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Normal Planning for the Future

What do you do when you're not sure what you should do? Study and plan. In today's world, this alternative at least has the benefit of bringing more information to the table with which to make more informed decisions, hopefully.

There is a growing awareness of the importance of high-speed Internet connections, referred to as broadband. The path often starts when cities recognize a business reason to have a reliable, economical network to link their departments. Sharing complex information mandates a well-planned secure system with flexibility for upgrades that are coming at lightning speed.
Mayor Cities and Towns Must Fill the Broadband Void by Sonja Reece, Mayor Pro-Tem of Normal, Illinois

I first met Mrs. Reece and her husband at W2i's Digital Cities conference in Houston in spring 2006. As Chairman of the Information Technology and Communications Steering Committee of the National League of Cities (NLC), she has an influence far beyond her role on her city council.

Normal, a midwest city of about 50,000 that sits just north of Bloomington and about 130 miles southwest of Chicago, is no doubt like a lot of towns and cities in the US. In this article, Mrs. Reece has documented the prudent and deliberate steps that the city leaders in her city have taken to prepare for the unknown.

In the face of rapid technology change, Normal city leaders focused on what they did know, not what they were unsure of: technology and digital infrastructure, especially of the mobile kind, will be more and more important to citizens and city government. Knowing that, they came together as a community and crafted a plan that will position their city well, no matter which direction the future takes them.

I recommend you check out this article and share it in your community.

Posted on June 30, 2007 at 06:00 AM

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