Building digital metropolis: Chicago's future networks

After Y2K, what's the best way to position your organization for e-commerce, information sharing, and resource use? Here's one city's plan. In 1997, the Metropolitan Planning Council of Chicago concluded that the digital network infrastructure was becoming vital to the health of the entire region. Yet the council also saw that infrastructure development was disjointed and likely to be incomplete. A thorough IT strategic plan, the council concluded, was overdue. The council turned to Northwestern University's Information Technology Division to analyze the situation and make recommendations. The report was to address not only the key issues but also how the digital network will become the newest universally available infrastructure in metropolitan Chicago. The report (http://www.nwu.edu/it/metrochicago) evolved from a series of papers by Northwestern faculty discussions and seminars with faculty and regional professionals, and research gleaned from across the country (USA). The report takes a look at the opportunities and challenges facing a global city when it decides to leverage its resources to position itself for the 21st century. What was found applies equally well to other regions and even to large companies, which also have information ecosystems, quality-of-life issues, and complex infrastructure requirements.