Neighbor, can you spare a dime? CityLab conference considers sharing economy's urban impact

2014-10-08T13:28:00-04:00

For two days on the cusp of fall, a gaggle of mayors, journalists, technologists, and civic-minded entrepreneurs convened for The Atlantic’s CityLab 2014 conference in still-balmy downtown Los Angeles. The full title, "Urban Solutions to Global Challenges", jumps off of the presumption that cities, not countries, are at the forefront of public innovation, and then dives into the waters where civic tech and urban life intermingle – where local governments have got to make better use of digital technology, and fast. To take the panels and presentations as gospel, our cities are at the best of times and the worst of times; climbing to dizzying heights of technological capabilities and entrepreneurial hopes, while caught in the social and rhetorical undertows of the big “G” word, income inequality and population growing pains. But throughout the lofty jargon, the clearest concern was how cultural shifts in information technologies can improve urban development.

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Neighbor, can you spare a dime? CityLab conference considers sharing economy's urban impact