Columbus, the capital city of Ohio, has been awarded $50 million as winner of the Smart City Challenge, an initiative designed to transform transportation and tackle climate change. The U.S. Department of Transportation provided $40 million and partnered with Paul Allen’s Vulcan Inc., which chipped in another $10 million.
The contest attracted 78 cities, and Columbus beat out six others that made it to the final round: Austin, Denver; Kansas City, Mo.; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco; and Pittsburgh.
First the Cavs win the NBA Championship & now @ColumbusGov wins $50M in the #SmartCityChallenge! Good week for Ohio! pic.twitter.com/2yjLIAe3Py
— Vulcan Inc. (@VulcanInc) June 23, 2016
Excited to see Columbus, OH, our #SmartCityChallenge winner, lead the way toward a smarter future! https://t.co/80VAIUS3ca
— Paul Allen (@PaulGAllen) June 23, 2016
? @SecretaryFoxx! "Tech needs to relate to the larger story of a community, so goes this challenge, so goes America" pic.twitter.com/6JWLyIBz87
— Vulcan Inc. (@VulcanInc) June 23, 2016
According to Vulcan, the challenge was aimed at allowing cities to demonstrate how advanced data and intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technologies and applications can be used to reduce congestion, keep travelers safe, protect the environment, respond to climate change, and support economic vitality.
Columbus, the 15th largest city in the United States, secured another $90 million from private sector partners and made the challenge about more than just electric vehicles.
According to readwrite: “Columbus decided to address their main challenges head-on: socio-economic and geographic isolation, mobility dominated by the private automobile, an aging population with younger members of the community moving to denser areas of the city, lack of access to mobility for low-income neighborhoods, but still a city with a growing economy and population with its related housing, traffic, and environmental challenges.”
Watch the city’s pitch video:
Barbara Bennett, president and COO of Vulcan, explained in a blog post what set Columbus apart and she highlighted good ideas from other cities in the Challenge.
“Creatively reengineering our urban transportation networks is vital if we hope to avoid the worst consequences of global warming and continue to thrive in the future,” Bennett said. “Given all the good ideas from cities in the Smart City Challenge, I’m confident we can do both.”