How ‘smart city’ collaboration sets New York City apart

As interest in “smart cities” technology continues to grow in urban centers around the world, New York City’s interim chief technology officer, Alby Bocanegra, says his city’s distinct approach sets it apart.

“[New York City has been] showcasing the power of collaboration between cities,” Bocanegra says in a video interview at the Smart Cities NY conference last month. “[We’ve seen] the importance of bringing industry into the conversation, as well as partnering with stakeholders at every level from the community, to NGOs to academia, thought leaders, domain experts and civil society and how that collaboration can really lead to some important progress and breakthroughs around smart cities.”

One key product of the city’s collaboration has emerged in the form of the Cities Coalition for Digital Rights, he says.

The coalition, Bocanegra explains, is a great example of how “collectively cities can really leverage their power as cities to really make an impact” on digital rights, but also on other issues.

“Perhaps then there’s an opportunity to share best practices more with cities and really take a lot of the use cases of what cities are doing right,” Bocanegra says. “I think the Cities Coalition has really provided evidence that partnerships between global cities are the best way to move forward and for us to get it right for our citizens.”

Bocanegra on his unique approach to solving NYC problems:

Bocanegra on emerging challenges to NYC’s tech innovation landscape:

These videos were filmed on May 14, 2019 at the Smart Cities NY conference in New York, N.Y.