Brewed Fresh Daily

Read about this in the Victoria Transport Policy Institute’s email:

Connected Urban Development (CUD) is a partnership between Cisco and cities around the world to create urban communications infrastructures that demonstrate how network connectivity can reduce carbon emissions in urban environments. By using network connectivity for communication, collaboration, urban planning, and other activities, CUD will help change the way in which cities do the following:

* Deliver services to residents
* Manage the flow of traffic
* Operate public transportation
* Use and manage real estate resources

Changing the way cities operate has a positive impact on the ways in which citizens work, live, and play…

Wish we were doing it here in Cleveland…

Connected Urban Development - Connected Urban Development - Cisco Systems

Great example of the programmable web in action. Walk Score will only increase in popularity and usefulness as gas prices go up:

Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking.

Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. Here are general guidelines for interpreting your score:

• 90 - 100 = Walkers’ Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
• 70 - 90 = Very Walkable: It’s possible to get by without owning a car.
• 50 - 70 = Some Walkable Locations: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
• 25 - 50 = Not Walkable: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
• 0 - 25 = Driving Only: Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

WalkScore

Does anyone care to comment on this report? I find the Milken Institute Report interesting since it seems to tell a different story that what we’ve been told about our rankings, etc. Maybe I’m missing something.

Ohio also fared badly as the state plummeted from 24th to 36th place. The erosion largely reflected the state’s struggles to reduce its reliance on manufacturing, the report said.

Massachusetts shines in tech study, California loses luster - San Jose Mercury News

From Chris Varley:

TheStreet.com’s Jim Cramer sees Cleveland and the surrounding rust belt environs as harboring the next wave of true innovation, trumping even the much vaunted Silicon Valley. From ValleyWag…

Tech Futures » Blog Archive » Cleveland Valley vs. Silicon Valley

From Lev:

We are long overdue in having a broad regional conversation about a consolidated or even cloud-based approach to “Greening IT in Northeast Ohio”. Our IT data centers produce more CO2 then our airline industry. The silence in our region has been deafening.

Who’ll take responsibility to convene it?

Bytes From Lev: Greening IT in NEOhio

Ah, the joys of tech problems:

At the end of the day, I can care less that tech support is being outsourced to India - what I care about is the fact when I need tech support, so much of my time is wasted because that outsourced tech support is not qualified or not empowered to do anything more than read the same troubleshooting steps that I can find in my user manual…

Me too. You?

A4D:All4Drive.com » Blog Archive » Getting tech support

Joe from FaithfulGeek.org emailed my asking if I’d like to a survey to gauge interest in their business. Happily:

Conveniently located in Rocky River, FS15 is the premier coworking environment on the west side of Cleveland. The 1500 square foot space will be configured to provide both formal and informal collaborative work areas, as well as more private areas. A professional reception area and fully appointed conference room will also be available…

FS15 - For the Independent of Cleveland

Representatives from both Cleveland and Akron are in Israel this week connecting with technology companies.

The Jerusalem Post carries a story this morning about how the Cleveland Clinic is developing ties to Israeli companies.

“Israel has become a remarkable innovative place. This is a hotbed,” Tom Sudow, director of business development at the Cleveland Clinic’s Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center, said at a press briefing in Tel Aviv on Wednesday. “What Israel lacks is a market to expand. We are here to attract and help Israeli companies to set up partnerships or operations in the State of Ohio as a base for expanding their markets to North America.”

During the Ohio delegation’s visit at the Israel Biomed 2008 Conference this week, Sudow has scheduled 35 meetings with Israeli companies.

“We are very excited about cardiovascular research companies in Israel,” he said. “As a result of these meetings, we are now in the final stages to partner up with five local biomedical companies who will be able to expand their reach in the US.”

Cleveland Clinic to partner with local companies

Akron is also busy developing connections:

City officials visit nation, hoping to attract others to ‘biomedical corridor’

Interesting. Not sure if I would have subscribed because of privacy concerns with Google:

Google enters the field of personal health records with a leading online brand, deep pockets and a wealth of technical skills. In a two-month trial this year, the Cleveland Clinic found that its patients were eager to use the Google health records.

The pilot project, limited to 1,600 patients, was quickly oversubscribed, said C. Martin Harris, the Cleveland Clinic’s chief information officer…

In the Cleveland trial, patients apparently did not shun the Google health records because of qualms that their personal health information might not be secure if held by a large technology company…

Would you allow Google to share your medical records? Why? Why not?

Google Offers Personal Health Records on the Web - New York Times