The Top Seven Intelligent Communities of 2011

Our area has made the top 7 Intelligent Communities (international) for 2011!  I reprint part of the article, with a direct link at the very bottom of the post.

"ICF named the Top Seven Intelligent Communities of 2011 at a 19 January ceremony during PTC'11, the annual conference of the Pacific Telecommunications Council in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. The following communities, drawn from the Smart21 of 2011, were named to the Top Seven based on analysis of their nominations by a team of independent academic analysts. Complete profiles of the communities will be available on ICF's Web site following publication of the white paper, Top Seven Intelligent Communities of 2011, in February.
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Windsor-Essex, Ontario, Canada

Located directly across the river from the US automotive capital of Detroit, Windsor shares its pain. Automobile assembly, research and technology contribute C$30bn to the local economy but are in structural decline greatly accelerated by the current recession. Working in partnership with Essex County government, Windsor is crafting a new, more robust economy to take its place. Assets include strong tourism and agriculture industries (which sometimes overlap, as in the case of the area’s many wineries), the presence of the University of Windsor and national and provincial government support. The university is using funding from the province to build an innovation center for engineering research as well as a virtual incubator serving the region. The Odette School of Business has restructured its many programs to deliver MBA-level education faster and mentor small manufacturers. A cooperative fiber network, WEDnet, meets the needs of governmental, institutional and educational facilities throughout the region and Windsor-Essex (a 2010 Smart21) is partnering with other communities to extend broadband to people in underserved rural areas. Government has collaborated with business to create a software technology alliance to attract entrepreneurs, mentor existing businesses and share resources for growth. A public-private business mentoring group is working to pool the resources of angel investors in order to increase the amount of seed capital available to start-ups."
 www.windsor-essex.info
www.citywindsor.ca
www.countyofessex.on.ca
https://www.intelligentcommunity.org/index.php?src=gendocs&ref=Top7_2011&link=Top7_2011