Inside Columbus’ Mission to Spread Its Smart City Knowledge
Source: Government Technology
by Skip Descant / September 13, 2019
Driven by the idea that what works in a larger city won't translate to most Midwest locales, those behind the Smart Columbus initiative are on a mission to share their findings and “lift all the boats.”
On a recent late summer morning, the Smart Columbus Experience Center was pulsing with activity. Conference room spaces with names like Connect, Autonomous and Electric were filling with community groups. Dozens of software and other technology developers were collaborating over workstations, and at least a few people eyed a couple of new electric cars parked in the Center’s lobby.
The Experience Center, housed in a former parking garage in downtown Columbus, Ohio, on the banks of the Scioto River, works as a sort of nerve center, orchestrating a number of projects clustered under the Smart Columbus umbrella. These projects are harnessing technology to take on some of the transportation challenges around, say, the frustratingly high rate of infant mortality in the region, making it easier for residents with cognitive disabilities to navigate transit or smoothing the transition to electric cars.
In no small way, Smart Columbus — born about four years ago when the region was selected as the recipient of a $40 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant, which was met by millions more dollars in private and nonprofit investment — is an ambitious undertaking.