Smart Cities

Digital twins, centered on several core pieces of technology, including the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence, are making a critical difference locally and nationally in the government technology landscape.

The COVID-19 pandemic reshuffled commutes, economies and the daily life of cities. Now, city planners and transportation officials and others are having to rethink the future of urban spaces.

A new concept to develop open source digital infrastructure for the public sector is the focus of a new report by the Jacobs Urban Tech Hub at Cornell Tech. Authors advocate for a much more collaborative approach to the building process.

The Move PGH pilot project in Pittsburgh has provided some 1 million scooter trips, with about a third of those replacing a trip by car. The pilot uses "equity zones" to make these trips more accessible to all residents.

The federal agency, which is housed in the Department of Homeland Security, and allies released a guide to help communities plan for resiliency, defense and risk minimization when considering smart city initiatives.

Transportation technology and smart infrastructure company Seoul Robotics will leverage assets like the Curiosity Lab and other features of Peachtree Corners, an Atlanta suburb known for its smart city leadership.

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the release of a new $848 million funding program designed around hardening transportation infrastructure in the face of climate change.

Buffalo, N.Y., is reversing a decadeslong trend of population decline by positioning itself as a “climate refuge city” in the face of climate change and a pattern of extreme weather events across the country.

The city of Colorado Springs is installing 26 sensors in the downtown corridor as part of a program to collect foot and vehicle traffic data. The sensors detect and categorize moving objects but do not collect personally identifiable information.

The troves of data collected by smart city devices can be put to use developing a digital twin of a city or neighborhood for better understanding new developments or other changes to the area.

Twelve companies have been selected to participate in the inaugural Smart Futures Lab at the University of Colorado, Denver. The companies bring a range of smart city and transportation expertise.

When it comes to transportation infrastructure, the street curb is increasingly viewed as a revenue source for cash-strapped public transit as it tries to recover from the lingering effects of pandemic ridership declines.

New surveys from AAA and the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety point to lukewarm consumer confidence in autonomous vehicles, while new research from the Urbanism Next Center suggest AVs could reduce the need for parking.

Technology officials in the two major cities shared how transportation-related data — from scooters to buses and trains — is helping to inform decisions and the broader transportation planning process.

Synop and Geotab are combining their fleet management expertise into one platform to serve the needs of both internal combustion vehicles and their electric counterparts as government fleets continue to evolve.

Arlington County, Va., has announced a partnership with parking technology maker eleven-x for a pilot project to bring sensor technology to some 4,500 public parking spaces. The pilot lays the foundation for other enhancements.

Iowa City-based Alquist 3D is hoping to address the housing shortage facing Johnson County by creating affordable, sustainable and innovative homes using 3D printing technology. Construction is expected to start this summer.

Drones are playing an integral part in keeping birds away from dangerous power lines by placing robotic bird diverters on the lines. Some 1,500 new bird diverters have been launched to protect Atlantic City Electric infrastructure.