A mode shift toward more sustainable transportation like micromobility and transit will take more than an app. It will require a reimagining of cities and how transportation infrastructure is prioritized.
For all of the advancements around technology and the deployment of a range of mobility options across cities, U.S. travelers still generally stick to one travel mode; and it’s usually a car.
Read more: US: There Is Much More Work to Do to Shift Cities Away from Cars
The US Department of Transportation is making a big bet on smart city technology with the release of $94.8 million in federal funding. But in an interview, Secretary Buttigieg warned that not every project ‘is going to prove out.’
Remember “smart cities”? A few years ago, a bunch of companies — Microsoft, Google, Samsung, and others — got a lot of people excited about the concept of transforming our cities, with their analog traffic signals and antiquated wastewater systems, into gleaming technopolises full of self-driving cars, public Wi-Fi, and embedded sensors collecting data on average citizens.
Read more: US: Pete Buttigieg still believes in smart cities
Louisiana's comprehensive 50-year master plan for mitigating the impact of extreme weather on vulnerable coastal communities can provide guiding principles for every region.
The climate crisis has reached every corner of our country. As rivers run dry, fires consume neighborhoods and coasts disappear, state and local leaders are grappling with how to address an emergency of seemingly impossible proportions. In many states, developing and investing in effective policy that matches the scale of the problem has understandably felt just as daunting. Just recently, new research projected that vast new swathes of the country will be at risk of hurricane-force winds in the coming decades.
Read more: US: Louisiana: The Right Way to Build Climate Change Resilience
I may date myself with a headline referencing the movie Get Smart, but it's always been one of my favorite spy comedies that’s been reimagined over the years. In it, Maxwell Smart plays a bumbling secret agent who relies on a shoe-phone to conduct clandestine conversations. Smart’s dual-purpose footwear is an early representation of today’s modern smartphone, and a good friend of mine likes to tease me about it still being the most innovative tech device, given my role covering 5G and telecommunications as an industry analyst.
With that humorous digression aside, late last year I had the opportunity to meet twice with officials from the City of Las Vegas to learn more about its “smart city” aspirations. That term—smart city—can mean different things to different people, and different municipalities. One size does not fit all. In this piece, I want to dive deeper into my conversations with the city's chief innovation and technology officer, Michael Sherwood. NTT is also a strategic partner for the city, and I would like to highlight what I find compelling about the overall vision for Las Vegas’ private cellular network deployment, as well as NTT’s involvement.
Read more: US: Nevada: NTT Helps The City Of Las Vegas Get Smart
Marin County is developing a new radar station that will track atmospheric rivers and inform a network with real-time data to help officials respond to potential flooding with a more customized report.
Marin County, Calif., will be deploying a new state-of-the-art flood radar network that will help provide real-time data from atmospheric rivers and allow local officials to plan quickly for localized flooding.
Read more: US: California: Marin County: ‘Smarter’ Radar Will Inform Bay Area Flood Network