Georgia Tech’s Georgia Smart Communities Challenge (Georgia Smart) 2020 has announced its winners. The program enables smart local development within the state of Georgia. Communities of any size can apply for technical and financial assistance that will help them to envision, explore, and plan for their smart future.
The winners of the challenge receive up to $100,000 US in grant funding to develop their pilot, technical assistance and funding from a Georgia Tech researcher, access to a network of peer governments to share best practices, and access to a local, national, and international network of experts for advice.
“As an institution of Georgia, Georgia Tech is foremost committed to making our state better,” said Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera. “We’re very excited about Georgia Smart’s third class of winners, who will be able to use our preeminent research and technology to improve lives, livelihoods, safety, and equity — no matter their community’s size, population, demographics, or income level.”
The 2020 winning communities are:
- Smart Pedestrian Planning, Clayton County – a project to build a decision support system for transport project prioritization to promote mobility and equity, and to identify smart technologies to support walkability throughout the community;
- Streamlining Suburban Transit, Sandy Springs – this project will develop a pilot transit signal priority system for the MARTA bus service through the use of an application programming interface – with the goal of reducing transit time for riders;
- Civic Data Science for Equitable Development, Savannah – the city plans to build new decision-making tools using a city data hub and analytics platform for programmatic outcomes for vacant and blighted properties; and,
- Traffic Monitoring and Communication System, Valdosta – the development of a smart traffic management system that will connect all 128 traffic signals in Valdosta for increased safety and efficiency.
“Our commitment with Georgia starts with nurturing the next generation of leaders in bettering communities and improving the human condition, said Debra Lam, managing director of Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation at Georgia Tech. “We are fortunate to have had Georgia Tech students from various disciplines and backgrounds pivot virtually, and work with and learn from the local communities this summer.”