Smart Cities

Hawaii’s capital city is using CivCheck’s platform to review applications and speed up the permitting process. Bellevue, Wash., also uses AI permitting process tools, and Louisville, Ky., will soon pilot them.

New technology is helping digitize the credit card account management and accounts payable processes for the small Idaho city. Doing so has saved more than 100 staff hours a month.

A freight ferry and two cargo bikes were part of a project to show how fresh seafood and other freight can move through New York City without traveling on a delivery truck through city streets.

After launching a fiber-optic broadband network, Chattanooga, Tenn., has seen robust economic development and better Internet service for residents. Chico, Calif., recently broke ground on its own fiber project.

Michigan Central in Detroit is quickly becoming a center for air and ground mobility innovation. The state Advanced Air Mobility Initiative, announced in July, aims to stimulate drone development.

“Experiential learning” can let people discover technologies firsthand, a panelist said at the inaugural CoMotion GLOBAL conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Residents must be kept in mind, said another.

The Florida-based supplier of “intelligent streetlighting” says its latest tools offer deeper insights into traffic patterns and more safety protections. The company recently joined a law enforcement network.

Some 10,000 public parking spaces in Boston are now under new management, as the city has deployed a new solution to aid it in bolstering compliance, collecting payments and monitoring other parking functions.

The new projects include work on pedestrian spaces and community development. At the same time, the city plans to deploy an upgraded, "first-of-its-kind" emergency command center at the famous Thanksgiving Day parade.

The small mountain town of Vail, Colo., has introduced agentic AI tools to aid in fire detection, public engagement and other areas. Being more efficient with mundane, everyday tasks is a key focus.

Tech and transportation officials are working to bring together GIS, artificial intelligence and other tools to develop a traffic management system that’s smarter and improves safety for all.

Transportation technology leaders gathered in Los Angeles this week for the annual CoMotion LA conference, where they examined recent innovative endeavors and the issues shaping mobility today.

With new data centers expected to drastically increase power consumption in the coming years, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission proposed a tariff model for electricity providers to impose on large-load customers.

Newburgh Heights reported collecting the money from fines generated by two traffic cameras, during a roughly yearlong period that ended in July. Cleveland is considering bringing the devices back.

The city will expand a pilot project to identify road hazards, using artificial intelligence. Cameras with the technology, mounted to street sweepers, will assess sidewalks, and bike and travel lanes.

Digital technology helps large public universities manage thousands of parking spaces and permits. Data collected can help quantify their needs, and how best to control the available spots.

Waymo is set to come to Nashville next year, and Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly said he sees his own city, where university researchers are working on smart street technology, as a good place to test autonomous driving.

The city of Brownsville, Texas, was given that designation in 2014. Since then, officials have made investments to change its status, including supporting the deployment of a fiber network.