Following a summer of record-breaking air quality concerns nationwide, the city of Boston has launched a new air quality widget.

Santiago “Santi” Garces, chief information officer (CIO) for the city of Boston, talked about his organization’s exploration of policy-building around the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies during a June 26 event organized by Route Fifty and GCN. 

The City of Boston has a new interim chief information officer (CIO), after Boston Mayor Michelle Wu named Alex Lawrence – who had previously been Chief of Staff for the city’s Department of Innovation and Technology – to the post beginning Nov. 29, Lawrence announced on Twitter.

Boston Mayor Kim Janey, along with the city’s Department of Innovation and Technology, announced the commissioning of a report that will examine the availability, cost, and quality of broadband city-wide, the city announced September 2.

Recent hacks on localities’ water supply have shown the importance of cybersecurity in the water infrastructure. Witnesses sounded the alarm about water infrastructure cybersecurity and called for training and funding investments at a July 21 Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing.

CA Technologies and Chordant released their Smart City Benefits Index, which the companies describe as the first comprehensive study designed to examine the relative potential benefits of Smart City technology in America’s major metropolitan areas. In terms of the rankings, tech hub Boston unsurprisingly topped the list. Other tech giants in the top 10 include Austin, Seattle, and San Diego. However, the big surprise was that typically industrial cities dominated the top 10.

“A lot of IoT focuses on the intake of information,” said Stephen Walter, a program director for the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics in Boston. “We are really interested in how IoT can push information out. How can an IoT device augment a physical space? How can IoT be delightful?”

The Boston Police Department is taking to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to fight crime, which raises privacy concerns.

Boston’s Office of Emergency Management upgraded the city’s emergency notification system, AlertBoston, based on citizen feedback.