Urban Loop

Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is physician, epidemiologist, public health expert, progressive activist, and political commentator. Previously as the Health Commissioner for the City of Detroit, tasked with rebuilding the health system, Abdul oversaw one of the fastest municipal public health turnarounds in American history, making Detroit a national leader in public health and environmental justice. In 2018, he ran for Governor of Michigan on an unapologetically progressive platform, advocating for universal health and debt-free tuition. Endorsed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, his ideas have gained in popularity across the country. Abdul’s latest book, “Healing Politics” on our society’s underlying “epidemic of security” is now available. A highly relevant read in a time like this, Abdul dives into how problems of healthcare are inherently problems of politics and inequality. We dive into… America’s lackluster COVID-19 response and what needs to be done to curb the worst-case scenario Our society’s underlying “epidemic of insecurity”, leaving people at the edge of our economy, while selling our necessary public infrastructure to the highest bidder How universal healthcare could have prevented societal ripple effects of this pandemic And lastly, what you can do to help while at home In a time of crisis, bold leadership from people like Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is what we need. Hope you find this as inspiring as I did!   Abdul can be reached at the following: Website, LinkedIn, Twitter He also hosts a podcast, America Dissected - give it a listen!   Stay safe! See more at https://www.theurbanloop.com/episode-16-dr-abdul-el-sayed --- The Urban Loop podcast is brought to you in partnership with Billion or Bust Media. You can find the latest episodes and show notes at our website and socials below. The Urban Loop: Website, Twitter Billion or Bust Media: Website, Instagram

Andrew Watkins is the President and COO of Marketplace.city, a Chicago based startup building a marketplace to connect leading smart technology providers to governments, worldwide. What began with the question, “Why don't public sector buyers have a better way to discover and acquire technology solutions?" blossomed into a robust marketplace serving over 60 cities and hundreds of vendors. Marketplace.city has been recognized by The World Economic Forum, Governing Magazine, State Scoop, and was awarded the Innovative Idea Award at the 2017 Smart City Expo World Congress. In this conversation, we dive into… How tech procurement currently happens in most city governments The gap that Marketplace.city fills, enabling this process to happen faster and more effectively The team’s (Chris Foreman, Cameron Koczon) journey through building this company And as always, some comprehensive advice on how to learn more about and begin working in the smart city space For all the budding smart city entrepreneurs out there, this one’s for you - some great stories and advice on building a successful civic-tech oriented startup! Andrew can be reached at the following: LinkedIn, Twitter Enjoy the show! See more at https://www.theurbanloop.com/episode-15-andrew-watkins/ -- The Urban Loop podcast is brought to you in partnership with Billion or Bust Media. You can find the latest episodes and show notes at our website and socials below. The Urban Loop: Website, Twitter Billion or Bust Media: Website, Instagram

Governor Martin O’Malley served as the 61st Governor of the State of Maryland and was a 2016 Democratic Presidential Candidate. During his tenure as governor, he introduced and drove a revolutionary style of leadership centered on data-based decision making through the use of Esri GIS (Geographic Information Systems) models. Under his leadership, Maryland had transformed from one of the poorest performing states to one of the strongest, recovering 100% of the jobs lost during the 2008 recession, having the best public schools in America, and seeing a reduction in crime by 43%.  Governor Martin O’Malley recently authored a book, Smarter Government: How to Govern for Results in the Information Age, providing a deep look into the behind-the-scenes leadership and vision needed to implement a revolutionary method of governance. He’s additionally given several talks and lectures about these topics at TED and at Esri Summits. In this conversation, we dive into… Martin O’Malley’s tenure as the Mayor of Baltimore (1999 - 2007) where he first introduced CitiStat to help make the city a safer place How he expanded that to StateStat as Governor (2007 - 2015) and drove inspiring results across all departments in the state, several of which were hailed by President Barack Obama The necessary leadership strategies and actions to build an entrepreneurial organization driven by results and transparency The Governor’s 2016 Presidential campaign and some of his thoughts on the 2020 Democratic primary elections And as always, some comprehensive advice on how to learn more about and begin working in the smart city space within government I certainly wish we had more time to dive into the Governor’s leadership, but this was a fascinating conversation to look into the processes that drive leadership and change from the top-down! Governor Martin O’Malley can be reached at the following: LinkedIn, Twitter Enjoy the show! See more at https://www.theurbanloop.com/episode-14-martin-omalley   The Urban Loop podcast is brought to you in partnership with Billion or Bust Media. You can find the latest episodes and show notes at our website and socials below. The Urban Loop: Website, Twitter Billion or Bust Media: Website, Instagram

Ellen Hwang is currently a Program Director at the Knight Foundation and was previously the Director of Smart City & Municipal Innovation for the City of Philadelphia, where she helped drive an initiative to lay out the City’s first ever Smart City roadmap.  In this conversation, we dive into… Ellen’s journey, from her time at Temple University to the Knight Foundation today How SmartCityPHL, the first Smart City Roadmap for Philadelphia, came into existence and all the joys and challenges during the journey How the City of Philadelphia determined the City’s guiding principles for executing on this vision How the Knight Foundation, a key player in supporting community orgs, is promoting and laying out a vision for Open Data And as always, some comprehensive advice on how to learn more about and begin working in the smart city space This was an inspiring conversation, seeing Ellen’s love for her city shine in her tireless effort to build a thoughtful vision for Philadelphia’s future. Enjoy! Ellen can be reached at the following: LinkedIn, Twitter   Enjoy the show! See more at https://www.theurbanloop.com/episode-13-ellen-hwang   The Urban Loop podcast is brought to you in partnership with Billion or Bust Media. You can find the latest episodes and show notes at our website and socials below. The Urban Loop: Website, Twitter Billion or Bust Media: Website, Instagram

Kelly Kang was most recently the Program Manager at Techstars Detroit, the premier accelerator for helping founders build businesses across mobility, transportation, and city infrastructure.  In this conversation, we dive into… Kelly’s journey and how she found herself in a mentorship role with Techstars Some of the most impactful mobility problems being tackled Strategies for startups to succeed in the mobility world As always, advice on how to learn more about and begin working in the smart city space, including attending local meetups such as Planet M Mobility I walked away from this conversation, inspired by the hardworking founders and mentors of Techstars and hopeful for a bright future for mobility startups! Kelly can be reached at the following: LinkedIn Enjoy the show! See more at https://www.theurbanloop.com/episode-12-kelly-kang/   The Urban Loop podcast is brought to you in partnership with Billion or Bust Media. You can find the latest episodes and show notes at our website and socials below. The Urban Loop: Website, Twitter Billion or Bust Media: Website, Instagram

Your favorite podcast is back! Season 2 of The Urban Loop returns this week, presented in partnership with Billion or Bust Media. This season is going to be filled with eye-opening interviews with city leaders, civic technologists, and leading urbanists. Beyond that, we're planning on bringing forth a variety of content, including a weekly news roundup and insightful deep-dives into pertinent Smart City related topics.  As always, would love to hear your thoughts, comments, and ideas on our website or on Twitter! Thanks for listening, stay tuned!

In Episode 10, the final for Season 1, I’m joined by Jordan Davis. Jordan is the Director of Smart Columbus where she leads the City and the Columbus Partnership in bringing together the right partners and kickstarting pilot programs that help the city advance towards the grand vision of a connected city. Smart Columbus was born out of the very first USDOT Smart City Challenge and the City has been leading the country by example in setting the right foot forward in the creation of a smart city. In this conversation, we dive into… How large-scale systems thinking is integral to projects of this size and vision Smart Columbus OS and the foundations of Smart Columbus Successful pilot programs that were deployed, including the very first autonomous shuttle by May Mobility As always, advice on how to learn more about and begin working in the smart city space Jordan is a guest I’ve been very excited about and waiting to talk to for a very long time now, and this interview on her work and the progress Columbus has made was truly an inspiration to say the least! Thank you all for sticking with me over the past few months, this has been an incredible journey. After listening to this interview, please visit www.theurbanloop.com or find us on Twitter @the_urban_loop to fill out a short survey on your thoughts so far! Season 2 is on it’s way! Jordan can be reached at the following: LinkedIn, Twitter, Smart Columbus: Website, Twitter Enjoy the show! See more at https://www.theurbanloop.com/ep-10-jordan-davis/

Nigel Jacob is the Co-Founder of the Office of New Urban Mechanics, a civic innovation incubator and R&D lab within the City of Boston. Nigel’s work is dedicated to making urban life better through human-centered design and innovative applications of technology. The Office works with universities, startups, and other city departments to design innovative ideas around education, transportation, housing, and city research. Nigel is currently a board member for organizations like Code for America and coUrbanize. Overall, his work has led to him being named the Public Official of the Year in 2011 and a White House Champion of Change in 2012. In this conversation, we dive into… How an R&D lab within the city government can lead to rapid innovation and growth The  impact that human-centered design can have on government services Nigel’s background as a software engineer and how he transitioned his career into urban technology It was truly a privilege to have the chance to talk to and learn from Nigel. I hope you feel the same - Enjoy the show!   Nigel can be reached at: Twitter, LinkedIn See more at https://www.theurbanloop.com/ep-9-nigel-jacob/

Janna Smith is the Transportation Technology Project Manager for the City of Los Angeles. Janna works at the crossroads of technology and policy, leading efforts around data sharing and Smart City pilot programs in implementing LADOT’s Transportation Technology Strategy.   In this conversation, we dive into… How LA is betting on Data, Mobility, and Infrastructure as a service Best practices surrounding on collecting and maintaining transportation data How to best separate the signal from the noise as an elected official or a technologist   Janna brings deep knowledge and experience to leverage the best in technologists and policy makers. This was a great conversation, I hope you learn a bit and enjoy the chat!   Janna can be reached at the following: Twitter, LADOT   Enjoy the show!   See more at https://www.theurbanloop.com/ep-8-janna-smith/

Danielle DuMerer is the CIO & Commisioner of the City of Chicago, where she helps the City leverage data and technology to improve city service delivery and oversees the implementation of large-scale smart city initiatives. In this conversation, Danielle gives us insight into... Improving the efficacy and accessibility of gov’t services How Chicago operates their incredible Open Data platform and collaborates with the city’s active civic tech community, in the form of Chi Hack Night and the Chicago Design System The Array of Things program, which is Chicago’s massive Internet of Things sensor deployment It’s amazing to see how Danielle is helping Chicago lead in civic technology while ensuring that all advancements remain accessible to every single one of the city’s residents. This was a great conversation, I hope you learn a bit and enjoy the chat! Danielle can be reached at the following: LinkedIn, Twitter Enjoy the show! See more at https://www.theurbanloop.com/ep-7-danielle-dumerer/