How Panasonic is working on connected-vehicle technology in three states

The Panasonic Smart Mobility office's goal for these real-world projects is to demonstrate the use of vehicle-to-everything technologies at scale and help prepare cities and states for the rollout of connected vehicles.

By Dan Zukowski • June 5, 2023

Wildfire ‘smelling sensors’ could help first responders protect at-risk communities

A new initiative in Oakland, California, is part of a larger Homeland Security Department effort to understand the potential of environmental sensors.

By Ysabelle Kempe • June 1, 2023

Robotaxi companies are expanding existing operations — and coming soon to new cities

Despite pushback from the city of San Francisco, two companies received approval to operate driverless ride-hailing vehicles for paying passengers anywhere in the city at any time. 

By Dan Zukowski • June 1, 2023

Ransomware group messes with Texas

A trio of ransomware attacks targeting the Dallas metro area have the hallmarks of a targeted campaign. They also underscore a very real problem: society is becoming desensitized to disruption.

By Matt Kapko • May 30, 2023

How AI can advance, harm transportation equity

“Responsible AI” is critical because “AI has the potential to either exacerbate or alleviate existing biases and discrimination in transportation,” one researcher said during a Transportation Research Board webinar.

By Kalena Thomhave • May 29, 2023

Greenhouse gas emissions tracking project addresses ‘flawed’ approach cities use now, researchers say

City Climate Intelligence can provide free, near-real-time information on greenhouse gas emissions at the city, neighborhood, building and street level.

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 26, 2023

Shared micromobility companies recommended model regulations. Here’s what they didn’t mention.

Bird, Lime, Spin and Superpedestrian’s recommendations largely leave out safety, infrastructure and community engagement concerns, researchers and micromobility consultants said.

By Michael Brady • May 26, 2023

Why cities are investing in government-run gig work platforms

Long Beach, California, was the first U.S. city to launch its own gig-work platform. Now others are considering following suit.

By Gaby Galvin • May 24, 2023

Collecting data to support energy-burdened communities poses unique challenges, experts say

Census data isn’t collected often enough to reflect neighborhood demographic shifts, and asking communities to self-report can present additional burdens, panelists said at a clean energy summit.

By Diana DiGangi • May 24, 2023

Salary ranges are growing in tech hub job postings, Indeed finds

California and Washington were home to seven of the top 10 areas with the largest one-year salary range increases, the employment website found. Both states have large technology talent hubs, including San Francisco and Seattle.

By Roberto Torres • May 23, 2023

Dallas under pressure as Royal ransomware group threatens leak

By listing Dallas on its leak site on the dark web, Royal rebutted the city’s claims that data was not compromised during the attack.

By Matt Kapko • May 22, 2023

Dallas courts still closed 2 weeks post-ransomware attack

Continued outages also prevent police from accessing data, severely impacting efforts to reduce crime as summer approaches, Police Chief Eddie Garcia said.

By Matt Kapko • May 18, 2023

How NYC is preparing its infrastructure for extreme weather

Thu-Loan Dinh, who helps lead infrastructure design for the city’s Department of Design and Construction, discusses the agency’s biggest resilience concerns and how to address them.

By Julie Strupp • May 17, 2023

NREL energy audit tool may help cities meet climate, building decarbonization goals

Local governments often lack the staff and resources to conduct energy audits on thousands of buildings, an engineer at the National Renewable Energy Lab said, but technology can help overcome those challenges.

By Joe Burns • May 16, 2023

A ‘tech hub’ in your city? Commerce Department launches application process for $500M in grants

The program will focus on key technology areas such as artificial intelligence and batteries. Its first phase will designate at least 20 “tech hubs” with the potential to be globally competitive innovation centers in the next decade. 

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 15, 2023

How Bird, Lime, Spin and Superpedestrian want cities to regulate shared e-bikes and scooters

The companies’ recommendations come as many shared micromobility pilots end, and local governments make them permanent. 

By Michael Brady • May 15, 2023

How Rubicon and Esri helped Columbus optimize waste collection

Rubicon and Esri teamed up to optimize waste collection and cut wait times by two-thirds in Columbus.

May 15, 2023

Chicago environmental justice order signed as mayor’s term ends

The order requires the completion of a citywide environmental justice data project, creates a new environmental justice coordinator role and calls for community engagement standards.

By Ysabelle Kempe • May 12, 2023

Portland, Oregon, to pilot zero-emission delivery zone

The project could help the city reduce climate pollution and improve public health, the Portland Bureau of Transportation said. Portland received nearly $2 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation for the project.

By Max Garland • May 9, 2023

Dallas restores core emergency dispatch systems after ransomware attack

“At this point, we do not have evidence or indication that there has been data removed during this attack,” Dallas CIO Bill Zielinski told city officials Monday.

By Matt Kapko • May 9, 2023

Uber and Lyft ridership accelerates in Q1

“After lagging other regions in the recovery through 2021 and 2022, the ride-share category in the US & Canada is now growing faster in 2023,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said.

By Michael Brady • May 5, 2023

Dallas ransomware attack causes critical service outages

Websites for the city and Dallas Police Department, which serves a population of nearly 1.3 million people, currently show error pages.

By Matt Kapko • May 4, 2023

How governments are updating ‘operational technologies,’ including AI, and the challenges that remain: survey

Over half of the survey respondents reported their agency plans to upgrade systems by 2025, a Center for Digital Government and Samsara survey found. Operational efficiency and cost savings are a big reason why.

By Michael Brady • May 4, 2023

California spent $1.3B in cap-and-trade funds on climate, equity projects in 2022

The California Climate Investments funding addressed affordable housing, transportation, energy costs, extreme heat, fire, access to clean drinking water and more, a California Air Resources Board official said.

By Kalena Thomhave • May 2, 2023

Mobility could be transformed by 2035, with US car sales dropping 30%: report

As cities and consumers move toward new mobility options, “the mobility ecosystem will most likely undergo a transformation not seen since the early days of the automobile,” a McKinsey report says.

By Michael Brady • May 2, 2023