The Morning Briefing: Smart cities

"The Morning Briefing" is SmartPlanet's daily roundup of must-reads from the web. This morning we're reading about smart cities.

1.) Smart-grid technology could speed post-storm power restoration. Power outages along the East Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy were virtually unavoidable, but the ability of utilities to understand the causes of the outages -- and being able to accelerate the time necessary to restore power -- could be enhanced greatly by the presence of smart-grid technology, according to an industry expert.

2.) Smart City, Smart Citizens. These days, it's not just about devices becoming smart; it's about entire cities getting smart in order to improve the lives of their citizens.

3.) Smart cities strategies to help local government. IDC Government Insights announced the launch of Smart Cities Strategies, a research advisory service for cities and local governments looking for ways to use technology to improve city operations and provide better service to citizens.

4.) Omaha receives "Smart Cities" grant to plan smarter development. Omaha, NE-tech giant IBM is donating hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of planning and technology services to the City of Omaha to help deal with suburban growth and urban decay.

5.) Technology: Using technology to create smart cities and smart governments. New technology, particularly Big Data and the cloud are transforming how government works. Changes aren't limited exclusively to federal and state governments. City governments now see technology as an opportunity to become more efficient and to improve the quality of life that they can offer their residents, part of a movement that is being called 'Smart Government'.

Image credit: Flickr

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com