Hi #SmartCommunity friends! I sat down with my podcast producer Ellen to record a little update episode, there is a little bit of Smart Community Podcast news and we want to keep you in the loop!  We are planning to take an extended break from the podcast because unfortunately my Mum is very unwell. So I'm going to take some time to be with her and just scale things back a little bit for a while. I will still be doing my consulting work for My Smart Community, working with my amazing...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends! Welcome to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we’re taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. This week we’re sharing my interview with Samuel Austin from Episode 340, which was published in May 2023. Sam is an Urban Planner, Community Engagement Specialist and Placemaker, and also the NSW Young Planner of the Year...

Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we’re taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. This week we’re sharing my interview with Michael Wanyama from Episode 335, which was released in March 2023 as part of our annual Mobility March series. Michael and I met at Smart City World Expo in Barcelona in November...

Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome back to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. As you know, we’re taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. This week we’re sharing my interview with Dr. Michaela Musilova from Episode 339 which was released in May 2023. Dr. Michaela Musilova is an astrobiologist, speaker, analog astronaut and author. Michaela has been...

Hi #smartcommunity friends! Welcome to the Summer Series here on the Smart Community Podcast. We’re taking a little break from new content over the Australian summer holidays, and instead we are sharing the replays of a few of our all time favourite episodes. This week to kick off the series, we’re sharing my interview with Martin Darcy, who was on the show back in July 2022 in Episode 303. Martin is the Service Manager of Business and Innovation with Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. In...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends! Welcome back to the Smart Community Podcast. In this episode I have a fantastic conversation with Calum Handforth. Calum works for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and has led innovation and digitalisation efforts globally, as well as advised governments around the world. He was also Co-Chair of the Digital Infrastructure Taskforce, part of the World Economic Forum’s G20 Working Group on Smart Cities. In this episode, Calum and I discuss the types...

Hi #SmartCommunity Friends, in this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I had a fantastic conversation with Nicole Stephensen, Partner at IIS Partners, a prominent privacy consultancy in Australia, where she leads privacy strategy and services. Long time listeners will remember that Nicole was on the podcast way back in Episode 69, in 2018, and again on our Covid Catch Up YouTube series in 2020. In this episode, Nicole and I discuss what’s changed in the privacy landscape in the last few...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a great chat with Karandeep Chadha. Karandeep has two decades of diverse work experience in government services, infrastructure asset management, property, procurement, supply chain, consumer goods, technology and financial services industries for top tier Australian, US and European organisations. In this episode Karandeep tells us about his passion for innovation and Smart Cities, and how he ended up in the...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community podcast, I’m excited to have Jennifer Sanders back on the show for the 3rd time! Jennifer was also on the podcast back in Episode 170 and also Episode 284, so make sure you go back and check out those great conversations after you’ve listened to this one. I’m also excited to announce that Jennifer and I will be speaking on a panel together in Barcelona and the Smart Cities Expo World Congress on the 7th November 2023! It’s...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends. In this episode I have a fantastic conversation with Josh Sattler, the cofounder of TwentySeven Technologies and CEO of Circl Group. Josh tells us about his background in economic development and technology within local government, particularly at the City of Darwin, and how that led him to the companies he’s started. Josh and I discuss the potential of artificial intelligence to enhance community connectivity, as well as the benefits and risks of AI, and the need...

Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, host Zoe Eather is back in the hot seat! In celebration of this being episode 350, Zoe and producer Ellen Ronalds Keene sat down for a chat where she answers questions from you, the audience of the Smart Community Podcast.  We can’t believe we’re at 350 episodes. It’s been nearly 6 years of the show and thank you so much for all of you tuning in! Zoe answers 4 questions today from the many that were sent through via...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends. Welcome back to another episode of the Smart Community Podcast. I’m excited to share this episode with Bas Boorsma, the founder & CEO of Urban Innovators Inc and the author of ‘A New Digital Deal’. I have been wanting to get Bas on the podcast for a while and we finally made it happen. In this episode, Bas tells us about his 2 decade background in urban innovation and his passion for the course of human progress throughout history, and what a Smart Community...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends! Welcome back to another episode of the Smart Community podcast. In this episode I have a great conversation with Michael Healy and Grace de Leon from Smart Christchurch, in New Zealand. You might remember Michael as he has been on the podcast before, Episode 244 in 2021. Michael and Grace tell us about their backgrounds, and the biggest changes they’ve seen in the Smart Community space over the last 6 years including the shift from technology-first to...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a brilliant conversation with Nancy Odendaal, who you may remember from way back in Episode 3 (back when we were still called the Smart City Podcast).  Nancy is Professor of City and Regional Planning at University of Cape Town and has been in this city space for decades. In this episode, Nancy and I discuss what Smart Community means to her and her research in Cape Town during the pandemic. We talk about data...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, in this episode of the Smart Community podcast I have a wonderful chat with Boopsie Maran. Boopsie is the founder and director of urban strategy at Places for Good, a collaborative of community advocates, planners, landscape architects, and artists, in Auckland, New Zealand.  Boopsie and I discuss her background and passion for walkability and ensuring the safety of kids independently travelling to school. We discuss what a Smart Community means to Boopsie and why...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, welcome back to another episode of The Smart Community Podcast. In this episode, I have a brilliant conversation with Natasha Blycha, the founder of the boutique digital law firm Stirling & Rose. Natasha advises on web 3.0, crypto assets, data, privacy, digital asset infrastructure and smart legal contracts and helped author the 2022 Oxford Smart Legal Contract text. In this episode, Natasha tells us about her background in emerging tech law and her passion...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends! In this episode I have a fascinating conversation with Monalisha Thakur, the co-founder and CMO at Tummoc. Tummoc is India’s first multi-modal transport app that provides accurate real-time public transport information, easy ticketing options and last-mile connectivity.  In this episode, Monalisha tells us about her varied background in music and sales, and the problems she encountered commuting on public transport over the years that got her thinking about...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends! On this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant chat with Katie Patrick. Katie is an environmental engineer, software designer, author and repeat guest who was last on the show in June 2021 in Episode 234. Katie tells us about her background and why she’s passionate about sustainability, as well as how feedback loops are central to her idea of Smart Communities. Katie and I discuss the need for individual actions as well as systemic change, and...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends. In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, I have a brilliant conversation with Tegan Kop, an applied innovation expert and the lead for the Smart City Incubator at City of Melbourne. Tegan and I discuss their background and how they landed in the Smart Community space. They then tell us about some of their favourite projects working at the City of Melbourne Smart City Office, including behind-the-scenes nerdy stuff like managing data across the lifecycle. We...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends! I’m back with another bonus episode of the Smart Community Podcast sharing various guests answers to the question, ‘Where to next with Smart Cities and Communities?” And this time I’m sharing with you the answers from these guests:  Tim Neale from Episode 337 Julia Spicer from Episode 338 Dr. Michaela Musilova from Episode 339 Samuel Austin from Episode 340 Some themes that come through in the guest answers are around regionalisation and continued...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, welcome back to the Smart Community podcast. In this episode, I have a great conversation with Samuel Austin. Sam is an Urban Planner, Community Engagement Specialist and Placemaker, and also the NSW Young Planner of the Year 2022. In this episode, Sam tells us about his background in urban city planning, and his interest and passion for the relationship between people and place. We talk about the role data plays in planning and analysis of how people are using...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends! Welcome back to another episode of the Smart Community Podcast. In this episode I have a fascinating conversation with Dr. Michaela Musilova, an astrobiologist, speaker, analog astronaut and author. Michaela has been conducting space-related research at institutions around the world and was the Director of HI-SEAS and Commander of over 30 simulated missions to the Moon and Mars, in collaboration with NASA, ESA and many international organizations. She is currently...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, welcome back to the Smart Community Podcast. This month we are highlighting Smart Regions with two fantastic guests. If you haven’t yet listened to our interview with Tim Neale in the last episode, I definitely recommend listening to it after this one. In this episode, I have a wonderful chat with repeat guest and Queensland Chief Entrepreneur, Julia Spicer. We first had Julia on the podcast way back in Episode 152, which was in January 2020. (The beforetimes!) In...

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, welcome back to the Smart Community Podcast and this month we are highlighting Smart Regions with two fantastic guests. First up is Tim Neale, the co-founder and Managing Director of agtech company DataFarming. We first had Tim on the podcast in Episode 308 in August 2022. Then we featured Tim again in our recent Summer Series so we knew we had to get him back on the podcast. In this episode, we get a little update from Tim about what he’s been up to since we last...