Cyberplace: Building the Smart Communities of Tomorrow

An international gathering emerged from cyberspace and assembled face-to-face
in Los Angeles Dec. 10-11 for the fourth annual "Cities of the Future" conference, produced by the World Foundation for Smart Communities and Government Technology.

Conference speakers included Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan; Shuji Kusuda, vice minister of the International Affairs Department of Japan; John Eger, president and CEO of the World Foundation for Smart Communities; Scott Ross, CEO of Digital Domain, which created the special effects for the movie Titanic; Joel Kotkin, author and lecturer from Pepperdine University; Eddie C.Y. Kuo, founding dean of the School of Communication Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore; and many others from academia, state, local and federal governments and the private sector.

As John Eger said, "Cities of the future will be built not along railroads, waterways or interstate highways, but along information highways -- broadband systems of communications connected to every home, office, school, library and health care facility in the region and through the World Wide Web to millions of other institutions across the globe."

1. Robert Pinzler, councilman, Redondo Beach, Calif. and vice chairman, Telecommunications Committee, Southern California Association of Governments. 2. Eddie Kuo, founding dean of the School of Communication Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and external examiner of the Dept. of Journalism and Mass Communication, Chinese University of Hong Kong. 3. Richard Riordan, Los Angeles mayor. 4. Joanne Kozberg, secretary of state and Consumer Services Agency and former director, California Arts Council. 5. Phil Thalheimer, L.A. Data Processing Corp. 6. Richard Polanco, California state Senator (D-LA). 7. Jon Fullinwider, CIO, Los Angeles County, Calif. and Bernard Bowler, IBM industry client executive for Global Government. 8. John Hwang, general manager, Information Technology Agency, city of Los Angeles. 9. Pat Eckert, counsel to Carroll, Burdick & McDonough and former president of the California Public Utilities Commission. 10. Dr. Peter Anderson, professor in the School of Communication and director of research for the Japan-U.S. Telecommunications Research Institute at San Diego State University. 11. Barry Munitz, chancellor of the California State University. 12. Joel Kotkin, John M. Olin fellow, Pepperdine University Institute for Public Policy and senior fellow with the Pacific Research Institute. 13. Andrew Poat, chief deputy director, California Dept. of Transportation. 14. Scott Ross, president and CEO, Digital Domain. 15. Richard Riordan, Los Angeles mayor. 16. Shuji Kusuda, vice minister for international affairs at the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in Japan, Mayor Richard Riordan, John Eger, president, World Foundation for Smart Communities. 17. Attendees networking and comparing notes. 18. Georges Yves Kervern, chairman of the Association des Villes Numeriques in France.



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