Hudson has been selected as a Smart21 Community of 2018 by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) at its 4th Annual Next Gen Tech Conference in New York City, produced by Silicon Harlem.
Hudson is the only city in the U.S. to receive this honor. The Smart21 are selected during an eight-month process by ICF based on quantitative and qualitative data submitted to the Forum, which are evaluated by a group of analysts led by former Cisco executive and Westchester County (New York) CIO, Dr. Norman Jacknis. The analysis is based on the six Intelligent Community Indicators, which provide the conceptual framework for understanding the factors that determine a community's competitiveness in economic, social and cultural terms.
The six indicators include: 1) Broadband, 2) Knowledge Workforce, 3) Innovation, 4) Digital Equality, 5) Sustainability, and 6) Advocacy. All are considered important factors in determining a community’s competitiveness in the Broadband Economy.
Hudson-owned and operated Velocity Broadband played a key role in establishing Hudson as a Smart21 community. Infrastructure is the foundation of economic competitiveness, and broadband is vital to economic growth. Hudson was selected based on the City’s performance in all six indicators.
“We are proud to be recognized as a Smart21 Community, especially as the only U.S. city to be selected this year,” said Jim Stifler, Hudson’s Chief Economic Officer. “Over the past few years, we have been focusing on innovation in everything we do – from Velocity Broadband to smart technology applications and open data—so that we can position Hudson for the future. Being a Smart21 Community puts us in the prestigious company of innovative communities around the world.”
The 2018 Awards program focused on the theme of Humanizing Data, which explores the intersection between big data and open data, and the impacts of a data-driven economy on communities. The other Smart21 Communities of 2018 include cities and counties from Canada, Taiwan, Australia, Finland and France. The announcement video may be viewed here on YouTube.
For more information about the selection process and the cities selected as Smart21 Communities of 2018, visit the Intelligent Community Forum.