Dubuque, Iowa: The First American 'Smart City'?

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The first phase of the Dubuque project concerns water conservation. The city plans on installing meters that gather extensive data about water use and will be able to detect waste and leakage. The city is looking for 1,000 home and business owners to volunteer to participate in a pilot project. Later, it plans on addressing electricity usage and the coordination of auto parking and bus lines.

Historic Preservation

For Dubuque, there's a direct connection between environmental sustainability and economic development. The city is working with businesses to restore parts of the downtown to provide much-needed housing and attractive office space. The idea is to maintain the historic flavor of the old river town while saving money on energy and materials. At the same time, local industries see the water and power projects as business opportunities. For instance, Dubuque manufacturer A.Y. McDonald has developed metering equipment for the new water use monitoring system. "Sustainability isn't just an activity. It's a market and an economic engine," says David Lyons, a former director of economic development for Iowa who was hired by the Greater Dubuque Development Corp. to assess the city's sustainability plans.

IBM is doing its part for historic preservation. It has located its IT services center in a restored former downtown department store. Already, nearly 1,000 people are working there—and some of them will be assigned to help out with the Dubuque sustainability project.

IBM also plans on putting research scientists to work on the project. Among them will be usability specialists who will help design a Web site where citizens and city leaders will monitor water and energy use and calculate benefits. The research department is also creating what it calls a Platform for Real-time Integrated Sustainability Monitoring, or PRISM. It's a package of software for gathering data, monitoring, spotting patterns and anomalies, and analyzing interdependencies between physical systems—such as water, waste treatment, and electricity. Once PRISM is completed and has been refined in Dubuque, the company plans on using it in engagements in other cities around the world.

In 2005, Buol ran for mayor with sustainability as one of his issues. At a meeting of the Conference of Mayors in 2006, he joined the climate protection group and was later invited by actor and environmental activist Robert Redford to a conference on climate control. Buol was inspired to make Dubuque a model for sustainability. "I told people here that the city should get ahead of the curve, and we'd prosper in the future," recalls Buol. "This has been a top priority of the city ever since."

Hamm is a senior writer for BusinessWeek in New York and author of the Globespotting blog.

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