Uptake’s Energy Solutions Lead, Sonny Garg, has been invited to speak tonight at the National Governors Association (NGA) Summer Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island. Over 30 governors are expected to be in attendance where Garg will speak about technology and innovation in local and state government.
Garg will talk about how governments often find themselves caught between competing interests: The need to provide the necessary services that the private sector can’t or won’t provide at an equitable rate for all, and the expectations of citizens that public services, like mass transit, produce customer service results similar to what they experience with private sector offerings, like via ride sharing services. How can government entities deliver on both providing services the market doesn’t want to but also to deliver on the expectations of users set by the market?
Uptake Enters Smart Cities
The Wall Street Journal published an article in April titled “The Rise of the Smart City” in which news editor Michael Totty discussed how mayors and other city officials across the country are starting to utilize the data at their disposal to transform the way cities function. From applying predictive analytics to improve restaurant health inspections to putting sensors on water pipes, parking meters and more, Totty illustrates how the so-called information revolution is changing how cities are run, and thus, influencing the lives of residents.
