The City of Charlotte has partnered with Microsoft in a three-year digital alliance and smart city initiative as part of Charlotte’s sustainable city strategy. The agreement aims to improve city services through emerging technologies, support digital literacy and promote STEM workforce development.
The new partnership makes Charlotte the second city in the nation to take such a comprehensive smart city approach. The goal is to create a smarter and more connected city using leading edge technology. The outcomes of this effort will be a smarter, safer and more accessible city for residents, visitors and businesses.
Charlotte will employ technology to improve lives as well as to create a regional center of excellence in workforce development and “internet of things,” with a sustained commitment to regional smart-city startups and innovators.
By creating a culture of technology, Charlotte continues to attract talent and add jobs—more than 13,000 new jobs in 2019 alone.
The internet of things connects technology and data to aspects of everyday life. Cities across the globe have used it to modernize streetlights, save energy and maintenance costs, analyze traffic patterns to reduce congestion, and monitor public transit to better understand driving conditions and to reduce emissions.
“Inspiring innovation and applying data science to make better decisions makes resident quality of life better,” said Charlotte City Manager Marcus D. Jones. “We are excited to work with Microsoft and value their commitment to our sustainable city strategy.”
A leader in technology and innovation
The smart city partnership comes on the heels of Charlotte being named one of the top 10 digital cities in the nation in 2019 by the annual Digital Cities Survey. Charlotte earned the accolade for its commitment to using technology to tackle social challenges, enhance city services, strengthen cybersecurity, improve transparency and more.
Charlotte was named one of the top 10 digital cities in the nation in 2019 by the Digital Cities Survey.
The city has also demonstrated its leadership position on Smart City issues with the creation of the North End Smart District. The district north of uptown serves as a hub for city and public-private initiatives centered around technology and innovation. Goals of the smart district include reducing energy use, improving nutrition levels, increasing transit options and boosting tech education.
Improving daily lives and upward mobility
The new partnership with Microsoft will focus on improving the quality of life for Charlotte residents with an emphasis on fostering smart transit systems, providing public Wi-Fi spots, creating safer neighborhoods and improving upward mobility.
The partnership’s efforts on upward mobility are centered around a tight alignment with LinkedIn learning. The city and Microsoft are already working to deliver a training program that will help current city employees advance into new roles as well as help potential employees get the skills they need to obtain jobs. Future phases of the program will feature partnerships with local job agencies and corporations to ensure workers are equipped with the skills needed to succeed.
To further assist residents with upward mobility, the city and Microsoft will roll out a pilot for smart buses and light rail systems. The city will equip some buses and/or trains with public Wi-Fi hotspots to help close a critical gap in the digital divide by providing internet access for those who may currently lack it. Internet access on public transit has the added benefit of making people more productive on their way to work and substantially increases the benefit for commuters to ride the bus, taking cars off the road and reducing traffic congestion. The city is also considering providing internet access to bus transit centers as well as underserved neighborhoods.
In addition to providing public access to wi-fi, the Smart Bus/Train project will seek to equip the Charlotte Area Transit System with better tools to track bus locations, ridership information and vehicle diagnostics to ensure buses are running safely, on-time and efficiently.
Public safety a top priority
To improve community safety the city and Microsoft are working with a technology partner, Genetec, on deploying infrastructure that enhances information sharing between city departments, such as video footage in the event of an emergency. This will improve visibility and response times between agencies, as well as allow first responders, such as Fire and Police, to coordinate efforts versus working in silos.
Another strategy to improve public safety is the deployment of smart street lights. In Charlotte, like in many cities, thousands of street lights are out throughout the city at any given time, creating a safety hazard for both drivers and pedestrians, as well as leaving at-risk areas without critical lighting at night.
Smart street lights can be controlled remotely as well as transmit their status in real-time. These lights enable the city to efficiently keep a greater number of streetlights functioning as well as better plan repair and replacement schedules. This initiative will also allow the city to reduce lighting energy costs by providing better command and control of lights, as well as reduce the frequency and cost of maintenance.
Charlotte has built a range of exciting and sustainable strategies that improve quality of life though the use of the latest technology. The partnership with Microsoft confirms Charlotte’s status as a leader in smart city technologies and creates a platform for sustainable growth into the future.
