The Smart Community Podcast

Hi #smartcommunityfriends! I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:

•Calum Cameron from Episode 297

•Chris Manoski from Episode 298

•Dr. Mariela Alfonzo from Episode 299

Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), education, collaboration and co-creation.

One thing that all of our guests agree on is that Smart Communities is a journey that everyone should be a part of. Through education, collaboration and co-creation we can build communities that people really want, not just communities they need.

As Mariela Alfonzo says, "Being able to have a platform [where] anybody can contribute and co-create, I think that's really where we're headed in Smart Communities."

As always we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!

Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community

Connect with me via email: [email protected]

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube

The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast we are so excited to bring you our very first podcast panel, which was recorded live at the beginning of June 2022. We were joined by Laura Baker from the City of Casey in Victoria and who is also the President of the Australian Smart Communities Association (ASCA). We had Nathaniel Mason from the City of Tea Tree Gully in South Australia, James Peet from Moreton Bay Regional Council in Queensland, and we also had Rory Brown from the Smart Places Program in the Cities and Active Transport Division in New South Wales. We proudly partnered with the Australian Smart Communities Association to bring you this very special episode, as we discuss how to embed Smart Communities. In this episode we begin with an Acknowledgement of Country, our panelists tell us about their backgrounds, and Laura also tells us a bit about what ASCA does as well as the Smart Casey launchpad. We then hear from James and he tells us about the asset scanning and Smart park projects Moreton Bay Council have been running. Rory then tells us a bit about the Smart Places strategy and some of the initiatives involved, we then hear about the City of Casey's Digital Equity Living Lab that has just been introduced, before Nathaniel tells us about the Connected Cities project the City of Tea Tree Gully has been working on. Rory then discusses some interesting projects, including the Smart planning portal, the 3D modeling work they have done with some Western Sydney councils, and the Smart irrigation work they have been managing at Sydney Olympic Park. We finish our panel chat discussing the key elements to embedding Smart Communities in our organisations. This is a really exciting episode, a little bit longer than normal and we really hope you get a lot out of it. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!

Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community

Connect with Laura via LinkedIn

Connect with Nathaniel via LinkedIn

Connect with James via LinkedIn

Connect with Rory via email: [email protected]

Connect with me via email: [email protected]

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube

The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital

Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a very interesting conversation with Dr. Mariela Alfonzo. Mariela is the Founder and CEO of State of Place, an AI-driven, urban design data and predictive analytics software that helps citymakers create more thriving communities more effectively, cost-efficiently, and inclusively. In this episode Mariela begins by telling us about her background in Urban Planning, her focus on how the built environment shapes our perceptions and what a Smart Community means to her. Mariela then tells us how she began her startup, State of Place, a bit about what they do, and the range of clients Mariela works with. Mariela then shares with us a use case where her work has made a real impact and she explains how the built environment is actually formed in the world from a cultural context. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of addressing the issue of equality and how our environments can predetermine how well we live. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!

Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community

Connect with Mariela via LinkedIn, Twitter or email: [email protected]

Connect with me via email: [email protected]

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube

The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital

Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a great conversation with Chris Manoski. Chris is the Senior Coordinator for Place and Engagement at Cumberland City Council, and proudly born and raised in Western Sydney. In this episode we begin by Chris telling us about his background growing up in Western Sydney, his current role at Cumberland City Council, and his passion for making change for the better. Chris then tells us what inspired him to work in the social sector as well as his love for tech and the Smart City space, what a Smart Community means to him, and he discusses what he believes makes Smart Community strategies and programs successful. Chris then tells us a bit about the Cumberland City Council Smart Cities journey, some of the projects he has been working on as well as the changes he has seen in the space recently, before he discusses the key foundations required to enable smart furniture applications. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of business to business selling models through tech and open data. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!

Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community

Connect with Chris via LinkedIn or email: [email protected]

Connect with me via email: [email protected]

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube

The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital

Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have another great conversation with Calum Cameron. Based in Estonia for the last 15 years, Calum is the CEO of Digital Path, a company that works to build responsive digital societies with governments, industry and entrepreneurs. Calum and I last spoke in 2020 in Episode 185, an episode so good we replayed it in our Summer Series of December 2021, so Calum is back to give us a full update. We begin by Calum telling us about his background in corporate IT, his passion for helping people to create change through digital transformation and innovation as well as giving people the tools and resources to do so, and we discuss some of the citizen lead initiatives I have seen in Australia helping to create change. We then discuss the societal shifts we have both seen in communities due to the pandemic, Calum tells us what a Smart Community means to him, before he discusses some of the shifts he has seen in the Smart Communities space since we last spoke in 2020. Calum then tells us about some of the effects the pandemic had on services in Estonia, and some of the exciting projects he has been working on. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of collaboration and the need for transparency to create trust in communities. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!

Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community

Connect with Calum via LinkedIn or email: [email protected]

Connect with me via email: [email protected]

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube

The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital

Hi #smartcommunityfriends! And hello to our listeners in Bangkok, Thailand, you are amongst this month's top city for episode downloads. I'm back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, 'Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?" And this time I'm sharing with you the answers from these guests:

•Emily Bobis from Episode 291

•Dan Hendry from Episode 292

•Beate Kubitz from Episode 293

•Michael Milford from Episode 294

•And finally Crissy Ditmore from Episode 295

Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around the shift in growth to suburban living, connectivity, data literacy, education and learning from each other. Every Smart Community has some great things to offer so sharing those great ideas, knowledge and solutions is so important. Not only learning from each other, but learning from the past and past mistakes should just be a part of the process.

As Dan Hendry says, "Learning from each other, that's the smartest thing we can do."

As always we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!

Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community

Connect with me via email: [email protected]

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube

The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.

Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have another fascinating conversation with Crissy Ditmore. Crissy is Head of Public Policy, North America for Optibus. As a 15-year transportation industry veteran she focuses on mobility for all, so she is the perfect guest to wrap up our #mobilitymay! I spoke with Crissy in early 2020 so it is great to catch up on what she has been up to since then. In this episode Crissy begins by telling us about her background in public transportation, her passion for making transit work for people and addressing their needs, and we touch on Crissy's fab #AllAboutThatBus video she created. Crissy then tells us what a Smart Community means to her, she discusses some of the shifts she has seen happening in the transit mobility sector since we last spoke, before she tells us about her current visit to Australia and her talk on gender bias transit. We then discuss the difference in transit experiences for women and men, the importance of serving the transit needs of all community groups and the need to plan safe transit services. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of changing travel behaviours, and building a transport network to serve those changes. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!

Before we begin I want to share a content warning with you as a part of this episode contains conversation about sexual assault. It is around the 30 minute mark and goes for about 2 minutes so you can skip that section if you need, or give this episode a miss altogether if that's what's best for you.

Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community

Connect with Crissy via Instagram: @fabcitycrissy, Twitter and LinkedIn

Connect with me via email: [email protected]

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube

The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital

Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a wonderful chat with Michael Milford. Michael is a multi-award winning educational entrepreneur, professor and joint director at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) centre for robotics. Michael conducts interdisciplinary research at the boundary between robotics, neuroscience and computer vision. I spoke with Michael in both 2018 and 2020 so I am super excited to welcome him back for #mobilitymay. In this episode Michael begins by telling us about his background as a professor and joint director at the QUT centre for robotics, his passion for technology specifically for autonomous vehicles, as well as education and Michael tells us what a Smart Community means to him. Michael then updates us on some of the projects he has been working on since last recording in 2020, including the two parts in the CHAD (Cooperative and Highly Automated Driving) project he has been leading, before he discusses some use cases where autonomous vehicles are an advantage and disadvantage to society. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of computer vision, perception, sensing and decision making in the Artificial Intelligence space, as well as having a more grounded approach to developing autonomous vehicles. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!

Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community

Connect with Michael via Twitter or email: [email protected]

Connect with me via email: [email protected]

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube

The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital

Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of The Smart Community Podcast I have another great chat with Beate Kubitz. Beate is a Transport Consultant and Future Mobility Researcher in the UK. I spoke to Beate in both 2020 and 2021, so I am very keen to have her back on the podcast for #mobilitymay to give us an update. In this episode Beate starts by telling us about her background as a transport consultant and her current work in mobility services, what inspired her to launch her sustainable delivery service using carbo bikes, and what a Smart Community means to her. We then discuss the importance of inclusivity in Smart Communities to enhance social mobility, as well as the benefits of both digitising transport and on demand transport, and we then discuss the impacts that changing mobility behaviour can have. Beate then talks more about her cargo bike project and how it has evolved since we last spoke, before she tells us about the work she has been doing with other towns in the UK to integrate cargo bikes. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of increased use of e-bikes particularly in public bike share, mobility as a service and more networking planning in the UK. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!

Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community

Connect with Beate via her Website, LinkedIn or Twitter

Connect with me via email: [email protected]

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube

The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital

Hi #smartcommunity friends! And welcome to our second #mobilitymay episode. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have fantastic talk with Dan Hendry. Dan strives toward promoting sustainable initiatives for the Limestone District School Board & Loyalist Township and involves himself in many community-based projects. He is a social innovator, facilitator, mentor, and communicator and focuses his energy and efforts on making Kingston in Ontario, Canada, a sustainable, liveable & Smart City. Dan starts off by telling us about his background in sustainability and his current work specifically in transit based projects, what a Smart Community is to Dan, and his passion for sustainability, innovation and leaving the world a better place. Dan then tells us about his amazing work teaching teens how to ride city transit and linking the school and transit systems together, and we then discuss the value of that education for people and the community. We then talk about the importance of normalising the concept of transit and different transit behaviours, before Dan explains how data helps him to educate in the projects he works on, as well as the web of benefits that data helps to visualise. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trend of the climate change crisis and the need to take action on this issue. As always, we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it!

Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community

Connect with Dan via LinkedIn or Twitter

Connect with me via email: [email protected]

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube

The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital