The State of Good Repair: Maintenance & Innovation in Smart City Projects

Using the State of Good Repair municipal standard as a starting point, this research brief highlights the infrastructure deficit in Canadian municipalities and frames the issue of infrastructure repair and planning in the context of investments in digital infrastructure. Smart city initiatives must be considered in tandem with existing and future planned infrastructure investments, especially as communities account for sustainability and historically exclusionary patterns of investment. The research brief poses a simple yet powerful question: What would a state of good repair look like in an open smart city?

This brief is part of a series of Community Solutions Network Research Briefs, commissioned by Open North to provide insight into how data and technology intersect with challenges local communities are grappling with. The issue briefings identify complex policy issues from an open smart city lens, describe their importance and provide key considerations for policymakers and practitioners.