Business leaders in Bradford and Leeds were given stark reminders recently of the importance of technology and developing people skills if their cities are to keep up (catch up?) with the competition.
A Chamber construction lunch received presentations on so-called ‘Smart Cities’ and ‘Magnet Cities’, in which case studies of smaller and less influential metropolitan areas have reinvented and regalvanised themselves to make them forces to be reckoned with. Denver, Malmo and Bilbao are among nine included in a KPMG report on ‘Magnet Cities’ that have turned themselves around. BT’s study of ‘Future Cities’, attendees were told, shows how business leaders and politicians need to ‘get smart’ in the use of ‘sensing technology’ and ‘big data’. This, then, would allow fast-growing populations to be matched with higher economic development, prompt physical renewal and better connectivity.
Sounds complicated? It is – to this writer, at least! Though we’re sure that our highly-tuned and fast-thinking members will grasp the concepts quickly enough. The presentations given can be found below.
