Issue 517

Smart Cities

Is information making our cities smarter?

A Policy Agenda for the Sharing Economy

The emerging movement of collaborative consumption is redefining the ways goods and services are exchanged, valued and created.

From carsharing to clothes-swapping to couchsurfing, collaborative consumption is not only reinventing what we consume but how we consume it.But as it moves out of infancy and toward greater adoption and acceptance, it’s time to look at the ways policy might help facilitate its growth — and how government might help, or hinder, its progress.

Smart Cities, Limited Resources

Can we provide public goods more efficiently by pricing them to reflect real-time demand?

Demand-based pricing may result in a better match-up of supply and demand than has previously been possible.

Why Does Civic Data Matter?

A new emphasis is being placed on the availability of open data from governments but what use does this data have for citizens’ daily experience?

A new emphasis is being placed on the availability of open data from governments, but what use does this data have for citizens’ daily experience? Open data has the potential to spur economic development, engage citizens, reduce government costs and improve its services. But we’re not there yet.

Urban Field Notes: Patched

A photographer observes that after the graffiti’s gone, new works of art emerge.

A photographer observes that after the graffiti’s gone, new works of art emerge.