Disruptor of the Year: Sidewalk Labs

Alphabet-owned Sidewalk Labs is disrupting today's urban pain points with innovative, controversial solutions for its proposed futuristic smart city. 

By Cailin Crowe • Dec. 9, 2019

The Smart Cities Dive Awards for 2019

From Sidewalk Labs' disruptive, futuristic smart city to the climate strategy in Calgary, Alberta, these are the leading cities, officials and initiatives of the year.

Dec. 9, 2019

Lime, Bird, Bolt, Razor lose appeals to operate in DC

The operators will pull their scooters from the District on April 1. Scooters from Lyft, Skip, Spin and Jump will remain in the city under 2020 program terms.

By Cailin Crowe • Updated Feb. 28, 2020

Climate Mayors to bolster city-level action with steering committee

The new 24-member committee will work to "catalyze membership" and further engage residents to reach Paris agreement goals.

By Jason Plautz • Dec. 4, 2019

The safest cities in the US: report

A survey from WalletHub examined 41 key safety indicators in three categories: home and community safety, natural disaster risk and financial safety.

By Katie Pyzyk • Dec. 3, 2019

Amazon Web Services names 2019 'City on a Cloud' winners

The 18 winners will be awarded up to $20,000 in promotional credits, up to $20,000 in financial support and up to five employee AWS training vouchers.

By Chris Teale • Updated Dec. 5, 2019

NYC council members propose bike mayor, pedestrian mayor

The proposed leadership comes during a difficult year for cycling and pedestrian safety, as the city has already seen 28 cyclist fatalities.

By Katie Pyzyk • Nov. 27, 2019

San Francisco considers congestion pricing — again

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority began a study period for a new tolling scheme, joining the likes of LA and Seattle in congestion pricing studies. 

By Chris Teale • Nov. 25, 2019

Are flying cars close? Leaders say yes, but doubts linger

While uncertainty swirls around issues of infrastructure, safety and regulations, industry leaders say eVTOLs are on track to launch soon.

By Chris Teale • Nov. 25, 2019

Road to 100: How one man's mission to power his hometown by wind created a Northwest Missouri boon

The town of 1,200 was the first in the country to be able to power all of its electricity from wind resources. Now, the county is booming in wind production.

By Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 22, 2019

Sidewalk Labs wants out of Google's data-collection shadow

Following the release of its digital innovation appendix, the company's head of urban systems explained the challenges of innovating the real estate sector.

By Kristin Musulin • Nov. 21, 2019

Smart city growth to depend on data governance: PwC report

The report outlines a "seven layer model" to data management: categories, consent, collection, anonymization, storage, access and monetization.

By Jason Plautz • Nov. 21, 2019

Report card: 4 small US cities earn top 'smart city' marks

Leading Cities and Bright Cities unveiled their full rating of 500 U.S. cities, noting the results "demonstrate that bigger is not always better."

By Kristin Musulin • Nov. 20, 2019

Mastercard expands City Possible network to 220 cities

The program added London, Los Angeles, New York and Hamilton, Ontario, and entered a partnership with Digital Main Street to help Canadian small businesses digitize operations.

By Kristin Musulin • Updated Nov. 11, 2020

Uber AV safety driver charged with negligent homicide in fatal 2018 crash

A Maricopa County, AZ grand jury indicted Rafaela Vasquez, who pleaded not guilty in Superior Court. A pretrial conference in the case is set for late October.

By Chris Teale • Updated Sept. 16, 2020

Sidewalk Labs pledges to not sell user data collected from Toronto project

The Digital Innovation Appendix for the Google-backed project in Toronto says the government will "take the lead" on data management.

By Chris Teale • Nov. 19, 2019

CoMotion LA: Congestion pricing could help equity, climate efforts

Congestion pricing could fund free transit, according to LA Metro CEO Phil Washington, which he said is a "lofty goal," but still a beneficial one to pursue. 

By Chris Teale • Nov. 18, 2019

CoMotion LA: 'No one has the answer' to a perfect partnership

Risk-averse city halls need a culture shift and private businesses must also be willing to act agreeably, speakers said.

By Chris Teale • Nov. 15, 2019

Los Angeles mayor unveils first P3 to incubate mobility solutions

The "first-in-the-nation" partnership will develop four types of test tracks to help transportation innovations adjust to different urban environments.

By Chris Teale • Nov. 15, 2019

Center for Digital Government names top 5 digital cities

The first-place winners were recognized for their use of technology to serve citizens, update municipal services and enhance cybersecurity.

By Jason Plautz • Nov. 15, 2019

London, Bloomberg Associates debut tech dashboard for 'good governance'

The city's Office of Technology and Innovation partnered with the consulting service to develop a dashboard that aligns tech tools for London's 32 boroughs. 

By Jason Plautz • Nov. 14, 2019

Vancouver tackles congestion with transportation hackathon

The Decode Congestion Hackathon addressed the "built-out" city's congestion issues, and could help with efforts to achieve zero traffic-related deaths. 

By Cailin Crowe • Nov. 14, 2019

Frisco, TX mayor shares 'secret ingredient' to being fastest-growing US city

The Dallas suburb ranked No. 1 on a fastest-growing U.S. cities list. This is no surprise to Mayor Jeff Cheney, who says Frisco is adding nearly 1,000 residents a month. 

By Katie Pyzyk • Nov. 12, 2019

Microsoft partners with Charlotte, NC to boost smart city tech

Through a three-year agreement, the partners will create a regional center focused on STEM workforce development, internet of things tech and innovation.

By Jason Plautz • Nov. 11, 2019

How should cities prep for 5G? 6 experts weigh in

"5G, for all its glories and what it will bring... [has] a darker side. It will exclude people, and we've got to find new models with the private sector," said Salford, England's chief digital officer.

By Chris Teale • Nov. 11, 2019