The classic problems cities face are poverty, traffic, public safety, energy and water. Some are turning to technology in hopes of addressing some of those issues. 

"There is this desperate need for improving living conditions," said Philip Bane, managing director of the Smart Cities Council.

He's part of an organization dedicated to helping cities navigate smart city technologies — a billion dollar global industry.

"Nashville is doing something where they're putting in sensors to measure water flow in all these places it could be dangerous," Bane said. 

Nashville — prone to urban flooding — is installing thousands of sensors for early warning detection.

"How does that flooding affect someone who's disabled, or who's an immigrant and doesn't speak English," Bane asked. "That's the key to being smart. It's not that you collect the data. It's what you do with it."

Homayra Yusufi is a refugee from Afghanistan who is now an advocate, alarmed by a program in San Diego that was paused over privacy concerns. Streetlights were equipped with LED bulbs, cameras and sensors that were capable of monitoring air quality and optimizing traffic and parking. It promised to pay for itself through energy cost savings.

"Our communities have historically been affected by over-surveillance, especially after September 11," Yusufi said. "We had never heard of the lights. They were not only installed — thousands throughout San Diego — but they had also given exclusive access to the police department, which did not have a use policy."

The program was costing taxpayers millions of dollars more than expected. Community groups joined together calling for oversight and transparency about what it does with the data.

San Diego is now developing new policies with input from organizations, privacy advocates and technology experts. Yusufi hopes as interest grow in other cities, privacy is top of mind.

This story was originally published by Amanda Brandeis of Newsy.

WASHINGTON —

Federal officials say they will allow operators to fly small drones over people and at night, potentially giving a boost to commercial use of the machines.

Most drones will need to be equipped so they can be identified remotely by law enforcement officials.

The final rules announced Monday by the Federal Aviation Administration “get us closer to the day when we will more routinely see drone operations such as the delivery of packages,” said FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson.

Drones are the fastest-growing segment in all of transportation, with more than 1.7 million under registration, according to the Transportation Department.

However, the widespread commercial use of the machines has developed far more slowly than many advocates expected. Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos once predicted that his company would use drones to deliver goods to customers’ doorsteps within five years, but that prediction is already off by two years.

There have been several tests and limited uses. United Parcel Service said last year that it received approval to operate a nationwide fleet of drones and has already made hundreds of deliveries on a hospital campus in North Carolina.

Also last year, Google sister company Wing Aviation won FAA approval for commercial drone flights in a corner of Virginia.

And this past August, Amazon got similar FAA approval to deliver packages by drones. The company is still testing the service and hasn’t said when shoppers will see deliveries.

For drone supporters impatient with the pace of adoption, regulatory hurdles are a leading complaint. Currently, operators who want to fly a drone over people or at night need a waiver from the FAA.

The new rules will require that drones used at night include flashing lights that can be seen up to three miles away. Operators will need special training. Small drones flying over people cannot have rotating parts capable of cutting skin.

The rules covering flights over people and at night will take effect in about two months. They finalize proposed rules issued last year.

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All drones that must be registered with the FAA will be required to have equipment that broadcasts their identification, location and control station or be operated at FAA-recognized areas. So-called remote ID was a requirement impose by Congress at the urging of national security and law enforcement agencies.

Drone manufacturers will have 18 months to begin making drones with remote ID, and operators will have one year after that to start using drones with remote ID.