Baltimore named a winner of the Smart Cities Readiness Challenge

Baltimore was among five cities that won a competition seeking ambitious visions for smart cities projects.

The city was announced as a winner of the Smart Cities Readiness Challenge this week at a summit by the Smart Cities Council North America. We spotted a tweet from the Baltimore City Office of Information and Technology (BCIT) about the news:

Proud to announce that the City of Baltimore is one of the winners of the 2019 @smartccouncil Readiness Challenge! Congrats to our fellow winners! Thanks to @imjetlu for accepting for Baltimore! #SmartCitiesWeek #Baltimore #smartcities pic.twitter.com/7QmL9ta348

— Baltimore City Office of Information & Technology (@BaltimoreCityIT) April 17, 2019

For the competition, the city had to submit a vision for at least three smart cities projects. Baltimore’s proposals included projects to protect residents from flooding, address the opioid crisis and eliminate the digital divide. The Council said it received 100 applications but ultimately valued projects that are “impactful, collaborative, inclusive and sustainable.”

Here’s what the Council said about Baltimore:

“Baltimore has truly embraced a collaborative spirit to advance its vision by establishing a smart cities committee that includes a wide range of city staff but also has broad participation from the community and the tech ecosystem. Its data-driven, collaborative efforts have already yielded results to improve the quality of life for city residents and now it plans to continue that approach to better protect residents from flooding, address the opioid crisis and eliminate the digital divide.”

At a recent event of the Waterfront Tech Series, city leaders spoke about their approach to smart city efforts, and stressed the importance of the community getting involved.

As a winning city of this challenge. Baltimore will take part in a program that’s designed to bring Baltimore into “a network of like-minded smart cities so that they can get help to accelerate their impact,” said Kevin Ebi, director of the readiness program.

“The Council, and its partners will come to Baltimore for a day-long Readiness Workshop to help the city build consensus and also receive expert guidance to strengthen its smart cities plans,” Ebi said. “Baltimore also receives a year of mentoring from the Council, which includes actively participating in coaching sessions at our Smart Cities Week events.”

Additional cities include Edmonton, Wisc., Montgomery, Ala. and Edmonton, Canada, plus an effort to convene multiple cities in San Diego County, Calif.