It's scary when the impetus for urban improvement comes from IBM...

A supplement in Good Magazine ("Rethinking Cities: Introduction") also was included in the Friday edition of the New York Times, and lists eight urban innovations/best practices projects, 3 from outside the U.S., and 5 from inside the U.S.

IBM likes intelligent transportation systems and other projects that require hefty use of information technology hardware, software, and systems integration, because they can make money on it.

But then, if making money can drive municipal innovation, real improvements, fine. They are motivated to push the changes forward, more so than activists maybe, who get tired of working the system and lack the resources and financial incentives that corporations like IBM do have.