3 takeaways from the Smart Cities Connect fall conference
Source: Smart Cities Dive by Maria Rachal, Editor
Public- and private-sector professionals shared ideas on how to get support for procurement, make progress on open-source and interoperable technologies and more.
City officials and technologists convened in National Harbor, Maryland, this week at the Smart Cities Connect Conference and Expo to discuss top-of-mind questions, solutions and novel strategies. These were some of the recurring themes:
Prove it and the funding will follow
“If you can do a demonstration project, usually the money will follow,” said Don Jacobson, IT business partner for innovation at the city of Las Vegas.
During a keynote with other city leaders on how to successfully innovate, Jacobson shared the example of an autonomous shuttle pilot several years ago in Las Vegas. The pilot helped the American Automobile Association get riders’ thoughts on autonomous vehicles. Jacobson suggested that it also helped the city later obtain federal transportation funds to support a forthcoming autonomous shuttle meant to help people living in a historically underserved area get to medical appointments. “So we did that demo project and that led to some really big money to answer an equity concern that we had,” Jacobson said.
Jacobson further recommended establishing an innovation zone, like Las Vegas’ district, because they attract partners and no-or-low-cost projects.
City leaders must also be persistent with their procurement offices, said Genesis Gavino, the Dallas city manager’s chief of staff, speaking during a panel related to smart streetlights.
“Don’t let them tell you no,” said Gavino, who also leads resilience and digital equity efforts in the city.