Cityzenith Creates Platform for World's Smartest Cities

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cityzenith is signing agreements with Amsterdam's Economic Board, the Barcelona City Council, and San Francisco's Department of the Environment to launch a software platform that will transform the collection, visualization, analysis, and management of municipal data around the globe. This three-city collaboration is the first time cities have joined forces to establish a common platform for using and sharing their data within as well as between cities and their citizens via simple, mobile applications.

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Cities already generate big data, but much of it is uncollected, unused, or misunderstood due to the limits of existing systems. For all the promise of smart cities, the lack of a secure, scalable, and open platform has hindered efforts to realize that promise. Cityzenith's 5D SMART City™ -- developed by one of the principal creators of Google Earth™ -- provides that long-awaited platform to connect, collect, and access a diverse cross-section of city data sources through an easy-to-use, single point-of-view.

"We are excited to partner with three of the world's smartest cities to offer a solution that has never before been offered, but which every city needs," said Michael Jansen, Cityzenith's Chairman and CEO. "Cities around the world have been searching for a way to empower their communities to understand and interface with the rich data in their cities, and now they have one. We look forward to welcoming new partner cities from across the globe in the months to come."

Amsterdam, Barcelona and San Francisco will also work with Cityzenith to develop SMART Apps -- 3D applications enabling cities, their corporate partners, and citizens to analyze and create new uses for urban data through the use of their mobile devices. These apps, which sit on the core 5D SMART City™ platform, will enable users to visually access a vast array of up-to-the-second data sources (e.g. reports, buildings' energy usage, photos, video, RSS feeds, Tweets, etc.). Through the use of the SMART Apps, public officials will be able to streamline operations and borrow best practices from partners around the world, while citizens have the opportunity to improve the public places where they live, work and play however they see fit.

To accelerate the development of SMART Apps and the creation of unique solutions for urban challenges, Cityzenith will help establish App Development Centers in each of the three cities to support both government agencies and the local developer community. Smart Apps provide an opportunity for government agencies, private companies, and citizens to work together toward common goals.

City Official Quotes

• Ger Baron, IT Program and Cluster Manager at Amsterdam Economic Board, "In Amsterdam we have been working very intensively on Open Data for the last few years.  Now it is time for the next step, a step that we want to take with a couple of the leading cities in the world and our ambition is to help set a standard for smart city collaboration.  The aspiration is to enable citizens, entrepreneurs and visitors to make use of data which Amsterdam and our partners generate and maintain, because knowledge sharing and an open approach to public services is at the very core of the Amsterdam Economic Board and our Smart City program. With Cityzenith as our technology partner we are confident we can achieve our goals and enable collaboration with San Francisco and Barcelona."

• Manel Sanroma, Chief Information Officer of the Barcelona City Council, offered his perspective on the opportunity. "Barcelona is the founding member of the City Protocol Society, an impassioned implementer of smart city solutions, and a strong advocate for collaboration between cities. The Barcelona City Council is presently developing a citywide data management system called the Situation Room that will consolidate real-time information from multiple city agencies in a single point-of-view, empowering leadership to make better decisions and engage with its departments and citizens in more meaningful ways. Cityzenith's unique 5D platform will form an important component of our Situation Room solution, and will make sharing information and experience within and between cities easier and more effective. We look forward to collaborating with San Francisco and Amsterdam, two of the most progressive global cities, to make this ambitious dream a reality, and welcome cities from around the world to join our mission."

• Melanie Nutter, Director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment, "Data has power to inform, to motivate and to accelerate the realization of San Francisco's goals for greenhouse gas emission reduction from the built environment. Data is also essential to catalyzing development of neighborhood scale greening through Ecodistricts, where the public and private sectors set and meet common goals. Engaging with our counterparts in cities around the world – through the Cityzenith platform and development of mobile applications – is an opportunity to pool resources and best practices, as we harness data in service to sustainability and accessibility to the public."   

This initiative -- which many other major cities are currently in discussions to adopt -- will transform how cities are managed and the increased opportunities for local engagement. The initial phases of the project will further develop the platform's capabilities to:

• Improve collaboration between city agencies;
• Collect more and better data for greater sustainability and efficiency;
• Encourage the creation of city- and citizen-led applications to enhance engagement with citizens, governments, and business alike; and,
• Share best practices between partner cities.

About Cityzenith

Cityzenith (formerly Screampoint), a software company based in Silicon Valley, makes complex city data simple, intuitive, and straightforward, while connecting citizens to the world of city data around them. Serving the needs of city governments, corporate partners and citizens worldwide, the company is dedicated to enabling cities and their citizens to develop new, innovative ways of visualizing, analyzing, and applying data to address urban challenges and improve the quality of life in cities.  Cityzenith's primary institutional investors are Sequoia Capital and Silicon Valley Bank, and it has also welcomed private investors from the United States, Europe, the Middle East, India and China. 

For more information, visit www.cityzenith.com or contact [email protected].

SOURCE Cityzenith