Last week, city planners from across the country descended on San Francisco, CA for one of the largest planning conferences of the year – the 2019 National Planning Conference – hosted by the American Planning Association. As an attendee and exhibitor, I wanted to share some of the highlights from the show, along with some of my key learnings. Learning 1: The Downtown Paradigm Shift 15-20 years ago, one major concern for city planners was rescuing downtown areas. Today, however, this is no longer an issue. Yet due to evolving urban demographics and emerging technology, planners are being presented with a new set of unique challenges and opportunities,… Continue reading

Tags: Planning, Building, govthefuture

Bridging the gap between the public sector, citizens and partners has never been more critical. In an age where productivity, security and transparency are at odds, it’s essential for local governments to facilitate citizen participation without adding to already strained budgets. Traditional government processes are outdated, lack online capabilities and shield workflows from the public. As a result, there’s little information or proper insight into workflows, resource allocation and citizen-request management—further contributing to the divide between the public and its government. Government employees know their actions impact more than their day-to-day and resolve to better engage with their fellow citizens. They need the best tools to help them streamline processes and address the public’s key grievances…. Continue reading

Tags: govtech, govthefuture, smartcities, automation, digital tranformation

Over the last decade, emerging technologies have ushered in the need for governments to approach accelerated change and challenge in new ways. The impact of increased urbanization and shifting citizen expectations, combined with the ways technology is reshaping cities, is creating a call to governments and city leaders to evolve their role and shift their mindset around how to effectively govern into the future — not a simple task. The demands of the new mindset are twofold: a curiosity to identify the opportunities and challenges that a technology-enabled future holds, and a creative approach that seeks the right mix of tools and partnerships so governments are empowered with technology to meet new demands.Whether an elected official,… Continue reading

Tags: Smart City, govtech, smart cities, govthefuture, Governing the Future, agile government

Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Heidi Lorenzen, vice president of marketing for Accela that was originally posted in CitiesSpeak, the official blog of the National League of Cities. Cities are laboratories for democracy where residents can directly access their local elected leaders to make their concerns known. While federal regulation and legislation moves at a seemingly glacial pace, cities have to act nimbly and continuously evolve to maintain a well-functioning community. Cities all across the country are navigating emerging regulatory challenges that include ride sharing registration in New York City to e-scooters in San Francisco, to cannabis regulation in towns coast to coast…. Continue reading

Tags: Smart City, Civic Tech, National League of Cities, govtech, smart cities, nlc, smart communities, govthefuture