Chicago is considered one of the worlds most dynamic and diverse cities, generating wealth and rich opportunities but also facing challenges for integrating disadvantaged communities. The Smart Communities Initiative follows an ambitious idea: through personal engagement and broad partnerships, such communities can be transformed into hubs of digital innovation and participation. In the course of this digital transformation, neighbourhood stakeholders can advance long-standing goals for economic, human and social development. And external partners can gain insights that allow them to better reach emerging markets.

The Smart Communities Initiative, part of the Digital Excellence Initiative and administered by the Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC)/Chicago, initially targets five digitally underserved pilot communities: Auburn Gresham, Chicago Lawn, Englewood, Humboldt Park and Pilsen. The City of Chicago’s Digital Excellence Initiative aims to make Chicago a global leader in using technology to increase economic competitiveness, strengthen communities and improve lives. Guided by the work of the Mayor’s Advisory Council on Closing the Digital Divide, the initiative fosters deployment of broadband infrastructure, public access to technology and new insights into digital participation and needs.

Each neighbourhood is part of LISC/Chicago’s New Communities Program and has completed a quality-of-life plan upon which the Smart Communities Initiative builds. Work has already begun in these communities to connect residents, businesses and key community organizations with technology. For example, culturally-specific neighbourhood portals are being developed using funding from the State of Illinois and Microsoft has injected over $1 million in software into the communities.

Solutions are sought that in particular address the following interrelated quality-of-life themes of Health Care, Education and Public Safety.

Health Care and wellness: Activities such as promoting healthy lifestyles, expanding mental health and family counselling services, recruiting health service providers, and expanding awareness of nearby health services.

Education and learning: Activities such as fostering life-long learning, creating partnerships between struggling and high-achieving schools, strengthening parents associations and delivering training aimed at fast growing industries.

Public safety and security: Activities such as increasing participation in crime prevention programs, providing opportunities to steer youth away from gangs, improving community-police relations, and building capacity of block organizations.

Chicago will work to make the selected solution a reality. In fact, the Smart Communities Initiative was designed to foster deployment of the types of innovative technologies targeted by the Living Labs Global Showcase Award. Through the Smart Communities Initiative, each community already has a range of resources that could be leveraged by the award winner:

Project Management

Through the support of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and LISC/Chicago, each community has a project manager in a local non-profit organization whose work is solely focused on increasing digital participation and technology adoption. These digital excellence project managers would be on-the-ground contacts throughout implementation.

Community Networks

Collaborating with the agencies leading New Communities Program activities and local implementation of quality-of-life plans in each neighborhood allows the Smart Communities Initiative to tap into hundreds of non-profit organizations, businesses and other community institutions that could serve as channels for promoting adoption of the winning solution.

Research and Evaluation

A study commissioned by the City and conducted by the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Iowa in 2008 generated block-specific data about technology use among residents, including common barriers to adoption and activities conducted online. The same team will also be conducting a comprehensive longitudinal evaluation of the Smart Communities. These data could be leveraged to precisely target the winning solution and assess its impact.