Watch:
The Intelligent Community Forum announced today its list of the Smart21 Communities of 2009. Eight of the communities were on the 2008 Smart21 list and three were named to the 2008 Top Seven. Ten of the 2009 Smart21 are North American communities, seven are from Europe, two from Asia-Pacific, one from South America, and one from Africa. In addition to individual cities and towns, the 2009 Smart21 includes two counties and two multi-city metropolitan areas.
The Smart21 announcement is the first stage in ICF’s annual Intelligent Community Awards cycle. Based on nominations submitted by communities large and small from around the world, ICF selects 21 finalists with the potential to become one of the Forum’s Top Seven Intelligent Communities of the Year.
The 2009 Smart21 – listed below in alphabetical order – includes communities from 12 nations on four continents. Population range from 17,000 to 2.5 million.
- Albany, New York, USA; population 94,000
- Ashland, Oregon, USA; population 22,000
- Bristol, Virginia, USA; population 17,500
- Dublin, Ohio, USA; population 40,000
- Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; population 1,035,000
- Eindhoven, Netherlands; population 297,000
- Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada; population 50,535
- Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia; population 509,000
- Issy-les-Moulineaux, France; population 61,000
- Kenora, Ontario, Canada; population 17,000
- Malta; population 405,000
- Manchester, England, UK; population 2,500,000
- Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada; population 125,000
- Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa; population 1,200,000
- Porto Alegre, Brazil; population 1,400,000
- Riverside, California, USA; population 291,000
- Stockholm, Sweden; population 795,000
- Tallinn, Estonia; population 400,000
- Taoyuan County, Taiwan; population 1,950,000
- Trikala, Greece; population 52,000
- Westchester County, New York, USA; population 950,000
Each of these communities has demonstrated a commitment to improving their communities through innovative broadband applications,
said Louis Zacharilla, ICF Co-founder.
The ingenuity of these communities is exemplified in their investments in the future of the young, the growth and progress of job-creating businesses, and economic security. An overarching theme of the 2009 honorees has been the dedication to putting people first and building a ‘talent inventory’ that will thrive with technology and innovation.
Source
Intelligent Community Forum: The Smart21 Communities of 2009