Tech & Data

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    Permission granted by Dahlia Katz
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    A hit show on Toronto’s failed smart city project returns to the stage

    The award-winning play, “The Master Plan,” dramatizes the city’s fractured relationship with then-Google subsidiary Sidewalk Labs.

    By David Silverberg • Oct. 3, 2024
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    benedek via Getty Images
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    What’s the value of a city’s nature? San Antonio pilots tool to find out.

    Designed by a Stanford University-based group, the tool shows how land use changes could impact carbon sequestration, urban cooling and residents’ access to nature. More cities may eventually get access.

    By • Oct. 3, 2024
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    NanoStockk/iStock/Getty Images Plus via Getty Images
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    Trendline

    Smart Cities Technology and Data

    Cities are increasingly looking to technology and data to address real-world issues from traffic safety to law enforcement.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff
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    rarrarorro via Getty Images
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    2025’s top smart city conferences

    Smart city technology, housing, climate action, road safety and more will take center stage at events already announced for next year.

    By , • Oct. 1, 2024
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    FMCSA Provided

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    Sponsored by FMCSA

    FMCSA’s grant award season: Millions allocated to improve highway safety

    Learn about federal grant opportunities and how your organization can apply.

    Sept. 30, 2024
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    Kelly Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Lyft tackles rideshare drivers’ EV range anxiety

    Smartcar’s technology will ensure electric vehicle drivers only receive ride requests in their current battery range, Lyft says.

    By Benton Graham • Sept. 25, 2024
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    metamorworks via Getty Images
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    Connected vehicle tech could help nationwide e-tolling, officials say

    Public and industry leaders have long noted obstacles in regional wireless transponder networks and a goal to achieve more seamless travel.

    By David Taube • Sept. 25, 2024
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    carstenbrandt via Getty Images
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    18 startups tested innovative tech in New York’s transportation systems. Here are the results.

    Better curb management, transit resiliency and transit user experience were among the goals of the Transit Tech Lab experiments.

    By • Sept. 24, 2024
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    NOAA, Climate Mayors ink agreement to bring more science, data tools to communities

    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will ensure the mayors can access the latest climate information, while Climate Mayors will contribute to NOAA case studies on resilience. 

    By • Sept. 23, 2024
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    Permission granted by Steve Zylius of University of California, Irvine
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    In a sea of flood-risk data, how can cities know which information to use?

    A Los Angeles County debate spotlights the uncertainty of climate-risk models. Experts weigh in on best practices for local leaders.

    By • Sept. 17, 2024
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    Mario Tama via Getty Images
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    Uber and Waymo to bring robotaxis to Atlanta and Austin, Texas

    The announcement is part of Uber's larger effort to partner with autonomous vehicle and technology companies.

    By • Sept. 16, 2024
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    Courtesy of Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
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    New York enacts panic-button law to counter crime in stores

    The bill signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, which requires a host of safety measures to address store-based crime, was opposed by key retail trade groups.

    By Daphne Howland • Sept. 9, 2024
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    Brandon Bell/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Google pilots heat resilience tool in 14 US cities

    The artificial intelligence-driven tool predicts how changes in tree canopy and reflective surfaces could reduce land surface temperature across neighborhoods.

    By • Sept. 9, 2024
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    Courtesy of Wayve Technologies Ltd.
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    Uber to deploy autonomous vehicles on its platform through Wayve partnership

    The partnership could potentially bring Wayve’s technology to more than 150 million of Uber’s monthly global users.

    By Eric Walz • Sept. 5, 2024
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    Courtesy of Coco
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    Uber expands robotic delivery

    Urban robot delivery company Coco started delivering for Uber Eats in Los Angeles this week. It will expand to more cities in coming months.

    By Julie Littman • Aug. 30, 2024
  • A white and orange painted Chevy Bolt EV operated by Cruise parked in front of a cafe in the Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco.
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    Courtesy of Cruise LLC
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    Entire Cruise robotaxi fleet recalled for unexpected braking

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concluded that a software fault contributed to 10 crashes, four of which involved a vulnerable road user and resulted in injury.

    By Eric Walz • Aug. 27, 2024
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    Anna Moneymaker / Staff via Getty Images
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    DOJ sues software firm RealPage over algorithm that allegedly drives up rents

    The attorneys general of several states joined the suit, which accuses the company of an “unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords.”

    By Leslie Shaver • Aug. 26, 2024
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    Adam Gray/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    With 10 new climate resilience centers, DOE aims to translate research into local action

    Researchers will work on actionable science and tools to help local stakeholders combat extreme heat, flooding, drought and more, the U.S. Department of Energy announced last week.

    By • Aug. 19, 2024
  • A Waymo self-driving taxi waits in traffic on a Los Angeles street with heavy traffic.
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    Mario Tama/Getty via Getty Images
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    Self-driving vehicles spark array of views among states, truckers, advocates

    Commentators had vastly different takes on the risks of artificial intelligence in feedback to a U.S. Transportation Department agency.

    By David Taube • Aug. 16, 2024
  • One of Serve Robotics' delivery robots.
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    Courtesy of Serve Robotics
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    More robotic delivery coming to Los Angeles through Shake Shack partnership

    The fast food chain is teaming up with Serve Robotics, which has worked with around 200 other LA restaurants and hopes to deploy 2,000 robots across the U.S. in 2025. 

    By Julie Littman • Aug. 15, 2024
  • At ShotSpotter's Incident Review Center, three people sit in a row facing up to six computer monitors each, with keyboards and phones on the desks in front of them.
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    Courtesy of Shot Spotter
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    New York joins cities questioning ShotSpotter costs, benefits

    The gunshot detection system may waste NYPD resources, a June audit states, and existing data don’t support renewing the contract. Chicago and Houston are among the cities that plan to drop the technology.

    By David Silverberg • July 11, 2024
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    Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    12 ‘tech hubs’ get $504M to support new jobs, innovation

    Projects that scale lab-to-market transitions, train workers and build shared testbeds and manufacturing facilities are among those receiving federal funding.

    By • July 3, 2024
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    Permission granted by Results for America
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    4 US cities driven by data

    Artificial intelligence presents new opportunities for how cities can use data, said Rochelle Haynes, managing director of the What Works Cities Certification program.

    By • June 17, 2024
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    David Taube/Smart Cities Dive
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    Deep Dive

    ‘A totally different world’: Autonomous trucks prepare to go driverless in Texas

    Heavy-duty, driverless AVs could hit the state’s roads this year. The companies operating the vehicles say safety is a priority, but some critics are still concerned.

    By David Taube • June 17, 2024
  • A person wearing a hooded jacket and sneakers applies white paint to the side of a building spraypainted with red and blue letters
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    Ichabod via Getty Images
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    AI-powered cameras to sweep streets for code violations in a California city

    Overgrown lawns, improper parking, peeling paint, boarded windows and graffiti were some of the violations the cameras identified in a five-day pilot in Stockton earlier this year.

    By • June 13, 2024
  • A Zoox robotaxi drives on a public road
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    Courtesy of Zoox
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    Amazon’s Zoox expands robotaxi testing to Austin, Miami

    The company will use retrofitted Toyota Highlanders with safety drivers instead of its autonomous robotaxi to gather "valuable insights and feedback."

    By Haley Cawthon • June 12, 2024