Five finalists from among more than 70 medium-sized cities competing in the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Smart City Challenge will be named in June, with the winner to be awarded up to $40 million. That money will fund the winning city’s proposal that is geared toward safer, easier and more reliable transportation in the city.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced the 77 applicants today, noting that not only will the winner benefit from the funding that supports innovative transportation projects, but a successful project could also become a blueprint for similar programs in other cities throughout the country.
Photo by Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine is licensed under CC BY 2.0
The goal of the competition is for medium-sized cities to submit proposed projects that include several innovative ideas such as automated vehicles and other technology into a “network” to connect citizens to the city’s intelligent transportation system, increasing mobility options.
The five finalists will be awarded $100,000 each to further develop and refine their proposals. They will also have at their disposal technical support from Vulcan Inc., which plans to award up to $10 million to the winner to support electric vehicle deployment and other carbon emission reduction strategies as part of its solution. The final selection process will be in June.
California led all states with the most cities submitting applications. Eleven medium-sized cities such as Long Beach, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Jose entered the competition. Nine cities in New York submitted applications, including Albany, Mt. Vernon, Buffalo and Yonkers. Six cities in Florida, including Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa and Orlando, are part of the competition. The complete list of cities that submitted applications is viewable here.