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Telecommunications Demonstration Projects: Design and Implementation
Sacramento 2005: City of the Future Demonstration Sites
The Siembab Corporation, 1999-2000
Sacramento 2005 will demonstrate a near-term, realizable future at
the site of a distressed commercial development. The project will concentrate
many elements that will be commonplace in the near future but that are
just being introduced today. The effect should leave visitors and users
with a holistic idea of how new building and office products, transportation
products, tools for working, and organizational practices can be combined
in one environment to meet a number of public and private goals. The demonstration
will be practical in that it will actually operate and serve real clients,
as well as developmental in that it will offer low risk opportunities for
businesses and residents to experience a wide range of highly innovative
technologies and applications, all supported by guides and training programs.
Concept planning has been completed and funding is being sought for implementation.
Blue Line TeleVillage Demonstration Project, Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority
Project Director, Subcontractor to Drew Economic Development Corporation, 1995-1997
This project involved planning and implementing the prototype "Urban TeleVillage" as
a mobility and economic development strategy. It is located at the Compton
Metro Blue Line Transit Center in South Central Los Angeles. The Blue Line
TeleVillage includes a computer center, a video conference center, a telework
center, and several kiosks. These technologies support a variety of applications
that include distance education, library services, computer training, public
access computing and business development. The project included participation
from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, City of Compton, Pacific Bell,
Pasadena Public Library, Caltrans and others. The project was a semi-finalist
in the "telecollaboration" category of the 1996 National Information Infrastructure
Awards, and won the 1997 Outstanding Innovation Award of the International
Telework Association. See also the METRO NET Project below.
South Bay Business Link (SBBL)
Subcontractor to Jacki Bacharach & Associates, City of Torrance, 1998
The SBBL was designed to use audio and video teleconferencing to link
centrally located business resource organizations (El Camino College, Small
Business Development Center, and Private Industry Council) to local business
membership organizations (chambers of commerce, trade associations) distributed
throughout the South Bay sub-region of Los Angeles County. The SBBL was
designed to improve the effectiveness of the business support system, to
introduce small and medium sized businesses to teleconferencing technologies
and practices, and to minimize automobile travel when accessing these services.
The design was approved by the California Energy Commission and the U.S.
Department of Energy.
Southeast Los Angeles County Teleconferencing Network
Principle, Siembab Planning Associates, City of Lakewood, 1997
This two-year project demonstrated the use of audio teleconferencing and computer
teleconferencing for a 26 city sub-region of Los Angeles County. New meeting
practices and telecommunications applications were introduced to the eleven
functional organizations (from city managers to the self-insurance consortium)
of SELAC. The purpose of this project was to demonstrate ways of using teleconferencing
to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, and improve the efficiency
of SELAC cities.
Video Teleconferencing Project, Environmental Affairs Department, City of Los
Angeles
Subcontractor to Handelman, Katherman, Inc., 1996
The assignment was to develop applications for- and evaluate a videoconferencing
link between Los Angeles City Hall and the South Coast Air Quality Management
District in Diamond Bar.
Telecommunications for Clean Air 1993-95: The Telework Facilities Exchange
Project Director, Institute for Local Self Government, 1993-95
This 30 month project demonstrated a facilities-based telecommuting option
for the public sector in Southern California. The objective was to match participating
government employees to a government owned work station close the employee's
home. City, county and state government agencies as well as regional organizations
were invited to participate as host, guest, or both. With over 30 governments
or agencies participating, the Exchange was the largest multi-jurisdictional
telecommuting program in the world. The project won an Excellence Award from
the National Telecommuting Advisory Council in 1994, and the lead department
in the County of Los Angeles won a County Productivity Award in 1994 for its
participation.
Telecommunications for Clean Air 1992-93
Project Director, Institute for Local Self Government, 1992-93
TCA 1992-93 included two demonstration projects. The first was the planning
and marketing year of the Telework Facilities Exchange. The second was the
Teleconferencing Demonstration Project. The project was the first to collect
and analyze data from "for-work travel" generated by local governments. Trip
diaries and travel calendars in three cities were used as the basis for estimating
regional costs of for-work travel. These costs were estimated to exceed $110
million per year. Five families of teleconferencing technologies were deployed
in 34 demonstrations. In the final analysis, audio teleconferencing was recommended
for immediate expansion of local government applications. The recommendations
also called for a hierarchical regional network of government/public teleconferencing
centers incorporating all five families of technology.
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