The Fazeley Studios Blog

Fazeley Studios hosted the first Digital Birmingham event of 2012 this morning, which was called ‘The Ticket to a Smart, Connected City’. There were presentations throughout the morning and discussions about how Birmingham can become both a smart and sustainable city. 

Many different themes were touched upon throughout the day in relation to making Birmingham a smarter city - carbon footprint, infrastructure, data, technology, business and crime. 

 
Delegates at the event (picture by @NathZed)

After an opening speech by Cllr Paul Tilsley, Deputy Leader at Birmingham City Council, Lean Doody talked about creating smart cities for the future and used case studies such as San Francisco as examples. She was followed by:

• David Smith, CEO, Global Future and Foresight 
• Mark Barrow, Strategic Director, Development, Birmingham City Council
• David Bull, Assistant Director of Development Strategy, Birmingham City Council
• Matthew Roberts and Arme Hendriksz, Birmingham Metropolitan College
• Anthony McCourt, Director of The Cube
• Frank Mills, Executive Chairman, Coventry University Enterprises Ltd
• Tina Donovan, Birmingham Carers Centre, Age Concern Birmingham

All offered different perspectives on what Birmingham can do to be a smart city. Tina offered a public sector view, Matthew and Arme presented from young people’s viewpoint, and Anthony McCourt provided the view of a successful entrepreneur and ‘adopted Brummie’ (he is originally from Ireland). 

A lot was discussed, but ultimately the actions needed for moving forward were left to the delegates to decide. They were asked to submit their thoughts about what makes Birmingham special as a smart connected city, and ideas for moving forward. 

Digital Birmingham have done an excellent job of rounding up the most pertinent points from the day; the page also has a video of the full conference, tweets and main discussion points.

So what do you think of Birmingham as a smart connected city? What do you think needs to be done? 

This Thursday (26th January) Fazeley Studios will host the first major Digital Birmingham event of 2012 and it’s sure to be a lively one.

Birmingham: The Ticket to a ‘Smart, Connected City’ hopes to bring together global, national and local perspectives around ‘Smart Cities’, find out about Birmingham’s vision and also challenge current thinking.

Speakers at the event will include Cllr Paul Tilsley, Deputy Leader at Birmingham City Council, David Smith, CEO of Global Future and Foresight and Lean Doody, Associate at Smart Cities, Arup.

The event is currently fully booked however there is a wating list you could join. If you can’t make it, i’ll be tweeting about it throughout the day on the Fazeley Studios Twitter (also follow the hashtag #smartbrum) and i’ll also write a round-up post here after the event.

From the 2nd February Fazeley Social (based at Fazeley studios) will be holding a regular alternative music night. The first evening will feature live performances from the Rachel Cohen Quartet.

If you’re a musician, bring your own instruments for an open jam after the set.

Fazeley Music Nights aims to highlight local musical talent in a beautiful venue with a chilled-out atmosphere. So come along, it starts at 8pm. There will be a small entry fee, however your first drink is on us.

For more info, visit the Fazeley Music Nights Facebook Page. We hope to see you there!