New York awarded 2016 Best Smart City

Source: Cities Today on November 23, 2016 | Nick Michell

The city of New York has been announced as the Best Smart City of 2016 at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, as part of the World Smart City Awards. New York was recognised for its Building a Smart + Equitable City initiative, led by the Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation.

The plan to make the city a global benchmark for smart technologies is based on four pillars; LinkNYC, expanding connectivity among citizens; Marketplace.nyc and Urban Tech NYC, growing the innovation economy ecosystem; a programme for piloting and scaling smart technologies; and a set of comprehensive guidelines for ensuring the equitable deployment of smart city technologies.

“When used effectively, IoT devices—like sensors that capture pollution in the air or lights that only turn on when someone is in the room—can produce cost savings, bolster civic engagement, and strengthen public health and safety,” Jeff Merritt, Director of Innovation, New York Mayor’s Office of Tech + Innovation, told Cities Today. “As cities move forward into the future, municipal leaders must also be cognisant of, and actively mitigate, the challenges and risks raised by these technologies, most notably in areas of public privacy and security.”

LinkNYC is transforming the city’s pay phones into a network of up to 10,000 communications structures that provide gigabit-speed public Wi-Fi, phone calls, device charging, and access to city services. New York continues to pilot and scale smart technologies, including a new US$3 million investment in sensors to enhance public safety and a US$20 million connected-vehicle pilot.

Marketplace.nyc is a digital discovery tool to help government agencies discover smart city solutions, while Urban Tech NYC is an accelerator programme providing 9,300 square metres of affordable space and prototyping equipment to help entrepreneurs build smart and sustainable solutions.

Read more here