Tech fixes

Chapter 1

SXSW: how to make cities smarter

As more people flock to cities a key question for many planners and urbanists is how to make cities “smarter”. It’s a term that gets bandied about so often that it becomes almost meaningless but at South by Southwest – Austin’s annual celebration of all things tech, film and music – people have been pondering this very topic.

Chapter 2

Boston: Jascha Franklin Hodge

Boston is one of the leading tech cities in the world, with a healthy start-up scene and universities such as MIT and Harvard leading the field in tech innovation. It also has a strong municipal commitment to integrate tech and data into civic life and this particular task is the responsibility of chief information officer Jascha Franklin-Hodge.

Chapter 3

Ljubljana: bus revolution

When thinking about transport technology it’s easy to get distracted with flights of fancy such as carbon-composite materials, maglev trains and self-driving cars. Amid all these glittering developments, the humble bus doesn’t get much of a look in. But Ljubljana is showing that the application of a little technology can go a long way, making the bus a key part of its urban-transport transformation.