Podcast #34: Ben Green on Smart Enough Cities

Data technology researcher and author Ben Green punctures the myth of the smart city.

By Mo Lotman | August 8, 2019 | Artificial Intelligence, Community, Culture, Government, Human Rights, Law, Podcasts, Policing, Politics, Prediction, Privacy, Safety, Security, Society, Transportation | Alphabet, Autonomous Vehicles, Bike Share, Boston, Branding, Cameras, Cities, City Services, Civic Engagement, Civic Pride, Complexity, Data Gathering, Data Monetization, Democracy, Dynamic Systems, Efficiency, Engineering, Google, License Plate Readers, Mixed-Use, Optimization, Predictive Policing, Public Policy, Public Space, Racism, Reductionism, Richness, Seattle, Sensors, Sidewalk Labs, Smart Cities, Smart Technology, Social Justice, Street Life, surveillance, Surveillance Oversight Ordinances, Tech Goggles, Traffic, Transportation, Urban Design

America Should Send Amazon Packing

Amazon has destroyed businesses, mistreated employees, lowered wages, manipulated markets, and virtually censored books. Now they want a giant handout.

By Mo Lotman | October 11, 2017 | Community, Economics, Employment, Ethics, Government, Law, Publishing | Amazon, Amazon Marketplace, Amazon Web Services, Boston, Cloud Computing, Delivery, Detroit, E-Commerce, ILSR, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Internet, Jeff Bezos, Labor, Local Economies, Local Government, Main Streets, Market Share, Monopoly, Pittsburgh, Retail, Sales Tax, Seattle, Shopping, Unfair Business Practices, Whole Foods

Podcast #10: Nicole Freedman on Bike Transit

When Nicole Freedman became Boston’s first “bike czar,” the city had been rated worst in the country in bike friendliness by Bicycling Magazine. A decade later, it’s been in the top ten with a growing network of protected lanes and one of the nation’s first major bike-sharing programs. Freedman describes what it takes to change culture around transit and how everyone can benefit.

By Mo Lotman | March 15, 2017 | Culture, Environment, Health, Podcasts, Politics, Transportation, Well-Being | Bicycles, Bike Lanes, Bike Sharing, Boston, Driverless Cars, Exercise, Local Economies, Mode-Agnostic Transit, New York City, Olympics, Paris, Seattle, Thomas Menino, Transit, Transportation, Vélib

Amazon.gov: A Social Safety Net for the Digital Age

Left out of the tech boom? Outsourced or can’t code? For those failing to adequately tap into the new economy, [...]

By Gabe Fenigsohn | July 20, 2016 | Economics, Society | Amazon, Homeless, Reno, San Francisco, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Social Services, Yahoo