January 17, 2019 Smart Cities Predictions for 2019 By Edward Krafcik, Ellory Monks and Eyal Feder-Levy While 2018 was filled with a number of successful smart city deployments, it also revealed significant challenges that will only intensify in years to come. The most pressing challenge to be addressed throughout 2019 is earning the public's trust in smart city projects. Towards the end of 2018, we saw major data privacy concerns emerge from citizens. From these concerns a heated, but healthy discourse between citizens, local governments, and private sector companies rose to mainstream media prominence. Citizens' expectations of privacy have begun to challenge the murky data privacy policies described by many in the private sector. 2019 will be the year of the smart city for the citizen.  Read Article Upcoming events from Meeting of the Minds   Upcoming Happy Hour Meetups Visit the Meetup.com event page to see all upcoming meetups. The events are great opportunities to casually network with others working on smart and sustainable cities.   Jan 23 Webinar How Cities Can Use Real-Time Information from Mobility Operators to Optimize City Streets Featuring Regina Clewlow of Populus and Don MacKenzie of the University of Washington. Register here.     Feb 6 Webinar Behavior Changes, Technology, and Public-Private Partnerships to Improve Urban Congestion Featuring José Holguín-Veras of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Register here.