Giving Compass' Take:

• In this webinar overview, hosted by IEEE Smart Cities, panelists discussed weaving elements of technology resilience into long-term recovery planning and key learning objectives. 

• How can donors support tech resilience strategies during the pandemic? 

• Read how SDG principles can help cities address COVID-19. 


In a Tuesday webinar, a number of smart city consultants offered best practices to assist governments in building more resilient cities and regions as the nation looks toward recovery from the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The webinar, hosted by IEEE Smart Cities — particularly the P2784 working group — centered around the idea that cities have an opportunity to advance various technologies to better respond to crises, and they should use existing frameworks offered by organizations like the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST) to weave elements of resiliency into long-term smart city frameworks.

"We should stop calling it a smart city; we should call it a responsive city," said Benson Chan, co-founder of innovation firm Strategy of Things, on the call. Chan's firm works with NIST and other organizations like CompTIA and Qualcomm in building resiliency and internet of things (IoT) strategies and guidance for governments. Chan and other speakers shared these strategies on the call through four key learning objectives.

  1. Understand the elements of a resilient city To build a resilient city, leaders must understand what a resilient city does, Chan explained. He suggested cities should thrive for five specific factors of a resiliency plan: prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery.
  2. Understand the smart city ecosystem framework Once cities identify their resiliency goals and targets, they must lay it into a framework that can help those goals scale from small ideas into actions that potentially reach beyond the city.
  3. Review how smart city tech is currently helping COVID-19 response To assist with outlining targets and building a framework, cities should also look to current trends and initiatives being implemented to address coronavirus.
  4.  Identify long-term opportunities for tech and IoT Communities and public health systems are underprepared for the continued spread of COVID-19, and many are turning to technology for help, Chan said. Yet the question remains: What technologies will we need to support the "new normal" when this pandemic is over?

Read the full article about resilience cities by Kristin Musulin at Smart Cities Dive.