We are pleased to announce our new blogger for the Smart+Connected Communities Institute. Martijn Moerbeek created the blog Strategic Perspectives in which he will share strategic focus for city managers, policy makers and city officials in planning and implementing a connected community. Moerbeek will focus on his background in construction, property development, city planning, building services, information and communication technology and technology.

A little about Moerbeek...

My interest in this topic dates  back a long time. I was born and raised in the Netherlands and choose to  study Civil Engineering as the Netherlands, more than any other country,  is shaped by how we transform nature and our surroundings to the  benefit of our citizens, the environment and the economy at large. In  reality, these are the three pillars of sustainability. From here on I  moved into project management of large building projects (most notable  inner city developments, office buildings and shopping centers) as I  wanted to understand more how buildings impact on their users and  occupants.

In  my next role I joined a major building services providers as I realized  that although architecture is important, it is really the services  within a building that make it live. As part of this, I was responsible  for their corporate strategy and I pushed for an intelligent buildings, a  workplace 2.0 and managed services proposition which really started to  form the basis of my appreciation of what S+CC can do.

In  short, I have always been a believer in how the built environment and  technology can shape and create environments that can provide answers to  many of the pressing issues that our developing and already  overburdened planet faces. I think my round experience has helped me in  pulling all the puzzle pieces together. This experience includes, an  appreciation of civil engineering, city developments, building services  and ICT, how buildings and the built environment impacts on people and  the environment, program management, engagement with policy makers,  architects and all stakeholders in the construction/technology process,  whole-life appreciation of built assets, in-depth architectural  appreciation (my wife is an architect!), the latest technological  developments and much more, and you can see how all this is now  converging into the space that you call S+CC. What's more, I have  extensive experience in penetrating new market spaces, business  development and proposition creation so I know how I can bring new and  innovative services with hard to quantify benefits to the market.

Check out the blog Strategic Perspectives! Click on Receive Email Notifications in the right column to receive an email when a new post is added.