District 2 resident Marc Chriqui is playing a key role in the development of our city's plan to win the Smart Cities Challenge.
The City of Côte Saint-Luc spoke at the fourth Annual Smart City and IoT Expo in Toronto on October 10, where it offered a preview of its eventual final proposal to the Smart Cities Challenge contest.
Councillor Dida Berku and Marc Chriqui.
“We met with a lot of people in the industry who were very excited to hear that a city is looking to tackle the issue of how to help isolated seniors stay at home longer through the use of smart technology,” said Mayor Mitchell Brownstein, who spoke along with Councillor Dida Berku and Chriqui. “Côte Saint-Luc has a lot of programs for seniors to help keep them engaged, but the focus of our Smart Cities Challenge proposal is to help those who perhaps we don’t see at our events and who are more isolated.”
Côte Saint-Luc was selected as one of 10 finalists in its category (and one of 20 overall) by the selection committee of the Smart Cities Challenge, a contest created by the Government of Canada. Each finalist community will receive a $250,000 grant to help develop its final proposal that outline all design, planning, privacy, data protection and project management components of their plans. The grant can be used for activities such as staffing, professional services, feasibility assessments, capacity building, pilot projects, community engagement and communications, data, and relevant training.
“The Smart Cities Challenge has given us the opportunity to brainstorm and to exchange in our city new ideas and new ways of doing things,” Councillor Berku said. “As cities, we don’t often get the chance to talk to researchers and people who are involved in seniors issues and really understand what we are trying to accomplish.”
In addition to the Smart City and IoT Expo on October 10, Côte Saint-Luc has also attended the Conference on Caregiving in Montreal on October 13, and held numerous meetings with researchers, people in industry and academia.
The next step is to launch a pilot project with seniors. The city will outfit their homes with sensors and smart devices in order to test and refine the ideas it believes can help isolated seniors live independent lives and stay at home longer. Participants must be age 65 or older, live autonomously, and have little or no caregiver support. To learn more or to participate in the pilot project, email smartcities@cotesaintluc.org or call 514-485-6800 ext. 5539.
