Smart Columbus Playbook to highlight successes, challenges and insights on how a city becomes “smart”

Columbus, OH, November 5, 2018 – Columbus— which beat out 77 cities to be named the winner of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge in 2016— is writing the book on how a city becomes smart. Smart Columbus today unveiled the Smart Columbus Playbook, a digital destination for city officials, policy makers, business leaders and influencers who are seeking insight and best practices on how to apply smart city technologies to improve quality of life, foster economic growth, improve safety and foster sustainability. 

“When Columbus won the Smart City Challenge, we earned the opportunity to improve quality of life in our city and the opportunity to become the model for connected cities of the future.” said Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “Through the Smart Columbus Playbook, we’re taking what we’re learning on our streets and in our neighborhoods and sharing that knowledge with cities around the world, so they may benefit from a clearer, more expedient path to becoming ‘smart.’”

The Smart Columbus Playbook includes articles on program successes and challenges, video and print case studies summarizing successful projects, data from research studies, webinars led by Smart Columbus staff, and program documentation that city leaders may leverage. Content spans the project portfolios funded by the $40 million grant awarded to Columbus by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the $10 million grant awarded to Columbus by the Paul G. Allen Philanthropies, and includes topics including electric vehicle adoption, green energy, connected vehicle technology, self-driving vehicle technology and more. 

“Two years ago, we partnered with the Department of Transportation for the Smart City Challenge to demonstrate the importance of developing an innovative, scalable and proof-of-concept solution to address climate change. Through the Smart City Challenge, Columbus has proven this model works, and by sharing these learnings – what worked, what didn’t and what can be done again – with cities around the world, it can lead to transformational impact,” said Loreana Marciante, Strategy Manager at Paul G. Allen Philanthropies.

City and business leaders can learn more about how to use the Smart Columbus Playbook during an upcoming webinar, “Navigating the Smart Columbus Playbook,” on Wednesday, November 7 at 2:30 p.m. 

To explore the Smart Columbus Playbook, visit https://smart.columbus.gov/playbook/. 

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About Smart Columbus

The City of Columbus’ Smart Columbus plan won the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) $40 million Smart City Challenge in June 2016 after competing against 77 cities nationwide to become the country’s first city to fully integrate innovative technologies – self-driving cars, connected vehicles and smart sensors – into its transportation network. Columbus was also awarded an additional $10 million grant from the Paul G. Allen Philanthropies to accelerate the transition to an electrified, low-emissions transportation system. Aligned investments totaling more than $500 million have been made by the private, public and academic institutions in the region to support technology and infrastructure investments that upgrade Columbus' transportation network and help make Columbus the model connected city of the future. Smart Columbus is a regional smart city initiative co-led by the City of Columbus and Columbus Partnership that includes partnerships with The Ohio State University, Battelle, American Electric Power and many more. 

For more information, visit the Smart Columbus website, www.smart.columbus.gov.