1. IBM Smart Cities
Dubuque Uses Cloud Computing and
Sensors to Build a Smarter City
By Team 4Amigos
MBA 665.01
Summer, 2015
The Univeristy of Findlay

2. Introduction
• What does it mean to be a smart city?
• A “smart city” is a city where the day-to-day processes and
the infrastructure of the city are able to provide real-time
data to the city and its citizens, allowing them to better
allocate resources and plan for the future.

3. Introduction
• How can we identify a smart city?

4. Summary
• Cities are “smart” when investments in social capital and
infrastructure coupled with wise management of natural
resources fuel sustainable economic development and a
high quality of life.
• Smart cities focus on Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs).
Wireless sensor network.
Create a distributed network of sensors which measure a host
of parameters that allow city management to run their city
more efficiently.

5. Summary
• Some features of Smart Cities
• Citizens of smart cities can monitor pollution
concentration on their specific street, and trash cans can
send signals when they are close to full.
• Vehicle traffic and street light usage can be monitored to
optimize city lights dynamically.
• People have the tools to quickly and easily get the data they
need to make smarter choices about their energy
consumption.

6. Model
• IBM/Dubuque Smarter Sustainable City Partnership
• Announced September 17, 2009
• IBM’s first “Smart City” in the U.S.
• Project features:
• Replicable for cities under 200,000 people.
• Coordinating: smart technology/community engagement.
• Providing residents with reliable data needed to:
Save money and resources.
Improve environment and local economy.
Improve health & wellness.

7. Model

8. Model
Smarter
Water
Problem

9. Model
Smarter
Water
Solution

10. Model
Smarter
Water
 89,090 gallons were saved among 151 households over 9
weeks.
 Full year = 514,742 gallons in total, or 3,409 gallons per
household annually.
 23,000 households = 64,944,218 gallons.
 Water bill saving of $190,936 a year in total.
Results

11. Model
Smarter
Water
 56 households that used the portal multiple times reported the
most benefits and they include:
 77% reported an increased understanding of their water use,
 70% felt it helped them assess the impacts of the changes they had made,
 48% felt that it helped them conserve water,
 61% reported that, during the study, they had made a change to their
water equipment or in the ways they used water, or both.
 48% reported that, in the future, they plan to make changes to their
water equipment or in the ways they used water (or both).
Results

12. Q & A
• 1. Why is the cloud important to cities like Dubuque
as they pursue their visions of a smart city?
• 1. Reduces the cost:
Cloud Traditional method
• 2. Supports Software as a Service (SaaS):
(SaaS) Purchase or operate data centers

13. Q & A
• 2. What do Dubuque officials mean when they talk
about a “smarter city?”
• Smart city = cloud computing project.
– Distributing sensors across the city (including homes, schools, and
public utilities, etc.)
– Gathering data about the usage of water, electricity, energy, etc.
– Analyzing these data.
– Generating useful reports to decision makers to use them for
Developing the city & improving the quality of residents’ life
• The Ultimate goal: making city “sustainable” which
means efficient in it use of natural and human resources.

14. Q & A
• 3. List the major “smarter city” projects in Dubuque.
What has been the impact of the smarter domestic
water program?
• Major “smarter city” projects in Dubuque
• The impact of smarter domestic water program:
6.6% reduction in usage.
8 fold increase in leak detection.
Water Electricity Discards Travel Health
Smart

15. Q & A
• 4. What is Dubuque’s next move now that they have
developed some successful pilot projects like the
water program and electricity program?
• Integrate the usage of water, electricity, travel, and gas into
one smart system.
• Analyze the relationships among each of these
components.
• Suggest a community planning program.
• Recommend solutions.

16. Q & A
• 5. How is the approach taken in Portland similar or
different to the approach taken in Dubuque?
Dubuque
IA
Partnering
with IBM
Partnering
with IBM
Planning
orientation for
decision makers
Building a large
data
Portland OR
Understand the
implications for
decisions made by
decision makers
Gather, analyze data
of diff. elements &
find relationship
among them

17. References
• Laudon, K. & Laudon, J. (2015). Essentials of MIS. New York,
NY: Pearson Education Inc.
• Dubuque, Iowa and IBM Combine Analytics, Cloud Computing
and Community Engagement to Conserve Water (2011).
IBM.com. Retrieved from https://www-
03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/34575.wss