Smart Cities Council recently announced that Austin, Indianapolis, Miami, Orlando and Philadelphia are the five winners of the Smart Cities Council Readiness Challenge Grant program. Over 130 cities were involved in the application process. The winning cities will receive a tailored Readiness Workshop during 2017 to develop a roadmap for applying smart technologies to further innovation, inclusion and investment within their cities.
The winning cities will also receive supporting products and services from Council member companies and advisors including Ameresco, AT&T, CH2M, CompTIA, Dow Building and Construction, IDC, Qualcomm, Sensus, Telit, TM Forum and Transdev.
“Breaking down the departmental silos is a key challenge in developing a smarter city. Each of the winning cities has demonstrated the ability to work across departments to solve problems,” said Smart Cities Council Chairman Jesse Berst. “Our coalition of world-class experts looks forward to working with each of these enterprising cities to help them make smart use of technology to become more livable, workable, sustainable and resilient.”
Austin will use its Readiness Workshop to develop strategies to invite under-served populations to participate in designing solutions for their mobility needs as well as affordable housing and economic development. The city, which is growing rapidly, is concentrating its efforts on reaching people who could benefit from a government that’s more responsive to their needs, but rarely take part in traditional forms of civic engagement. “This will help Austin use new technologies to meet old challenges of mobility and affordability,” said Mayor Steve Adler. “Winning the Smart Cities Council Challenge Grant puts us that much closer to creating a comprehensive and inclusive strategy to use technology in a way that benefits communities that are usually left behind.”
Indianapolis and Marion County will strengthen emerging initiatives in smart utilities and transportation. After a large delegation attended Smart Cities Week in 2016, Indianapolis formed a working group of ecosystem partners to assess smart city capabilities and guide a long-term vision that integrates with the city’s future planning. Marion County recently approved development of the first electric bus rapid transit (e-BRT) system in the country and is also moving forward with 16 Tech — a comprehensive IoT hub that will pioneer citywide digital infrastructure. “Indianapolis’ culture of innovation and rapidly expanding tech industry provide strategic advantages to our smart city planning, specifically in the areas of water, energy and transportation,” said Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. ”I am proud to see Indianapolis recognized as a national example of the potential for these technologies to improve local neighborhoods.”
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