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16 Jurisdictions Join Smart Cities Collaborative

The cities and counties will work together to create policies, pilot emerging technology and share insights to improve transportation in local government.

Although they may have missed out on funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge, 16 cities have agreed to join a new collective effort of a similar nature.

Organized by Transportation for America (T4A) and Sidewalk Labs, the T4A Smart Cities Collaborative brings together cities and counties from across the country to explore how technology can improve urban mobility.

Partnering Cities

  • Austin, Texas
  • Denver
  • Boston
  • Centennial, Colo.
  • Chattanooga, Tenn.
  • Lone Tree, Colo
  • Los Angeles
  • Miami-Dade County, Fla.
  • Madison, Wis.
  • Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.
  • Nashville, Tenn.
  • Portland, Ore.
  • Sacramento, Calif.
  • San Jose, Calif.
  • Seattle
  • Washington, D.C.
“We’re in the midst of the most transformational shift in urban transportation since the start of the interstate era more than 50 years ago,” said T4A Director James Corless in a release.

The projects will be divided into three core areas:

1. Automated vehicles
2. Shared mobility
3. Performance measures and data analytics

Transportation is going through a revolution with the onset of smarter cars, connected infrastructure and sensors transmitting data on traffic congestion. Cities are serving as the ideal labs to pilot new programs and experiment with different programs relating to the core areas.

The potential for sharing data and collaborating on the future of transportation is difficult to understate, said Sidewalk Labs Chief Policy Officer Rohit T. Aggarwala. “This collaborative will be an unprecedented step in unifying these urban areas and accelerate solutions that provide affordable, efficient ways to get around," he said.

The ultimate goal of the partnership is to help develop efficient and affordable transportation options for all. The first meeting to share best practices and techniques will take place in early November in Minneapolis.

Ryan McCauley was a staff writer for Government Technology magazine from October 2016 through July 2017, and previously served as the publication's editorial assistant.