Pivoting To Create A Smart City | Co.Exist: World changing ideas and innovation

Excerpt:
"...Earlier this year I had the pleasure of attending the Vancouver Cities Summit. Kansas City’s charismatic mayor, Sly James spoke with Milo Medin, Google’s VP of Access Services, about the incredible collaboration between Kansas City and Google. These two seemingly strange bedfellows agreed to pilot (think MVP) a fast Internet rollout (Google Fiber Internet) that’s 100 times faster than typical broadband networks to create fiberhoods, or places where groups of 40 to 80 people get together and deposit $10 each to get Google Fiber Internet.
I consider this to be a pivot in Kansas City’s strategy. Until recently, it was considered a typical Midwestern city, far removed from high-tech centers on the East and West Coasts. As the first city in the world to adopt Google Fiber Internet, Kansas City is now on the bleeding edge of the next frontier of ultra-high-speed access.
Because this was a competition and Google selected Kansas City out of over 1,100 applicants, some might suggest this is not actually a pivot. I would argue that Kansas City was strategic in its thinking to apply for this, recognizing that if they could be the first community in the country with Google Fiber, it would help to change the image of the city and attract digital entrepreneurs....'