Smarter Cities and Smarter Living

We need to be smarter in order to grow sustainably. While the state government is ramping back on spending, telling us that it's great to be in surplus, have we forgotten that there can also be "good debt", that is investing in soft infrastructure? Future proofing our cities by investing in technology, innovative design and higher education can transform regional cities and provide them a strong competitive advantage. We have schools, education, heritage and open space, but we also have disengaged youth and fractured society. Infrastructure is more than roads, bridges and east-west tunnels, it's about innovation, hubs, tethering technology to make us mobile and more productive. As highlighted in a recent Urbanist podcast, Cisco Systems believe that connected communities are the future, and ultimately the smarter cities. Being connected is the price of admission, what you do on top of this in terms of innovation and bringing public private partnerships together to deliver better services, from paying rates on-line to having open forums and free wi-fi in public spaces. That way we spend less time doing the things we don't enjoy like paying registrations in a queue at VicRoads and spend more quality time and energy on other things. We are time and space bound at the moment, by "teching up" we can take the space-bound out and the time out - simple things that are minor irritants can be removed, allowing us to enjoy our city more. I have seen innovative projects such as the Nicholson, by Places Victoria that have motivated my thinking about collaborative mixed use development, providing private and key worker housing, retail and place management solutions to our ever increasing shortage of affordable housing. A penny for your thoughts Ballarat - Civic Hall perhaps?