Kansas City hosting NIST national smart cities conference
February 7, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
Kansas City’s smart city creds are on the national stage.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology selected Kansas City as the first city to host a national conference that encourages collaboration and establishes standards for smart cities.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Think Big Partners and the City of Kansas City, Mo. will host Global City Teams Challenge SuperCluster Workshop on City Platform. With discussions on data collection, smart city challenges and working on corporate partners, the workshop is expecting about 100 officials from around the nation. Local speakers include Kansas City Mayor Sly James, Think Big managing partner Herb Sih, KCMO chief innovation officer Bob Bennett and innovation analyst Kate Garman.
Kansas City officially kicked off its smart city project in May of 2016. The $15.7 million public-private project aims to transform Kansas City’s downtown into a living lab of Wi-Fi connectivity on and around the 2.2-mile streetcar line. Via a Sprint Wi-Fi network stretching more than 50 square blocks in downtown, the project will provide a variety of information to citizens while also collecting data on their behavior in downtown.
The project is a collaboration between Kansas City, Sprint, Cisco and Think Big Partners. Kansas City signed an agreement with Sprint and Cisco in June to create the largest smart city in North America with the intention to improve municipal services.
NIST smart city director Dr. Sokwoo Rhee chose Kansas City because it’s becoming a leader in civic data and smart city technologies, Bob Bennett said. The workshop’s format launched in October and similar NIST events will be held in Portland, Atlanta and Washington D.C. this month.
Bennett said that the conference signifies the success of the city’s smart city initiative. He’s hopeful that the conference will further the project’s momentum.
“This conference will allow the city to add the expertise of smart city practitioners from 16 other smart cities, five federal agencies and two other countries who encounter the same governance challenges we face and refine our current data sets and analysis platforms,” Bennett said.
To learn more about the workshop, click here. Or to learn more about the city’s smart city effort, click here.
Featured Business
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
CRWND as a KC pitch contest winner, Keliah Smith expands her product line (and comfort zone)
Keliah Smith was nervous. She’d never been a fan of speaking in front of a crowd, but knew exposing her discomfort and weakness through the Alchemy Sandbox pitch competition was just part of the ongoing journey of an entrepreneur, she said. Avoiding that spotlight, Smith noted, already had kept her — and her business, CRWND…
DeBruce integrates career toolbox into HBCU’s programming for Black and Brown entrepreneurs
A new partnership between The DeBruce Foundation and Harris-Stowe State University showcases a shared goal of unlocking the potential within individuals and equipping them for bright careers and bright futures, said Leigh Anne Taylor Knight. “This is one of those relationships that reminds us that partnerships don’t need to be complicated,” said Taylor Knight, executive…
Heart by hand: Paper illustrator crafts intricate designs with an evocative pop of culture
Andrea Cira can trace the inspiration for her hand-crafted, colorful, paper illustrations back to her upbringing in Mexico, she shared. “You see a lot of things that are done by hand or by scratch,” she explained. “I’ve lived in different places in Mexico, so I got to see a few things from artisans. I always…
Sleep tech designed to combat night sweats moves toward consumer market with KS bedfellows
A Leawood company’s bed-based sleep technology — designed to reduce night sweats and help people better regulate their temperatures while they sleep — is headed to market in early 2024 with backing from the Kansas angel tax credits program and a swelling pre-seed round, said Win Hansen. Rairflow, Inc., which designed and developed prototypes for…