3 Alternative Tech Startup Cities With Less Traffic, More Housing

October 1, 2014

Silicon Valley’s powerful entrepreneurial economy has resulted in some major downsides: gridlocked traffic, high housing prices and a growing and aggressive tech backlash. Today, three cities previously known more as vacation destinations are now legitimate alternatives to Silicon Valley life at a much more affordable price. For the adventurous startup or mature tech company, there’s life beyond red taillights, long commutes and protestors blockading buses.

Las Vegas, Denver and Reno, Nev., mix together a vibrant startup culture with world-class recreation or entertainment. And they all do it in places with plenty of affordable housing, a few million fewer highway-clogging cars and minus the debate over gentrification. Related: What Elon Musk Really Thinks of ‘Silicon Valley’

1. Las Vegas. Tony Hsieh gets credit for jump-starting Las Vegas’ startup scene with his $350 million Downtown Project, but the city has grown into much more than his personal project. Switch Communication’s founder, Rob Roy, is pumping money and energy into the InNEVation Center, a collaboration space that delivers some of the fastest Internet speeds in the world (courtesy of his company’s SuperNAP data center) and serves as a meeting place for startup and economic development events.

Las Vegas’ Downtown Container Park, where an enormous metal praying mantis sculpture shoots flames out of its antennae, hosts live music events along with unique retail and dining spots. It’s helping draw new hospitality sector investment like Seth Schorr’s new ultramodern Downtown Grand hotel, a gaming, dining and entertainment venue.

While the VegasTech Fund, founded by Hsieh, is a big influencer in town, early-stage and maturing Las Vegas companies can seek financing from the Las Vegas Valley Angels, Brennan Capital and state sources like the Battle Born Venture Fund and the Silver State Opportunities Fund.

Competitive advantages: Las Vegas is an hour’s flight away from California’s two biggest population centers and the center of the convention and trade show universe. Representatives of the largest companies in the world touch down for business networking and product launches. Las Vegas has affordable housing and business costs, anchor businesses like Zappos and Switch Communications and a year-round industry-event schedule. Median home prices are $164,700, according to Zillow; about half a million dollars less than San Jose’s. Related: Tech Firms Seeking Talent Spring for Spacious, Luxe Quarters

2. Denver. A healthy startup ecosystem includes companies of all maturity levels, whereby ones that have grown from shoestring outfits to market leaders might reinvest in the community. And Denver has businesses in fast-growing industries and companies large and small, young and mature. Denver-based businesses like HomeAdvisor, now a subsidiary of IAC with 1,200 employees, participate in community-building events like Denver Startup Week.

At the center of Denver’s startup activity is Galvanize, a 30,000-square-foot entrepreneurial campus including a venture capital funding firm, as well as collaborative co-working space and a social hub for events and education. Companies with origins in the Denver area include Mapquest, Photobucket, Rally Software, Cloudzilla and Forkly.

Firms like Grotech Ventures, with offices in Denver, are financing startups and are joined by large Boulder-based funds like the Foundry Group.

Competitive advantage: Denver is located in a mountainous region that many consider more of a vacation destination than a business hub. Indeed Colorado ski resorts are just down the highway and the area’s mountain biking and hiking trails are virtually endless. Denver offers all of this, while retaining an affordable cost of living. Home prices, at a median level of $254,800, are higher than in Reno, Nev., and Las Vegas, but still less than half the price of San Jose’s. Related: The 10 Best Cities for Buying or Selling a Home

3. Reno’s allure lies with its geographic location, affordability and emerging and energetic startup scene. It’s a morning’s drive from Silicon Valley and just a half-hour car trip from the ski slopes and beaches of Lake Tahoe. That mix of business friendliness, quality of life and entrepreneurial energy is attracting small, scrappy startups and the satellite offices of some of the world’s largest technology companies.

The Biggest Little City has transitioned from a gambling mecca into an entrepreneurial hot spot. Tesla Motors is eyeing the city to house its new “gigafactory,” a multibillon-dollar battery-production headquarters; Apple has already built a data center there and Intuit, Microsoft Licensing and Drone America are headquartered in town. Homegrown startups are sprouting downtown. Reno’s Startup Row along the Truckee River features cloud-computing companies and fitness-software outfits, a vibrant co-working collective and a hardware developer that builds microcontrollers.

Reno’s vibrant entrepreneurial culture includes 1 Million Cups events, hackathons and startup weekends all year long. Marmot Properties is remodeling and updating scores of Reno homes in central locations to house the influx of entrepreneurs.

Capital needed to fuel startup activity is also available: The Silver State Opportunities Fund is investing $50 million in Nevada-based business. And the Battle Born Venture Fund is a state fund that provides critical funding for early-stage, high-growth companies in Nevada. The Reno Accelerator Fund invests in early-stage companies in the capital.

Competitive advantage: Reno’s home prices are a world away from Silicon Valley’s. The median Reno home price is $198,700, according to Zillow (less than a third of San Jose’s) so nearby tech startups and maturing companies don’t have to worry about employees struggling to find homes or commuting long hours.

Reno’s tax environment is considered business friendly. And city’s startup scene is alongside a downtown whitewater kayak park with terrific skiing and a web of mountain bike trails nearby. Plus, Reno’s thriving bar, restaurant, coffee and entertainment scene includes Campo, named one of the nation’s best new restaurants by Esquire in 2012.
Source: business2community.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Articles, Smart City

AUTODESK DISPLAYS 3D SMART CITY MODEL OF MUMBAI

October 1, 2014

Autodesk, Inc., unveiled its prowess in digital city technology by showcasing a 3D Smart City model of Mumbai, at Autodesk University India & SAARC, 2014. A digital city provides a way for the public, city government, construction communities to combine mapping, building, civil engineering, and utility information into an accurate city model that can be used to simulate the future impact of decisions at a city-wide scale.
The 3D smart city model of Mumbai that was unveiled at Autodesk University 2014, is an intelligent projection of the possibilities that the city has in terms of becoming a smart city.
• The model covers around 40% Mumbai
data comprising of South Mumbai and Bandra area
• The data also includes data related to scenario of Metro Line 3, and iconic structures.
• For developers, architects, urban planners and city officials, there is nothing quite like a scale model of your city to gain new insights into your surrounds.
• Projects related to urbanisation in the PPP mode are a function of time, money and approval. A 3D digital model, by helping in the levels of detailing, helps minimise speculation.
Sunil MK, head, AEC, Autodesk India, said, “While the world has woken up to the importance of Smart Cities, India has shown utmost promise with the government planning to establish 100 Smart cities. Our Digital City technology provides a comprehensive approach to create a sustainable city that balances economic and engineering demands with environmental and social needs.”

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Articles, Smart City

Commission Dissatisfied With Smart City’s Progress

October 1, 2014

KAKKANAD: The members of the State Youth Commission who visited the SmartCity premises on Tuesday were not satisfied over the progress of its construction.

Commission chairman Adv R V Rajesh, along with other members, visited the Smart City and InfoPark mainly to evaluate the progress of work at SmartCity and to hear the problems of IT employees.

“Though the construction of the project started by 2013, it could only achieve 7 per cent completion. It is also clear that the initial offer to provide 4,000 or more job opportunities may not be delivered in a time-bound manner,” Rajesh said.

The Commission started visiting the Smart City premises at around 11.30 am and later moved to InfoPark.

“There is no transparency in their report as it seems that they are trying to hide something from the Commission officials. It is learnt that some companies have expressed willingness to launch their institutions at Smart City but the officials were not ready to reveal the names of the companies. The InfoPark prefers to start schools, flats and other affiliated institutions, but the important thing is to develop the IT sector. They also said that the first phase of the construction would be finished by March itself,” Rajesh added.

The Commission will submit the detailed report of the status of the work to the government after getting some more information from the Smart City officials.

Source:The Indian Express

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Government (Govt), Smart City

Michael Bloomberg looking forward to work with Indian government regarding Smart cities

September 30, 2014

On Saturday the Indian Prime minister Mr. Narendra Modi met the former US Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The Prime Minister was seen interested in seeking his views on the ambitious 100 smart cities project that his government has undertaken after coming to power in May this year.

The US business magnate showed positive signs regarding the meeting with the Indian Prime Minister as he tweeted”Great meeting India Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Looking forward to working with him on smart cities,anti-tobacco & road safety measures” .

Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American politician and philanthropist. He served as the 108th Mayor of New York City, holding office for three consecutive terms beginning with his first election in 2001. With a net worth of $34 billion, he is the eleventh-richest person in the United States and the sixteenth-wealthiest in the world.He is the founder and 88% owner of Bloomberg L.P., the global financial data and media company notable for its Bloomberg Terminal .The American Philanthropist is recognized for his work in the field of Anti-tobacco campaigns & for improving traffic safety.United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced that he had appointed Bloomberg as his Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, assisting him in consultations with mayors and related key stakeholders to raise political will and mobilize action among cities as part of a long-term strategy to advance efforts on climate change.

The meeting between the philanthropist & the Indian Prime minister clarifies the intentions of the Prime Minister regarding the establishment of smart cities in India as soon as possible . India is getting MODI-fied indeed!

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Default, Smart City

National Real Estate Summit 2014 decodes smart city

September 30, 2014

The Ministry of Urban Development has began the exercise for formation of a new policy on Smart Cities in tandem with the thought process, as conceived and pronounced by the Prime Minister Modi, in which would prevail all modern amenities and infrastructure supported and well equipped with existing technologies to enable its possessor reap benefits of modern civil life.

Disclosing this at a National Real Estate Summit 2014 organized by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry here today, Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development Shankar Aggarwal added that the proposed policy would soon be unveiled with due deliberations will all stakeholders.

The builders and developers for the smart cities would be adequately rewarded with incentives and tax sops since 90 per cent of investments in such cities would pour in from the private sector for which the real estate rules and regulations be drastically pruned to woo their investments in them, indicated Shankar adding that the government is likely to repeal the existing red tapes to ensure optimum participation of the private sector.

“The Prime Minister has already asked the Urban Development Ministry to make all possible attempts to drastically remove old and prototype procedures, replacing them with new set of reform oriented approach to develop new real estate as per guidelines of new policy under which creation of 100 smart cities would become practically possible as demanded and required by inhabitants of modern world”, said Shankar.

The major component of Smart City, according to Shankar would comprise a Smart Infrastructure – providing roads, pedestrian pathways, public toilets, water & sewer networks, street lightning networks, signal systems, gas supply systems, solid waste management systems, drainage network, safety and security devices.

Chairman & Managing Director, HUDCO Dr. M Ravi Kanth in his presentation called for reduced rates of interest for housing activities and setting up of smart cities so that these come up within the stipulated time period. He, however, cautioned that credit exposure should be restricted to those entrepreneurs who wilfully turn defaulter and discourage the financial institutions to narrow their exposures for real estate activities for fair of increasing their non-performing assets.

In his welcome remarks senior vice president of PHD Chamber Alok B Shriram urged the government to reduce the cost of borrowing for the housing sector, explaining that this can be achieved by providing interest subvention for low income borrowers.

“Housing faces a disproportionate incidence of taxes amounting to more than 35 per cent of the cost of a completed unit. This can be partially alleviated by giving tax treatment of SEZs to affordable housing projects and providing benefits under Section 35 AD to the real estate sector”, he said.

Among others who participated on the occasion included Chairman & Co-Chairman of the Housing & Urban Development Committee of PHD Chamber Rajeev Talwar & Manish Agarwal.

Source:magic bricks.com

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Smart City

Smart city – a utopian concept?

September 30, 2014

‘Smart city’ has become the buzzword ever since the Narendra Modi government took charge at the Centre, exactly 114 days ago. Since then, government offices and intellectual forums, both at the national and state level, have erupted into numerous discussions and debates over the subject. Though back home in Telangana, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is yet to commit on just how many of Modi’s 100 smart cities (as proposed by the Prime Minister) would come the new state’s way, his Andhra Pradesh counterpart, N Chandrababu Naidu, has gone right ahead and quoted a rather impressive figure. His estimate: 14 out of 100 would surface in AP soon.

Amidst such ambitious announcements, however, there still seems to be no definite definition for this, clearly overused, term.

While the Union ministry of urban development provides a sketchy summary on its official website, attempting to explain how “Smart cities should be able to provide good infrastructure such as water, sanitation, reliable utility services, healthcare; attract investments; transparent processes that make it easy to run commercial activities,” experts note that such descriptions hold no meaning unless sufficiently supported with a plausible plan to execute the same. What’s also missing, they point out, is a well-defined set of parameters that need to be followed for a city to qualify as a smart city, and clarity on just who the implementing authority would be.

“It appears to me that the government wants these cities to be driven by technology, much on the lines of today’s gated communities, where people would need to use a smart card to access common amenities,” said urban researcher, C Ramachandraiah, while airing his apprehension about the success of such a project. “Given that our existing municipalities do not have the capability to initiate such a programme, this would eventually slip into the hands of private parties and benefit only real estate bigwigs and tech consultants,” he rued.

It is perhaps for such reasons that, Anant Maringanti, of Hyderabad Urban Lab, categorically stated how the proposed ‘smart city’ scheme needs to be designed so as to be able to expand the livelihoods of people working in the informal sector. “A good 90% of the Indian economy is embedded in the informal sector. In most cities, this sector sustains the livelihoods of a very large number of people. If the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) can be deployed to make life easier for them, then that, according to me, would be an elegant smart city,” Maringanti said.

“Unless people have jobs in a city, what is the point in digitizing services and putting up cameras all over or even setting up open wi-fi? That does not make a city ‘smart’,” stated Sudhir K Mahon, former chief planning officer of HMDA, while maintaining that it ultimately boils down to “good governance”. “And that can be achieved through linking of all facilities and services, like water, sewerage, etc, so that they prove to be helpful to the masses. Then a city can be called smart,” he added.

Toeing a similar line of explanation, professor V Srinivas Chary, dean of research, Administrative Staff College of India, defined a ‘smart city’ as one that “can deliver good quality services to all its stakeholders, through the use of ICT, in a cost and resource effective way”. “Given the high level of digital literacy in our country, the proposition seems extremely plausible,” Chary claimed, though stressing the need for city governments to adequately capitalise on the available technology to make the project a success.

“There has to be an integrated system of governance with better coordination among departments to implement such schemes,” reiterated architect, Shankar Narayan. Sharing his definition of a ‘smart city’, Narayan said: “A city that can use its natural resources smartly – be it water or even garbage – and is sustainable and equitable to all its residents, can be labelled a ‘smart city’. Then, whether that is achieved through the use of technology or some other means, is immaterial.”

Source: The Times of India, Hyderabad

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Articles, Smart City

‘Smart city needs smart populace’

September 30, 2014

The use of modern technology with ‘going green’ being the buzzword, innovation and smoother coordination between government bodies are a few key factors that can transform a city like Hyderabad into a smart city, opined a group of intellectuals who met here to deliberate on the various aspects and opportunities of building a ‘smart city,’ on Friday.

Addressing the gathering at the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), minister for information technology K T Rama Rao said, “The concept of a smart city changes with the country in question. A smart city in Europe might not be the same as in India. For developing a smart city, we need a smart populace and there is the need to instill discipline in people regarding all matters.” According to him, Telangana with its 39 per cent urban population has a distinct advantage when compared to Andhra Pradesh which has 21% people living in urban areas to develop such a city.

He said the government would ensure that all big building install solar power panels to make them energy efficient. “There is a rule in the GHMC Act that makes installation of solar power units mandatory in all multi-storeyed constructions. But a majority of the population is completely unaware of this rule. This could be a major step towards providing a solution to the power crisis in the city and the state. But there has to be proper enforcement of the law for this purpose,” he said, urging GHMC commissioner Somesh Kumar, who was present at the meeting, to strictly follow up on its implementation.

V Srinivas Chary, dean of ASCI, said finding permanent solution to water supply and sewerage problems was crucial to building a smart city. “As per the service delivery standards laid down by the Government of India in 2008, the water board is supposed to reduce leakage of water by 70% and make sure that there is waste water collection. We have not been doing so well in the first aspect and as for the second, it is non-existent,” he said.

He said emerging technology should be adapted to address sewerage problems, for instance, toilets themselves can be turned into mini sewerage treatment plants. “It is this sort of innovation that a smart city is made of,” he said. Urban flooding must also be tackled by installing sensor-based flood control system along the catchment area, experts said, adding, that the city will soon witness the arrival of new GPS-based bus stops where screens would be put up to give commuters regular updates the services.

S K Rao, ASCI director-general delivered the keynote address while Ahmed Babu, special commissioner, GHMC, and Somarapu Satyanarayana, MLA were among those present at the event.

Source:Magic Bricks

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Articles, Smart City

‘US companies keen to collaborate on infra projects’

September 29, 2014

Noting that US companies have plenty to offer for India, USA’s minister counsellor for commercial affairs, John McCaslin, said that a core group of 30 US companies have expertise in IT-enabled services and data analytics, which are crucial elements for developing smart cities.

Participating in a session on ‘Doing business with USA’ organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in the city on Thursday, McCaslin said that

USA wants to work with any state government that is keen on taking up infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, USA consular chief-visas, Sutton Meagher said that getting visas is easier than most people think, especially when it comes to B1/B2 visas for travel to USA. She said that visa applicants can get their visas in less than a week following interviews by the concerned authorities.

While noting that an online application makes life easy for applicants, she urged people attending interviews for the visa to be honest. She said that even translators are available during the visa interview process if applicants have difficulty in communicating in English.

Source:Times Of India

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Smart City

Better planning, designing must for smart cities

September 29, 2014

Smart cities are not just smart in providing services but the very basics of planning, designing and construction should also conform to the standards. Keeping this in mind an awareness programme was organized by Geospatial Media and Communications, dedicated to advocating and promoting judicious usage of geospatial technologies in building smart cities, here on Wednesday.

The Delhi-based company has started a series of presentations in tier-II cities, identified to be developed as smart cities in near future and Ranchi was the fourth in the series following Guwahati, Dehradun and Bhubaneswar. Geospatial media director (Asia Pacific) Prashant Joshi said they have been advocating smart planning, designing, building and maintenance for which modern tools are used right from the stage of mapping to enhance concept and make the projects cost effective.

“The plans, three-dimensional maps are drawn with the help of digital data obtained through GIS and building information management, chances of error are minimized,” he said.

Ranchi mayor Asha Lakra appreciated the presentations and, along with a team of ward councilors, agreed to use best-available technologies while making the plan for Ranchi as a smart city. “We would like to make Ranchi the smartest city in the region and for that purpose we need to know the modern technologies available globally,” she said. Attending the presentation, principal secretary of the department of information and technology, N N
Sinha, agreed that technology effectively cuts down on wastage and proper planning could speed up work execution.

“As spatial data forms the very foundation of all planned human activities, technologies such as GIS, GPS, satellite data, surveying, mapping, laser scanning, photgrammetry, and others, are significantly proving to be critical as decision support tools that can decisively help in planning and informed decision making in these initiations,” Joshi said. Citing examples of some of the projects like Lvasa and airports being built in the country he said all such construction are aided by 3D mapping based on spatial data.

Experts from Mecon and Coal India Limited, which have been widely using spatial data in engineering designs and mining, shared their experiences of incorporation of modern technology and tools in project execution.

Technologies such as GIS, GPS, satellite data, surveying, mapping and laser scanning are proving to be as critical as support tools that help in planning and decision making while designing smart cities.

Source:Times of India

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Smart City

GIFT City project gets Centre’s nod

September 29, 2014

The Centre has given a formal approval to sponsor the ambitious Rs 78,000-crore Gujarat International Finance Tech-City (GIFT) project which is being developed as the country’s first smart city near Gandhinagar.

This approval will now make the GIFT project eligible for funding from central government and will also help in faster clearances, said a senior official associated with the project.

“Earlier, we didn’t have a forum. We used to face a lot of difficulties in getting the necessary funds and clearances from the Centre. But now the Centre has approved to sponsor the project. This means that the government will be considering GIFT as a smart city, and the project will qualify for funding under different government schemes,” said R K Jha, director of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Company Ltd, which is a joint venture between state-run Gujarat Urban Development Company Ltd (GUDCL) and a private firm Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS)

However, Jha did not disclose the quantum of funds that the company was eyeing from the Centre for the project which has already achieved financial closure of Rs 1,157 crore for the Phase-I on May 20, 2014. The total estimated cost of Phase-I of the project is Rs 1,818 crore.

“The Centre will also form a coordination committee which will be iron out the bottlenecks facing the project. This committee which will be formed in the next one month will possibly be headed by secretary of Union Ministry of Urban Development,” he told The Indian Express.

“This committee is expected to be on the lines of an existing empowered committee formed by the Gujarat government to sort out issues related to the project at the state-level,” Jha added.

The project is facing a number of bottlenecks including the framing of rules required for a International Financial Services Centre (IFSC). The project which was one of the pet projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conceptualised as a cheaper but world-class alternative to similar financial service centres in Mumbai, London and Tokyo.

GIFT is also seeking height clearances of 300 meters to build taller structures within the . “Currently we are closer to the international airport and are being allowed to build structures with 30 floors (or 120 meters). We have been asking the Centre for a clearance of 300 meters,” Jha added.

Source:indianexpress

Written by ITW Editor · Filed Under About, Government (Govt), Smart City

« Previous Page — Next Page »