In this insightful episode of the Urban Exchange Podcast, sponsored by Sand Technologies, host Lauren Sorkin delves into the critical challenge of clean water and resilience, with a focus on how artificial intelligence is emerging as a powerful tool to address these pressing issues.
Joined by Byron Roelofsz, the AI Solutions Director at Sand Technologies, and Beam Furr, the Mayor of Broward County, Florida, the conversation explores the unique challenges faced by coastal communities like Broward County, which is highly susceptible to sea level rise and saltwater intrusion.
Together, our guests dive into the innovative initiatives Broward County has undertaken, including mapping underground conditions, creating dashboards for developers, and enacting laws to consider long-term sea level rise projections. The discussion also highlights the importance of university partnerships in providing credible data and consensus-based projections to support data-driven decision-making.
Elsewhere, we look at the potential of AI in water management, covering how it can help cities manage and improve the quality of massive data sets, create digital twins for scenario simulation, and enable intelligent automation in operational systems. There’s also time to address the significance of delivering AI insights to a wide range of stakeholders, from executives to the public, to ensure transparency and build trust.
Looking to the future, the conversation explores the anticipated trends in the next five years, including the focus on breaking down data silos and integrating information across sectors, as well as the push for greater public access to city and utility data to enable community engagement in water conservation efforts.
Find out more about the role of AI in water management by visiting Sand Technologies.
The Speakers
Beam Furr
Mayor, Broward County
Byron Roelofsz
AI Solutions Director
Sand Technologies
Paul Wilson
Lauren Sorkin
About Beam Furr
Beam Furr is a Broward County Commissioner representing District Six, the southeast part of the county. He currently serves as Mayor of Broward County. He was first elected to the Broward County Commission in 2014. Prior to that, he was a Hollywood City Commissioner for 12 years.
As an elected official, he has focused on environmental issues, early childhood education, transportation, housing, economic opportunity, and the arts. Commissioner Furr was a teacher in the Broward County School system for 25 years. During that time, he taught social studies, before becoming a librarian for Flanagan High School. Beam grew up in South Florida and now lives in Hollywood with his wife, Shelli Edwards, and is the proud dad of his daughter, Eliza.
About Byron Roelofsz
Byron Roelofsz is the AI Solutions Director with Sand Technologies.
With substantial experience in actuarial analysis, Byron holds more than nine years of technical expertise in water utilities, telecommunication and insurance. He has headed up multiple award-winning projects including clean water applications using machine learning for leakage identification and reducing supply interruptions.
About Paul Wilson
Paul Wilson is the Chair of the SmartCitiesWorld Advisory Board, and Chief Business Officer for the Connected Places Catapult. Paul has more than 25 years’ international leadership, sales and marketing experience in the B2B Technology Media Telecom sector, including being CMO of global digital transformation association TM Forum and $3bn SunGard Financial Systems.
After running the West of England LEP, Paul set up the multi-award-winning Bristol Is Open smart city project in 2014 and created the widely endorsed City as a Platform Manifesto a couple of years later. He went on to advise the UK Government on the design of its 5G Testbeds & Trials programme, and more recently on how the programme should evolve. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Bristol’s Smart Internet Lab.
About Lauren Sorkin
Lauren Sorkin is the Executive Director of the Resilient Cities Network where she oversees global efforts to strengthen cities in the face of the complex and interconnected challenges. Leading a team of urban resilience professionals across the globe in collaboration with Chief Resilience Officers in 40 countries, her work builds on the unique capacity, breadth, and legacy of the 100 Resilient Cities Program to enhance the resilience of communities and critical infrastructure. She also serves as an advisor and spokesperson on urban resilience, sustainable finance, climate risk, holistic health and women’s leadership.
