Steve Lohr reports on the new I.B.M. research lab in Kenya, which will work to tailor technological solutions to the prominent issues in Africa's major cities.
Nairobi, Kenya, was announced this week as the location for I.B.M.'s 12th research lab worldwide, and the fourth international I.B.M. branch in two years, following Ireland, Australia and Brazil. The lab will host a "resident scientist program," which will "bring in researchers from Nairobi and elsewhere in Africa to collaborate with I.B.M. scientists."
The purpose of this research lab is "to help train Africans to innovate in Africa," says Osamuyimen Stewart, I.B.M. scientist and native Nigerian, so that Africans can seek education and career-building skills in their native countries instead of moving West.
According to Lohr, "The Nairobi lab will seek to develop technology-assisted solutions to the problems of Africa's fast-growing cities (Africa has 52 cities of more than a million people - more than are in Europe). Water management and transportation, I.B.M. executives say, are prime examples. And solutions, they add, need not depend on long, costly projects."
"We're going to focus on very inexpensive solutions, rapidly developed," said John E. Kelly, I.B.M.'s senior vice president for research and director of I.B.M. labs.
FULL STORY: I.B.M. Adds an African Lab to Its Growing Global Research Network
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?
In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.
Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.
Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Clanton & Associates, Inc.
Jessamine County Fiscal Court
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service