The city of Montgomery, Ala., is trying out new technologies in its Smart City Living Lab, including new intelligent streetlights, free Wi-Fi, app-based parking management and more.
According to Future Structure, the project is a public-private agreement known as the Montgomery Smart Community Alliance. The partnership is between the city, Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, Alabama Power and other university and county partners. The city is taking a cue from a number of other communities nationwide that have looked to connect Internet of Things technology for improved efficiencies and enhanced services.
The lab will consist of a nine-block area connecting the Montgomery’s Minor League Baseball stadium to the entertainment and conference district downtown, and ultimately, to the Alabama State House several blocks away.
The area will be anchored by fiber-optic infrastructure to support free Wi-Fi access, expansion of the city’s open data portal, smart parking and more. Alabama Power will handle upgrading existing streetlights to LEDs, ultimately bringing the technology to some 22,000 streetlights citywide and saving an estimated $650,000 over five years.
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Source: Future Structure (Government Technology)
