other cities and counties have not been so successful, and Mr. Anthony noted that governments need to have a well thought out technology plan to insure some level of success, and that the National League of Cities is poised to help all who need assistance.