Broadband Economies: Creating the Community of the 21st Century

The Intelligent Community Forum, a think tank and global policy group, shares experiences and cases studies from around the world, showing how access to high-speed broadband telecommunications can bring about the socio-economic changes needed to prosper in the 21st Century. This book chronicles projects from the Netherlands to rural Virginia, outlining 'best-practices' and categorizing common elements that made those projects succeed. The book also looks at the unique factors surround every community, allowing readers to see what public policy decisions were taken in certain political climates that could be beneficial in different parts of the world. Reading through the stories chronicled in "Broadband Economis", one can tell that optimism is the operative word for the ICF. In a world where technology is powerful enough to transform cultures and economies, it's easy to understand how some might become fearful of the future. But for the Intelligence Community Forum, technology simply means the bar has been raised. Through technology, jobs may move from Indiana to India, but ideas can also move from Korea to Kansas to help replace those jobs, and wind technology pioneered in the Netherlands can be perfected in New Jersey to help build a cleaner future. Jeff Smith Editor, [...]

Reading the other reviews for this product, I feel a little out of place. I'm not a community organizer or a director of anything or a CEO. I'm a recent college grad, and while staying at a friend's house, this book was recommended as a "must-read." The book first thoroughly defines what an intelligent community is, then provides a sort-of how-to guide to becoming an intelligent community - including dozens of stories and lessons of succeeded communities. Even though I'm not involved in local politics, the knowledge gleaned from this book is perfect for me and others across many fields. While this should definitely be read by those looking to lead communities or make intelligent changes politically, this (like Friedman's The World is Flat) is also perfect for college students in the fields of communications, education, history, engineering, and economics. To get a better view on technological events going on outside of your bubble, do yourself a favor - read this book!

Finally, from the founders of the Intelligent Community Forum, comes a book telling stories of success and lessons learned. The authors explain how it's done with broadband connectivity, a knowledge workforce and a culture of innovation. Their writing is clear, thoughtful and persuasive in suggesting a framework for the 'virtuous cycle' of positive change that can lead to competitive advantage. Don M. Flournoy, Prof. of Telecommunications, Scripps College of Communication, Ohio University, Athens OH; co-author of Networked Communities: Strategies of Digital Collaboration, Hershey PA: IGI-Global, 2009.

With over half the world's citizens now living in cities, our governments, universities and businesses need not only to collaborate, but to invent and innovate in new ways that make our cities more vibrant, prosperous, sustainable, and secure. Broadband Economies distills years of engagement between the Intelligent Communities Forum and many of the world's most intelligent communities into a concise set of "lessons learned." At Polytechnic Institute of New York University, we are pleased to be a partner with the ICF and to support its essential role in designing a better future for the world's urban communities.

There are many who talk about tech-revolution, but it's a rare revolutionary who writes with an almost poetic sensibility and stays grounded in the real world. Bell status as an "eminence grise" derives from the fact that he's made ICF the "go-to" organization for anyone interested in the transformation of communities -- all those places where we live, work, play and learn. "Broadband Economies" is much more than a manifesto and a handbook-for-action all rolled into one; it's a master-blueprint that lays out what we need for our communities. But Bell doesn't stop there. He helps imagine a world where specific and visionary private investments and and public actions gets us to that preferred future." --gordon feller, ceo urban age institute wwww.urbanage.org