The Smart City Initiative is designed to help city leaders tap into the power of technology and data to transform our communities into thriving, prosperous and safe living environments.
The Smart City Initiative is a $50 million dollar effort that will be co-led by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in collaboration with the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Department of Commerce (DOC), and other Federal agencies.
We will harness the resources and expertise of departments and agencies across the Federal Government, as well as state and local governments, non-profit organizations, private enterprises, and philanthropies to achieve this vision.
Through this initiative, we will work with 25 innovative communities across the country that have committed to reimagining how technology can be leveraged to improve city services. These communities will serve as laboratories for testing ways in which cities can use new tools and technologies to solve problems facing their residents.
The City of Pittsburgh needs to be seen as an innovative and forward thinking city. Through the use of technology, we can transform our community into a thriving, prosperous and safe living environment.
Our first step is to create a culture that embraces technology as an empowerment tool. This can be achieved by working with all segments of the population, including the business community, educational institutions and the residents in our community. It is an opportunity for the City to establish relationships with organizations and individuals who will benefit from these technologies.
With the introduction of free Wi-Fi in some areas of the City, we have taken a bold step towards improving access to this empowering tool. We need to continue increasing access throughout the entire City by building out a robust wireless infrastructure for public use. This will improve economic development opportunities, increase public safety, improve public health and allow for greater transparency in government operations.
Smart City Initiative is an African based non-governmental organization that promotes positive change and improved living through empowerment technology. We seek to transform communities into safe, thriving, prosperous and self-sustaining environments. This is a vision that is rooted in the belief that sustainable development can only be achieved if it is community driven.
We empower communities to take charge of their own development by providing them with the tools and resources they need to design their own sustainable initiatives. Our model seeks to promote the creation of jobs and income generating projects within the community. Thus, improving the ability of communities to sustain themselves.
Our mission is guided by the belief that everyone has a right to a decent standard of living. We believe that no one should spend another day without access to clean water, electricity or basic services like health care and education.
Smart City Initiative is the world’s leading provider of technology solutions for the digital city. We empower communities and local governments to enhance quality of life through technology, innovation and digital inclusion.
Smart City Initiative is not just in the business of providing great products; we are also in the business of creating economic opportunities and jobs, improving educational achievement, reducing energy consumption, increasing sustainability and advancing citizen engagement through community empowerment.
We partner with cities, counties, schools and other public agencies to ensure their investment in technology yields the greatest return on investment.
The Smart City Initiative is a government-funded project which provides communities with the opportunity to bring their cities into the future by implementing smart city technology. This technology includes:
– Smart Parking Systems
– Smart Traffic Management Systems
– Smart Lighting Systems
– Air Quality Sensor Networks
– Smart Waste Management Systems
– Citizen Safety and Security Systems
– IoT Sensors and Devices
By implementing this IoT technology, cities will be able to reduce costs, increase safety and create new revenue streams that can be used to improve community services.
The Smart City Initiative is a framework for the development of a Smart City. It is comprised of seven pillars (now referred to as domains) that represent the most important areas that need to be addressed in order to move a city towards becoming smarter – regardless of its size and geographic location.
These seven domains are:
• Mobility
• Communication
• Environment (Energy, Water, Waste)
• Health & Social Care
• Economy & Employment
• Governance
• Urban Planning
Empowerment technology (also referred to as small-scale technology, appropriate technology, and intermediate technology) refers to technology that is accessible, affordable, sustainable and provides empowerment to the user. Empowerment itself means giving individuals or groups the ability to take control of their own lives. Empowerment can be achieved through education and training, access to information and technology, or political change.
Empowerment technologies are designed with a “bottom up” approach which puts the needs of the end user first, as opposed to a “top down” design process which creates products for consumers in developed countries or for mass production in developing countries.
The goal of an empowerment technology is to improve the quality of life for those who are at a disadvantage including low-income individuals and people living in rural areas who may not have access to public utilities or other technologies that the developed world considers normal.