Smart Cities

As transit organizations face hard choices related to reduced funding levels, industry observers say new forms of granular, location-based data will be needed to restructure for new realities and priorities.

The Windy City’s contract for the gun detection service will expire shortly, but two aldermen have launched attempts to extend it. A parliamentary move or a special vote could potentially compel an extension.

Several new projects in Michigan, California and Florida explore the use of small, electric, autonomous vehicles operating alongside, or within existing, transit services. Public-private partnerships are key to their success, an official said.

The city has deployed 15 Flock Safety cameras to photograph vehicle license plates and alert on those being sought. The system, officials have said, is not used for immigration enforcement, and use is closely scrutinized.

A cross-sector partnership has helped pave the way for electric AV shuttles to start rolling off the assembly line in Florida by the middle of 2026, meeting Buy America requirements.

The utility ComEd is working with Illinois nonprofit QUILT to improve middle-mile broadband infrastructure across Chicago’s South and West sides while reducing costs. The initiative is enabled by a federal grant.

Sheriff’s deputies’ vehicles will soon be able to scan license plates and check drivers’ criminal records, in an expansion of the technology. Funding is coming via a grant from the federal Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs.

Four technology companies are part of the city’s initiative, which is aimed at growing its tech industry and making strides in smart city and digital government work. A Living Lab facility is in the works.

Its newly launched Local Government Research and Development Agenda, a nationwide undertaking, looks to provide research and science to cities. Interviews and workshops with 20 munis are underway.

Cities around the nation are taking on projects to gather and analyze vast amounts of digital data points related to curb usage. This can enable new forms of delivery and dynamic parking prices.

The agency is testing technology from ZeroEyes to identify guns in its “L” stations. It will send images to a company operations center for review before alerting law enforcement and public officials. Testing will run through summer 2025.

The city has invested $15.4 million in climate projects since the 2021 adoption of the Mesa Climate Action Plan. Officials have purchased 71 electric work trucks, and have 19 more electric vehicles on order.

Falls Church, Va., near the nation’s capital, is beginning the first phase of a smart city initiative to modernize traffic signals into one coordinated network. Other project phases include adaptive street lighting.

Agents from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office used information from cellphone towers, license plate readers and elsewhere to arrest a Florida man believed to have been involved in the alleged crimes across two counties.

The aim? To help craft technology that can power smart cities. The call for candidates comes as more accelerators and incubators provide guidance and other vital assistance to government technology companies.

The state’s most populous county is piloting installation of 12 solar streetlights near the Downtown South area of Las Vegas. It has been hard hit by copper wire theft, which has kept conventional lights dark for months.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced the state’s second such site Monday, with $95 million in investment lined up from state, private and local partners. The initiative is expected to generate an estimated 2,000 new jobs.

The state legislature last month approved new legislation that gives local police departments the option to target loud vehicle stereos, exhaust systems and the like with the automated listening devices.