Urenio Watch Watch: Platforms, Apps, Solutions

Special Issue: Smart Cities and Cloud Computing

JSCThe Journal of Smart Cities published the special issue “Smart Cities and Cloud Computing’. Guest editors are: Christina Kakderi, Nicos Komninos, and P. Tsarchopoulos, researchers at URENIO Research.  The Special Issue “Smart Cities and Cloud Computing’ of the Journal of Smart Cities focuses on smart city solutions that are deployed over various types of cloud environment and discuss challenges and solutions related to the use of cloud computing, and mainly the migration of smart city services to the Cloud.
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Smart City Gamification: Community PlanIt

community_planitCommunity PlanIt game was designed to improve participation and engagement of citizens in civic life. Each  game includes a number of missions, each one of them referring to a specific challenge faced by the local community. Players are asked to complete the missions by proposing new ways of dealing with a wide range of activities. At the same time, co-operation with other players is encouraged. Continue reading

Apps Challenge Playbook

NewCoverJan222016_1The “Apps Challenge Playbook: A Step by Step Guide to Planning & Running Your Own Apps Challenge’, created by the City of Palo Alto, documents the process of a multi-month community apps competition. It is a valuable resource for the communities, which run app challenges in order to benefit from the solutions that citizens build for their towns and cities. Continue reading

The 2015 Global Open Data

odi-800Open Knowledge International has published the Global Open Data Index 2015, showing that countries outside of Europe, the US & Canada have made some impressive gains in releasing key data. However, progress remains slow for most governments, who are still not providing key information in an accessible formats to be used, without restriction, by their citizens, civil societies, journalists and businesses. Continue reading

Data for Community-Driven Solutions

data_for_community-driven_solutions_196_196“Data for Community-Driven Solutions” is a series of articles, published in Stanford Social Innovation Review magazine, which highlights specific interventions that can help drive a more networked, inclusive, and open society. The articles focus on data for impact and present some of the opportunities and challenges posed by new technologies. They also offer theories and models for better using data to achieve positive social outcomes. Continue reading