Who We Are
Anthony Townsend
Research Director, Technology Horizons
Follow Anthony on Twitter: @anthonymobile
As research director for IFTF’s Technology Horizons Program, a post he has held since joining IFTF in 2005, Anthony focuses on the impact of new technology on cities and public institutions, and the role of technology in economic development. He speaks frequently around the world on the smart city industry, government service innovation, and technology innovation systems. His writing on these themes has appeared in Scientific American, CQ Researcher, and a number of edited collections. His first book, Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Coders and the Quest for a New Utopia (Norton, October 2013), explores the rise of smart cities and the players shaping them, placing the current hype about the future of technology-enhanced cities in a broad historical context.
Anthony has served on mayoral municipal broadband advisory boards in both New York City and San Francisco, has testified before the U.S. Senate on the future of science parks, and advises economic development organizations and architecture and city planning firms in several cities globally. Named one of Postscapes’ Top 100 Thinkers tracking the Internet of Things and by Planetizen as a leading thinker in urban planning and technology, Anthony works in New York City. He holds a BA in urban studies with a minor in physics from Rutgers University, a master’s in urban planning from New York University, and a PhD in urban and regional planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Anthony’s current writings and full resume are available at www.anthonymobile.com
Phone: +1-650-233-9522 Email: atownsend at iftf dot org
Twitter: @anthonyiftf