Itron Contributes to Smart Cities Readiness Guide to Empower Smarter Cities

Itron, Inc. a world-leading technology and services company and founding member and lead partner of the Smart Cities Council, announced today that it is providing guidance to cities to become smarter through contributions to the Smart Cities Readiness Guide. The Readiness Guide is the world’s leading framework for government leaders to enhance the livability, workability and sustainability of their cities. It is currently in use by thousands of cities around the world to help shape their future initiatives.
 
With decades of experience enabling the resourceful use of energy and water, Itron provided its expertise in the creation of the Readiness Guide’s chapters on energy, water, built environment and universal targets. The guide also features stories of cities that Itron has helped to realize their smart cities visions, including Envision Charlotte, Glendale Water & Power and Tianjin Eco-City.  
 
Designed for mayors, city managers, urban planners and their staff, the Guide provides objective, vendor-neutral information to help cities make confident, educated choices about the technologies they can use to transform their city. For example, Spokane’s smart city accelerator project, of which Itron is a founding partner, has relied on the Guide to inform its smart city vision.
 
The new version of the Readiness Guide enables users to have easier access to the 200+ case studies helping cities address the challenges of rapid urbanization, aging infrastructure, climate change and strong economic competition. The Guide was originally launched in 2013 as a downloadable PDF and quickly became the framework for Smart Cities Readiness Workshops, a program which provides hand-on guidance to cities to create their individual roadmap. The Council’s affiliate Smart Cities Council India published a regional Readiness Guide which is available for download here.  
 
“Itron has extensive knowledge and experience helping cities become more efficient and sustainable. It has been our pleasure to bring this perspective to the Smart Cities Readiness Guide, so that cities have the tools they need to become thriving cities of the future,” said Russ Vanos, Itron vice president of sales and marketing for global software, services and smart cities. “The Smart Cities Council is playing an important role in enabling smarter cities, and it has done a tremendous job bringing together the world’s leading smart city practitioners to ensure the Readiness Guide best serves cities as they consider their smart city visions.”
“The new online version of the Smart Cities Readiness Guide enables easier access to the information they will find most valuable,” said Smart Cities Council Chairman Jesse Berst. “Cities around the world are already utilizing the Readiness Guide to make tremendous progress in achieving economic, environmental and social sustainability, and we are pleased to make this valuable resource even easier for cities to use.”