Better, smarter and more sustainable cities as an integral part of our competitiveness

CALGARY, Oct. 24, 2012 /CNW/ - Today, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce joined forces to present Smart Cities of the Future, a conference that brought together some of Canada's top opinion leaders and decision-makers from the private sector, government and academia to discuss how to design better, smarter and more sustainable cities.

In a report released at the event, the Canadian Chamber highlights the importance of cities to Canada's competitiveness.

"Cities are a primary driver of growth, innovation and opportunity, said Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. "Cities that provide well functioning and efficient environments for businesses and individuals will be more able to attract and retain skilled workers and sustain more productive and profitable businesses" he added.

Today, many cities in Canada are exploring the "smart city" concept to improve efficiencies, optimize how they use largely finite resources and become better places to live. They are deploying new information and communication technology to strengthen services across different sectors and to build an intelligent digital nervous system supporting urban operations. The important thing about the smart cities concept is that it uses intelligent systems to manage common services. The infrastructure needs to be sufficiently flexible so that it can be constantly updated—the very essence of intelligent technologies is the speed at which they evolve. Many of the technologies being put in place today may soon become obsolete.

According to Richard Florida, one of the world's leading urban studies theorists, cities that will come out on top will be those that fare best in terms of the 3Ts—technology, talent and tolerance.

The report can be found at www.chamber.ca

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is the vital connection between business and the federal government. It helps shape public policy and decision-making to the benefit of businesses, communities and families across Canada with a network of over 420 chambers of commerce and boards of trade, representing 192,000 businesses of all sizes in all sectors of the economy and in all regions. News and information are available at www.chamber.ca or follow us on Twitter @CdnChamberofCom.

SOURCE: CANADIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

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Émilie S. Potvin
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