A group called Smart Cities Connect Media and Research has come to our attention and frankly, it should be on your radar too. After doing some light research on the group, you would think it would offer some benefits to cities across the United States. However, behind the “topics” they are pushing a different agenda. Here is what they say about themselves initially.
Smart Cities Connect is where the smart cities community meets. We offer the most comprehensive conference, exposition and accelerator of smart city innovation in North America. We deliver premium networking and educational opportunities with a keen focus on city leaders and their priorities. Working closely with the technology community, we bring together the largest collection of intelligent systems providers for energy, infrastructure, networks, data management, urban mobility, citizen engagement and governance solutions.
If you look closer, it pushes climate change, gender equality, electric infrastructure crap and carbon neutral topics.
They are trying to emulate California! A bastion of excellence that every state should transform into.. (sarcasm)
Most of the cities they speak highly of are ones from California, New York, Australia, or in Germany. Topics include:
— Preliminary results are in from the community-wide cool pavement experiment that has been taking place in the north Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacoima. In July of 2022, the city of Los Angeles.
— The Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI) Action Fund helps sponsor data-based projects aimed at helping local governments to improve environmental quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and adapt to the effects of climate change.
— Data and analytics are the technical fuel of smart cities. From air quality sensors to surveillance cameras, municipal leaders are deploying smart city technology to collect and analyze data.
— Amanda Daflos, Director of Innovation and Gender Equity for the City of Los Angeles, speaks about getting smart the “LA way”.
So, painting roads and roofs, climate change funds, surveillance cameras, data analyzing, and gender issues. WTF???
Let’s look at a couple of the group’s leaders:
Laura Benold
Managing Editor & Communications Director
Laura oversees all editorial and communication details for Smart Cities Connect, building on more than four years as Assistant Marketing Director with the Southwest Region at Whole Foods Market. Prior to Whole Foods, Laura served as Executive Director at CleanTX Foundation in Austin and supported clean tech marketing efforts at Austin Technology Incubator. Now, at Smart Cities Connect, she combines her passion for social impact with her love of societal enrichment at the local level.
Translation: Extreme Environmentalist and socialist
Chelsea Collier
Editor-at-Large & Managing Partner
Chelsea facilitates partnerships and encourages collaboration within the Smart Cities Connect community. She is an avid evangelist for uniting technologists, entrepreneurs, government leaders and elected officials for the civic and social good. She is Co-Founder of Impact Hub Austin, Founder of Digi.City, a Principal at Intercambio Group and an Eisenhower Fellow focused on Smart Cities in the US and China. Chelsea brings her experience as a Senior Advisor to Texans for Economic Progress, a statewide technology coalition, to the broader global community.
Translation: Socialist Marxist
I hope these cities are aware they are being brain washed! Here are some cities signed up:
- City of Boston, MA
- City of San Antonio, TX
- City of Las Vegas, NV
- Miami-Dade County’s DOT
- City of Austin, TX
- City of Atlanta, GA
- City of Bozeman, MT
- City of Calgary, AB
- City of Colorado Springs, CO
- MTA New York City Transit
- City of Philadelphia, PA
- City and County of Denver, CO
- City of Houston, TX
- City of Aurora, CO
- Smart Columbus, OH
- Texas Dept of Transportation
- City of Charlotte, NC
- City of Los Angeles, CA
- City of Dallas, TX
- City of South Bend, IN
- Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority
Here is the entire list at this link Check to see if YOUR city or county is attending and give them an ear full.
Smart Cities Connect