Smart Cities New York
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_SECTOR: INNOVATIONSmart Cities New York was founded in 2017 as a place to cultivate big ideas in urban innovation. By bringing together thousands of thought leaders, innovators, and advocates from around the world, SCNY strives to make New York City a better place to live.
Emergence co-founded the original conference and has built an evolving ecosystem of communities and events ever since. In addition to branding, Emergence has developed promotional materials, managed public relations, and expanded community engagement. In the midst of this growth, we have maintained strong local ties by cultivating high level partnerships with the NYC Mayor’s Office, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and influential media institutions like Vice, Politico, and others.
Branding | Campaign Development | Copywriting | Graphic Design | Organic Social Media | Organization Building | Paid Social Media | Public Relations | Research | Strategy | Video Production | Web Design _THE CHALLENGE
Prior to Smart Cities, urban tech organizations operated in silos, without a centralized system or facilitator to foster communication. Groups were doing important work, but without the added perspective and benefit of close collaboration and connection with one another. There was a clear need for a space for groups to connect to share resources, work together, and collectively define a larger overarching vision for what urban tech transformation means today.
_SEARCHING FOR THE SIGNAL
We started with the question: what makes cities “smart”? The landscape of “smart cities” events at the time focused on technology and large corporate solutions.
We saw an opportunity to build a different kind of event by embracing the human element. Both the event itself and the brand behind it were conceived out of this vision.
_EMERGENCE
Our research and conversations led us to a deceptively simple insight: People make cities smart.
From there, Emergence partnered with Global Futures Group, a smart cities consulting firm, to develop and launch Smart Cities NY in 2017.
Over the course of its first 3 years, we have accumulated a growing list of prominent speakers, mayors, and innovators from around the world who are shaping this conversation.
_EVOLUTION
Smart Cities NY, launched in 2017, was the first event of its kind, bringing together leading voices from business, government, and the social sector to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing cities in the 21st century.
In its inaugural year, Smart Cities NYC generated extensive interest from sponsors and partners. With speakers and attendees from more than 300 cities in more than 30 countries, Smart Cities NY was a truly global event.
Following the COVID pandemic, Smart Cities NY evolved into the Urban Tech Summit, hosted by Cornell Tech. Emergence remains closely involved in Urban Tech Summit planning and marketing.
Past Conferences
SCNY 2019
In Year 3, SCNY returned to Pier 36 for another global convening, featuring City Mayors and CTOs, private sector leaders, academics, and innovators. Innovation partner Microsoft and media partner CityLab joined dozens of startups, corporations, governments, and social enterprises as sponsors, and thousands of attendees from around the world came together to bring the conference to new heights.
SCNY 2018
In its second year, SCNY moved to Pier 36 in Manhattan, with satellite events held at both the Brooklyn Navy Yard and Cornell Tech’s Roosevelt Island campus. With media partner Politico and an address from Mayor Bill DeBlasio, the conference built on its strong foundation and set the stage for continued growth.
SCNY 2017
In its inaugural year, SCNY generated extensive interest from sponsors and partners. With speakers and attendees from more than 300 cities in more than 30 countries, SCNY announced itself as a truly global event.
The conference also built strong local ties by cultivating high level support from the NYC Mayor’s Office, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and influential media institutions.
