Cities get smarter

Just about every city in America has a Smart City project that looks to improve services, security and sustainability. SC Media took a look at some of the leading programs of 2019. 

Denver 
During the past year, Pena Station NEXT, the ambitious “work, live, play” project near Denver International Airport began to take shape. Panasonic has partnered with the city to develop the site that will include offices, retail, dining, outdoor and residential space with the goal of becoming an energy self-sufficient community. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, this smart city within a city will serve as a testing ground for new technologies, such as Wi-Fi-enabled smart lighting supported by video analytics, electric vehicle charging and renewable energies. As part of the project, an autonomous vehicles company called Easy Mile deployed an electric autonomous shuttle that services Panasonic’s 112,000 square-foot facility. Officials expect the project to be completed by 2026. Pena Station NEXT was inspired by the Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town, a smart city and sustainable development project led by Panasonic in Fujisawa, Japan, about 30 miles southwest of Tokyo.  

Denver has also outlined plans to increase public and private electric vehicle use, install pedestrian detection systems at intersections to improve safety and establish a connected freight system in which trucks can communicate to coordinate delivery routes and reduce congestion. The federal Department of Transportation awarded Denver $6 million in 2016 to fund the connected vehicle network and pedestrian detection system. According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, Denver plans to match this grant with city funds over the next several years to purchase roughly 1,500 connected electric city vehicles and install pedestrian sensors at intersections.  

From the December 2019/January 2020 Reboot Issue of SC Media