IBM has selected Rochester as one of 16 winners for its Smarter Cities Challenge. This means Rochester is getting a team of people, from marketing executives to urban planners, to address a single issue: poverty. IBM values the consulting group at half a million dollars, and in the past they've helped cities revamp their transportation infrastructure, become more energy efficient, or update their communications systems.
Martin Laird is a program manager with IBM. He says members of their team will spend three weeks in the city.
"They will come here to study deeply the issues around poverty and building a more efficient system for how impoverished families receive assistance across multiple agencies in the city."
Since IBM is a technology company, Laird says they'll be using their expertise in information systems to make recommendations for how to streamline this process.
Mayor Warren says she thinks one of the reasons people are prevented from rising out of poverty is because the system for accessing resources is too clunky.
"As we know we have a system that basically keeps people on what we call a treadmill of basic services. And we are looking to create a system that basically builds a stairway out of poverty."
Warren says this initiative is in line with her main mission: to create more jobs, safer neighborhoods, and better schools.
