Chattanooga collaborative among Top 50 smart city projects

Chattanooga's new research collaborative has been named as one of the Top 50 smart city projects for 2019 by US Ignite and other smart city initiatives.

Chattanooga will be recognized in April at the Smart Cities Connect Conference in Denver as one of three cities recognized in the "Horizon" category for demonstrating foundational and inspiring groundwork for the future.

"This award recognizes the robust research program we're building right here in Chattanooga, taking advantage of our world-class fiber optic network," Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said in a statement Friday.

The Chattanooga Smart Community Collaborative, which began last fall, is a research partnership between The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the city of Chattanooga, Erlanger Health System, EPB, Hamilton County, the Co.Lab, and The Enterprise Center. Chattanooga has already attracted researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, UT Dallas, and The University of Vermont to conduct studies here.

Chattanooga boasts the fastest citywide internet connections, courtesy of EPB Fiber Optics network. Chattanooga also is home to UTC's new Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP), which is conducting smart city research on in energy, mobility, healthcare, public safety, water, and waste.

"We're working at CUIP to create smart city solutions that can help improve citizens' lives," said Dr. Mina Sartipi, a UC Foundation professor of urban science and the technology progam leader at the UTC SimCenter.

The UTC center aims to benefit local citizens while developing models that can be replicated around the world.

The Smart 50 Awards, created by US Ignite, Smart Cities Connect, and Smart Cities Connect Foundation, recognized smart city programs around the globe in community engagement, digital transformation, mobility, urban infrastructure and urban operations, along with the Horizons category.

In the Southeast, other Smart City programs being recognized at the Denver conference will include two programs in Atlanta - "Improving the Fan Experience," and the Soofa Solar Powered Digital Community Bulletin Board - and two programs in Montgomery, Alabama - the Smart City Technology for Garbage Trucks and the Automated Road Assessments Using Artificial Intelligence programs.

Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.

Upcoming Events