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Waterloo ranked tops in world for its high-tech intelligence
GORDON PITTS
Globe and Mail Update
May 23, 2007 at 9:07 AM EDT
Waterloo, Ont., the city that spawned the BlackBerry and Canada's leading computer-science university, has added some new bragging rights. It is now the world's top intelligent community, according to an international think tank.
New York-based Intelligent Communities Forum (ICF) chose Waterloo from among seven finalists for its annual award as the community that best exemplifies the development of a prosperous economy based on broadband and information technology.
Waterloo, a city of 115,000, edged out finalists that included a second Canadian entry, Ottawa-Gatineau, plus Dundee in Scotland; Sunderland, Tyne & Wear in England; Tallinn, Estonia; the Gangnam district of Seoul; and Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.
Waterloo is the second Canadian city to win the five-year-old award, in the footsteps of Calgary, which in 2002 shared top honours with Seoul.
Waterloo city councillor Mark Whaley said the honour is a valuable tool for economic development officials to market the city to global companies. It is also a selling point to knowledge workers, a notoriously footloose commodity that all major cities try to woo.
A key driver in the city's high-tech prowess has been the supply of engineering graduates from the University of Waterloo, which has fed talent to local companies such as BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Inc., Open Text Corp. and DALSA Corp.
Finalists for the award were chosen on the basis of several indicators, including significant deployment of broadband communications, the extent of a knowledge work force, the promotion of digital democracy, the ability to foster innovation, and a track record in economic development marketing.
Waterloo estimates that 75 per cent of its adult population use the Internet, while 76 per cent of businesses and 47 per cent of households are on broadband. The city also claims a disproportionate share of job creation in the industrial triangle that also includes Kitchener, Cambridge and Guelph.
Waterloo is studied by other Canadian communities for its ability to deliver economic growth and increased employment from technology, despite its location in the heart of Canada's hard-pressed manufacturing sector, which has been battered by Canada's strong dollar and competition from Asia.
Link to article
Waterloo ranked tops in world for its high-tech intelligence
GORDON PITTS
Globe and Mail Update
May 23, 2007 at 9:07 AM EDT
Waterloo, Ont., the city that spawned the BlackBerry and Canada's leading computer-science university, has added some new bragging rights. It is now the world's top intelligent community, according to an international think tank.
New York-based Intelligent Communities Forum (ICF) chose Waterloo from among seven finalists for its annual award as the community that best exemplifies the development of a prosperous economy based on broadband and information technology.
Waterloo, a city of 115,000, edged out finalists that included a second Canadian entry, Ottawa-Gatineau, plus Dundee in Scotland; Sunderland, Tyne & Wear in England; Tallinn, Estonia; the Gangnam district of Seoul; and Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.
Waterloo is the second Canadian city to win the five-year-old award, in the footsteps of Calgary, which in 2002 shared top honours with Seoul.
Waterloo city councillor Mark Whaley said the honour is a valuable tool for economic development officials to market the city to global companies. It is also a selling point to knowledge workers, a notoriously footloose commodity that all major cities try to woo.
A key driver in the city's high-tech prowess has been the supply of engineering graduates from the University of Waterloo, which has fed talent to local companies such as BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Inc., Open Text Corp. and DALSA Corp.
Finalists for the award were chosen on the basis of several indicators, including significant deployment of broadband communications, the extent of a knowledge work force, the promotion of digital democracy, the ability to foster innovation, and a track record in economic development marketing.
Waterloo estimates that 75 per cent of its adult population use the Internet, while 76 per cent of businesses and 47 per cent of households are on broadband. The city also claims a disproportionate share of job creation in the industrial triangle that also includes Kitchener, Cambridge and Guelph.
Waterloo is studied by other Canadian communities for its ability to deliver economic growth and increased employment from technology, despite its location in the heart of Canada's hard-pressed manufacturing sector, which has been battered by Canada's strong dollar and competition from Asia.
