Hype, Substance, Technology and Humanity, with Victor Pereira

In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast, Zoe speaks with Vitor Pereira, the cofounder and Director of Zoom Smart Cities. Zoe and Vitor discuss his background in journalism and in interest in technology, and how being involved in tourism and events sparked his interest in the Smart Community space. Vitor explains why the ability to reflect and receive criticism is crucial for any Smart City, and gives the example of Amsterdam's rebrand over the last 10 years. He goes on to tell us how Portugal is embracing Smart concepts and some of the projects he's involved in, including Zoom Global Smart City Association. Vitor and Zoe then discuss the need to cut through the hype and find the substance in a noisy, saturated Smart City market as well as why we need to break down silos and foster integration in order to tackle the urgent and important decisions humanity is facing right now. They finish their conversation discussing the emerging trends of ethics and transparency when it comes to technology, as well as getting back to the heart and soul of a city, which is humans. Now, a quick warning, there are a few audio glitches in this episode but it's very listenable overall. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it! Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community Connect with Vitor on social media @vitorpereira or via email vitor@zoomsmartcities.com Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community Connect via LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook @smartcommpod