Finalists Named in IDC Government Insights’ Fifth Annual Smart Cities North America Awards

38 municipalities recognized for success in leveraging emerging technology and innovation to support Smart City initiatives

NEEDHAM, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#IDCGovernmentInsights—IDC Government Insights named finalists this week in the fifth annual Smart Cities North America Awards (SCNAA). The awards were designed to recognize the progress North American municipalities have made in executing Smart Cities projects, as well as provide a forum for sharing best practices to help accelerate Smart City development in the region. Finalists include cities, states, counties, and universities. As a next step in the nomination process, IDC invites the public to vote on the named finalists at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SCNAA22. Voting will be open through 5:00 pm U.S. Eastern time on Sunday, March 13th. Winners will be honored at Smart Cities Connect being held April 4–7 in Columbus, OH. To learn more about the event, please visit https://spring.smartcitiesconnect.org.

Finalists in the SCNAA illustrate best practice examples of how forward-thinking municipalities are effectively leveraging technology and innovation to offer new services and economic opportunities and to meet the needs and expectations of citizens and residents. 38 municipalities are recognized for unprecedented progress in creating and sustaining smart city projects across the following 14 key categories:

1. Administration (e.g., Back Office, Digital Legislating)

• Managing Short Term Rentals Efficiently In The Digital Age – La Quinta, CA
• Community Officials Data Exchange C.O.D.E. – Schenectady, NY
• Virtual Snow Operations Dashboard – Baltimore, MD

2. Civic Engagement (e.g., Open Data, City Portals, 311 apps)

• With You on Life’s Journey – City and County of San Francisco
• Miami-Dade County: 311 COVID-19 Testing IWA and Chatbot – Miami-Dade County, FL
• City of Sacramento 311 Virtual Agent – Sacramento, CA

3. Data-Driven Policing (e.g., Real-time Crime Centers, Officer Wearables, Video Analytics)

• Violent Crime Evidence Based Reduction Plan – Dallas, TX
• City of Miramar Body Worn Cameras – Miramar, FL
• City of Roseville, Dept. of Information Technology – Roseville, CA

4. Next-Generation Emergency Services (e.g., Next Gen 911, Early Warning Systems)

• City of Miramar Records Management System – Miramar, FL
• York Regional Police Community Safety Data Portal – York, Ontario
• Shelter Bed Availability Dashboard – Kansas City, MO

5. Digital Equity and Accessibility (e.g., Public WiFi, Accessibility Services, ADA Compliance)

• City of Brownsville – Brownsville, TX
• HCS EdConnect, Powered by EPB and Chattanooga’s Smart City Infrastructure – Chattanooga & Hamilton County, TN
• Lake Cities Community Fiber – Lake Cities TX

6. Economic Development, Tourism, Arts, Libraries, Culture, Open Spaces (e.g., Connected Museums, Kiosks, Event management)

• Smart City Initiative | Digital Strategic Plan – Aurora, IL
• ONEBurbank Fiber Optic Infrastructure for Economic and Community Development – Burbank Water and Power – Burbank, CA
• Long Beach Augmented Reality Challenge – Long Beach, CA

7. Education (e.g., Smart Campus, Smart Classrooms, Virtual Offerings, Online and Remote Services)

• Transform Howard – Howard County, MD
• City of Albuquerque Collaboration with Central NM Community College IoT Bootcamp – Albuquerque, NM
• Tech for All: Summer Swarm – St. Paul, MN

8. Public Health and Social Services

• Utilizing School Bus Routes and Machine Learning to Deliver Meals to Families in Need – Allegheny County, PA
• City of Miramar Gunshot Detection Technology: ShotSpotter – Miramar, FL
• Rubicon Sanitation Optimal Routing – West Memphis, AR

9. Smart Buildings (e.g., Capacity Planning, Return-to-Work Programs, Sustainability and Security Systems)

• Mesa City Facilities Automation – Mesa, AZ
• Guaranteed Energy, Water, Wastewater Performance Savings Contract – Miramar, FL
• Amenities Monitoring System – Morrisville, NC

10. Smart Water (e.g., COVID-19 Testing, Smart Metering, Waste Reduction Efforts)

• COVID-19 Response, Office of Digital Government – Gilbert, AZ
• Connected Parks Initiative – Morrisville, NC
• Water System Mobile Field Data Management and Mapping – Santa Ana, CA

11. Sustainable Infrastructure (e.g., Smart Water, Smart Lighting, Waste Collection, Environmental Monitoring, Resiliency)

• Using AI to Increase Equity and Technology to Deliver Services – San Jose, CA
• City of Riverside and UCR CE-CERT Innovation Corridor – Riverside, CA
• Syracuse Smart Street Lighting – Syracuse, NY

12. Transportation – Connected & Autonomous Vehicles, Public Transit, Ride-Hailing/Ride-Sharing

• NJ TRANSIT Experiential Commuter Journey – New Jersey Transit, NJ
• RIDE powered by Via for the City of Wilson – Wilson, NC
• Virginia Beach Traffic Data-Sharing Partnership – Virginia Beach, VA

13. Transportation Infrastructure (e.g., Parking, Transit Hubs, Traffic Management and Equipment for Connected and/or Autonomous Vehicles)

• Move PGH – Pittsburgh, PA
• AvCo – Autonomous Vehicles Colorado – Golden, CO
• Austin Energy Auto-Dealer and Customer Initiative – Austin Drives Electric – Austin, TX
• Smart Train Avoidance – Lima, OH

14. Urban Planning and Land Use (e.g., Permitting, Licensing, Inspection & Zoning; Digital Twins, Community Resiliency)

• Smart Intersection – Vision Zero – St. Petersburg, FL
• City of Riverside Public Permit Portal – Riverside, CA
• Unified Property Records Platform – Worcester, MA

“Now in our fifth year, we are thrilled to witness the continued growth of innovative smart city initiatives, across all categories, to enhance service delivery, drive new revenue streams and spur economic development,” said Ruthbea Yesner, vice president, IDC Government Insights and Smart Cities and Communities Strategies. “Recognized as an industry benchmark for smart city success, our annual SCNAA offers governments a practical framework for how to increase the attractiveness, services and economic opportunities of their city, state or country and spotlight the increasingly critical role of technology to realign government services with the needs and expectations of citizens.”

For additional information about these awards or to speak with Ruthbea Yesner, please contact Sarah Murray at 781-378-2674 or sarah@attunecommunications.com.

About IDC Government Insights

IDC Government Insights assists government policy, program, and IT leaders, as well as the suppliers who serve them, in making more effective technology decisions by providing accurate, timely, and insightful fact-based research and consulting services. Staffed by senior analysts with decades of government and IT industry experience, our global research analyzes and advises on business and technology issues facing the Federal/Central and local/provincial Governments. International Data Corporation (IDC) is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology market. IDC is a subsidiary of IDG, the world’s leading technology, media, research, and events company. For more information, please visit www.idc-gi.com or email info@idc-gi.com.

Contacts

Sarah Murray

Attune Communications

sarah@attunecommunications.com
781-378-2674

Mary Conroy

IDC

mconroy@idc.com
508-935-6964