State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Vegas, D.C. Showcase Their Smart Cities Approaches In Austin, Texas

Government Technology: AUSTIN, Texas — At this week's the Smart Cities Connect Conference, officials have acknowledged that the next iteration of the smart city should focus more on people and less on infrastructure; the National Science Foundation highlighted three ways it's supporting the greater gov tech movement; and five new cities joined the Smart Gigabit Communities program.

But not all attendees took to the stage to share their smart city approaches. On the show floor, Don Jacobson, IT business partner with the city of Las Vegas, told Government Technology that about 18 months ago, the City Council designated the downtown area as an Innovation District "where we can take and make that a proving ground — a demo area test bed if you will — for all sorts of smart cities technologies," he said, calling out the Internet of Things, connected and autonomous vehicles, and sensors that gather environmental data.

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