State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

‘Smart cities’ contemplate turning big data into big money

StateScoop: “Smart city” initiatives that make use of traffic monitors, environmental sensors and mobile apps have given local governments mountains of new data, and while new information on transportation habits, public health, and air and water conditions raises a host of questions about what cities should do with all of it, there is one potentially lucrative solution: selling it.

Monetizing data generated by new urban technology projects was the topic of an hourlong panel Tuesday at the Smart Cities Connect conference in Denver, where representatives of three local governments and one Sprint executive discussed whether cities can — and should — turn their new data streams into new sources of revenue by selling them to third-party developers in the private sector.

Read article