1. by Bonnie Crombie
technology
BUILDING A
CONNECTED CITY
Local government is in the business of
making connections. Whether it is connect-
ing commuters to workplaces, older adults
to recreation centres, students to campuses,
or families to parks, it is a municipality’s
job to bring residents together and bring
out the best in people.
For municipalities, information tech-
nology (IT) needs are more than just set-
ting up smartphones and fixing laptops.
At every turn, Canada’s cities and towns
must think outside the box about mak-
ing things work better. An understanding
and appreciation for how technology can
achieve this must be in a municipality’s
corporate DNA, detailed and committed
to in strategic plans.
Fortunately, technology allows city
hall to connect closer with a commu-
nity’s greatest resource: its concerned,
dedicated, and smart people. It has the
potential to be the antidote that combats
chronic problems of low voter turnout,
apathy, and cynicism that linger over
government.
Technology empowers residents to
have greater ownership in decision mak-
ing, pull up a seat at council chamber, and
brainstorm solutions that produce real
results – all this, while taking greater pride
in the place they call home.
Connectivity is city building. In the
City of Mississauga, this idea guides coun-
cil and staff’s efforts to better use technol-
ogy to shape policy, make informed deci-
sions, and deliver quality public services.
TakingtheTownSquareDigital
In his acclaimed book Citizenville, for-
mer San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom
writes extensively about the important
BONNIE CROMBIE was elected
Mayor of Mississauga in 2014.
Prior to her election, Mayor
Crombie served as the Ward 5
City Councillor, and previous to
that, as Member of Parliament
for Mississauga-Streetsville.
Before entering public service,
Mayor Crombie enjoyed a
twenty-year career in business. She can be reached
at <mayor@mississauga.ca> or 905-896-5555.
role innovation and information contribute
toward reinventing government, improv-
ing civic engagement, and taking the town
square digital.
Nearly 4,500 kilometres separate the
“City by the Bay” and Canada’s sixth-
largest city; but, like San Francisco, Missis-
sauga has a culture of identifying and using
new technologies. These advancements are
driving local government forward in the
21st century. Residents are invited to be
partners in government and city building.
And, as is the case with innovation, the city
continues to embrace, adopt, and create
new best practices.
In June 2015, council voted unani-
mously to expand the size of the “town
square” by approving a new open data pro-
gram. Open data is public information that
is accessible and easy to understand. The
data is unrestricted by copyrights, patents,
or other mechanisms of control. Missis-
sauga’s open data is free because everyone
has a right to access it.
Today, more than 400 publications
exist in formats including Comma Sepa-
rated Values (CSV), Keyhole Markup
Language (KML), or Shapefile. Data sets
range from information about the environ-
ment, infrastructure, transportation, topog-
raphy, business, and economic develop-
ment, among others.
Shawn Slack, the city’s director of
information technology and chief infor-
mation officer, heads a team of passion-
ate thought leaders working each day to
expand the collection with more infor-
mation about services like the 311 citi-
zen contact centre, community centres,
cycling lanes, parks, and trails. Data sets
can be easily accessed on the city’s open
data website – Mississauga Data. Think
of it as a virtual 21st-century library, but
with a growing collection of bestselling
ideas in need of an author to start writing
– or, in this case, coding!
OpenDataSetsFuel
AppDevelopment
Solving municipal issues often means
looking beyond city limits to find solu-
tions. Mississauga Data is a growing hub
of information, featuring other data cata-
logues from neighbouring communities,
the provincial and federal governments,
and third-party sources. Open data sets are
invaluable sources of information that can
be used to develop new software and ap-
plications (apps).
Open data is allowing the city to build
on its already informative, popular, and
successful apps and online services. Ex-
amples include:
► Mississauga Pingstreet, which provides
real-time access to garbage and recy-
cling calendars, current events, local
government information, social media
channels, and more;
► eMaps, the city’s interactive online
mapping service;
June 2016 Municipal World 21

2. ►► eParks, a comprehensive listing of
parks, facilities, and other public
spaces; and
►► a new mobile site recently launched by
MiWay, the city’s public transit service,
with features including real-time bus
departures, service alerts, and other trip
planning tools.
In January, the city’s planning and
building department fully launched ePlans
– an initiative that is making it easier to
navigate through city hall by electronically
submitting site plans, building permits, and
other information. Streamlining services
allows for cutting through the red tape so
people can be free to build their dream
home or expand their business.
The Mississauga Roads app lets users
see, on a map, road construction projects
happening throughout the city. The alerts
section provides details about road work.
The app includes links to Ontario’s Min-
istry of Transportation traffic cameras on
major 400-series highways, providing real-
time updates of traffic conditions.
During the winter months, this app
can be used to track the locations of
snowploughs and see when a street was
last ploughed. Residents can also access
relevant Twitter feeds to keep up to date on
any road-related issues or events occurring.
The app is compatible with a variety of dif-
ferent smartphones, free to download from
Apple iTunes and Google Play.
CodeandTheCityIdeaJam
The city’s comprehensive open data
platform has also been the catalyst for con-
necting active minds to the information,
culminating in the city’s first-ever Code
and The City Idea Jam event. In March,
the city joined communities from around
the world to mark International Open Data
Day by co-hosting this Idea Jam. The best
and the brightest – students and seasoned
professionals alike – were invited to par-
ticipate in this first-ever gathering.
During the day-long event, nearly 100
developers, designers, mappers, and infor-
mation analysts gathered to share, discuss,
network, and collaborate about making the
most out of open data. Participants created
concepts by mining through mountains
of information with the goal to improve
service delivery for residents, and develop
new apps for the city. Coders conceptual-
ized, designed, and presented their solu-
tions, and were eligible for a chance to win
up to $6,000 in cash and prizes.
Code and The City was a successful
experience for everyone involved. It has
the promise of becoming a celebrated, an-
nual event. It was made possible through
partnerships with private and public sector
leaders committed to the city’s mission to
build new connections, inspire, and em-
power people, and to deliver innovative
public services.
Local post-secondary institutions,
Sheridan College and I-CUBE (the busi-
ness accelerator at the Institute for Man-
agement & Innovation at the University
of Toronto Mississauga), are to be singled
out. Both schools are home to modern
knowledge infrastructure and a surplus of
human capital. The ideas students learn, the
teaching received, the knowledge gained,
and the training acquired, can lead to im-
portant breakthroughs. Their work makes
events like Code and The City all the more
worthwhile.
Working with local partners in educa-
tion is helping to build a connected city.
So are the city’s efforts with private sector
leaders. Indeed, a coalition of committed
businesses helped make Code and The City
possible.
IntegratingTechnology
atEveryLevel
Beyond ongoing open data initiatives,
modern technology is needed for the effec-
tive delivery of local services, especially as
employees and workplaces rely on mobile
technology to help them do their jobs.
IT infrastructure is essential for how lo-
cal services connect and operate. Fibre op-
tic networks, WiFi, and cellular networks
help link services and enable the collection
of data and the ability to effectively man-
age services in real time.
This connection of assets and services
is known as the Internet of Things (IoT).
IoT is supporting the emergence of smart
city leaders – that is, cities committed to
developing digital solutions for the delivery
of improved government services. It truly
is an exciting time for city building.
With greater access to open data, peo-
ple are invited and encouraged to connect
the dots. Municipalities are positioned to be
at the forefront of integrating technology to
elevate the quality of life for all residents.
And, it starts by making the right connec-
tions, and inviting people to have a place,
and have their voices heard, in the emerg-
ing digital town square. MW
22 Municipal World June 2016