Boston Smart City Policy
The new Engagement Center building, opened 2021.
BETA BLOCKs
Beta Blocks is the name given to a series of projects, documents, and initiatives around developing a “smart city” policy for the City of Boston - in other words, a WTF should the City do with civic technology. Below are just some of the projects I led as part of this work.
Learn more about the work here!
Beta Blocks RFP
I wrote one of the largest RFPs to come directly from the Mayor’s Office in the 21st century that was actually called “poetic” by members of the public.
Smart City Playbook
Along with our innovation fellow Karti Subramanian, I helped develop the City’s first “Smart City Playbook,” which again was a bit rebellious.
beta block design action research project
Some of the goals of the [very unique] Beta Blocks design action research project
Other Initiatives
We've begun an informal collaborative called the Local Sense Lab. The Lab explored the potential values and data concerns around mixed sensor nodes.
We released a Smart City Request for Information (RFI). This called on the tech community to tell us the directions their products were heading. This garnered over 100 responses, which we have made publicly available.
Our team created a citywide Autonomous Vehicle testing policy and test bed.
Our Smart Streets initiative is focused on using sensor data to prevent crashes.
We've also attempted frank conversations with Boston residents not yet part of the tech community. These include:
Meet the Kiosks, a conversation at the Codman Square Health Center on digital kiosks.
Robot Block Party, an event aimed at engaging families around AI, AVs, and robotics. Held on City Hall Plaza, the event garnered more than 4,500 participants.
