ORLANDO, Fla. — It is the year 2019 already and the promise for Smart Cities in the U.S. According to BW Smart Cities, about 100 cities are expected to become representative “smart-cities” by the year 2020 and be on par with smart cities across the world. Yes, that’s next year!

The United Nations predicts a world population of 9.7 billion by 2050, leading to an urban population boom of 63%. Driven by the rise in global population and urbanization, smart cities are set to alter our perceptions of society as technology and big data turn cities into efficient marketplaces for essential services.

The modern smart city is usually a city that has partnered with private and public enterprises and businesses to leverage technology to:

• Enhance energy usage efficiency

• Implement better waste management

• Improve public transportation

• Use data to make informed building and planning decisions

• Make public communication like public Wi-Fi available

• Improve public safety

  As reported by all-connect in June 2018, the following are the top 7 U.S. Smart Cities:

  1. Dallas The City of Dallas works with a variety of private partners to implement leading technology systems. The lead partner is AT&T, and other partners include businesses like IBM, GE, Phillips, Microsoft, AECOM, and Cisco. These partnerships help Dallas stream forward to create Phase 1 of its Living Lab Project. Future smart projects with partners like Toyota and a local Dallas startup called ParkHub include smart irrigation systems, an advanced traffic management system, free Wi-Fi and cellular LTE access, smart parking, environmental sensors measuring air quality and crowd detection, waste management and more.

  2. Austin As a leader in smart transportation, Austin leverages technology to help the average resident spend less time on the road and more time living life by implementing a Smart Mobility Roadmap. Using technology and data-driven strategies in the Smart Mobility Roadmap helps Austin reach goals of moving people safely and efficiently around the city. Connecting real-time data across traffic lights, congestion, traffic flow patterns, and more can improve how traffic lights respond to driver volume, improve the efficiency of emergency vehicle response time, and help autonomous cars automatically find new routes for a faster commute.

3. Columbus As the fastest growing city in Ohio and the second largest city in the Midwest, Columbus won a grant for $40 million in 2016 from the U.S. Department of Transportation to become the official first smart city in the U.S. The city plans to implement an information system that uses data from traffic light sensors to analyze which intersections are most prone to accidents, which streets are frequently blocked and to enhance a connected vehicles initiative. The connected vehicle system will make Columbus safer for drivers, public commuters and walkers.

4. Chattanooga was the fastest growing city in Tennessee at the 2010 census and is anticipated to grow over 25% by the year 2040. Like other cities, Chattanooga has plans to integrate autonomous cars, sensor-based infrastructures, electric cars, and connected vehicle systems. And like larger cities, Chattanooga leverages strategic partnerships by working with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Tennessee Department of Transportation. They continue to pave the way for other smaller urban areas to embrace technology and innovation.

5. San Diego From making the San Diego Padres’ PETCO Park more energy efficient to reduce citywide greenhouse gas emissions, the City of San Diego employs smart technology across projects to improve sustainability. Other smart city sustainability projects include a net-zero living community, a street light LED retrofit initiative, and a Solar-to-EV transportation project launched in 2012. By using varied approaches and methods, the City of San Diego continues to address pollution and energy usage challenges to make the highly populated area a more sustainable place to work and live.

6. Kansas City strives to be the ‘smartest city on the planet earth,’ and has already created a smart downtown district for over 20,000 residents in the downtown area. As a large delivery and logistics hub, Kansas City plans to use an information system to link freight drivers and freight management systems. Linking public and private data with the information system will allow for parking improvements. It will also help optimize transportation operations.

7. Rochester The City of Rochester won an award at the 2018 Smart Cities Connect conference for its Emergency internet Bypass Lane Protocol. Rochester decided that instead of using an emergency responder network such as FirstNet, which requires building a separate wireless network for emergency services, the city built a communication system that uses existing internet connections.