THE VISION: Smart Columbus is an agile, collaborative innovation lab that anticipates and advances what is new and next at the intersection of technology and community good.
Over the past five years, Smart Columbus has shown how our region can collaboratively adopt emerging technology to accelerate efforts to create prosperity.
Yet societal problems are more complex than ever. Climate change, growing inequity, and workforce disruption are indisputable challenges that must be addressed.
Technology change is occurring more rapidly, creating dramatic disruption that is fundamentally changing our cities, institutions and industries. Emerging technology can be used to solve complex societal problems and respond to disruption, while simultaneously enabling job creation and economic opportunity.
The future of our city depends on our ability to continue to collaboratively act, and act now.
Smart Columbus is an agile, collaborative innovation lab that benefits our community by anticipating and advancing what is new and next at the intersection of technology and community good.
It will advance perspectives on the future of cities, and inspire future change by telling the story of equity-driven innovation that’s happening in our region.
It will foster an ecosystem of partnerships motivated by, invested in, and taking action on the belief that we can use technology to make Columbus the most prosperous region in the country. Collaboration and commitments by the public and private sectors will amplify impact.
It will deliver impact by deploying human-centered, technology-enabled solutions co-created with the community. Technology deployments will seek to help Columbus embrace and seamlessly integrate technology into the fabric of our city, enabling greater responsiveness to the needs of our city and our residents while prioritizing climate, prosperity and equity.
Projects currently fall under several technology categories:
- Mobility: Ensuring Columbus continues to lead in smart mobility.
- Sustainability: Accelerating the adoption of climate technologies to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. This includes continued efforts to accelerate electric vehicle adoption and driving the region’s transition to renewable energy.
- Digitalization: Inclusively modernizing the resident experience. This includes pursuing the digitalization of the record sealing process in partnership with Columbus City Council, facilitating enhanced access to upskilling and access to social services in partnership with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, and piloting affordable internet solutions to close the digital divide with the City of Columbus.
- Emerging: Staying ahead of emerging urban tech.
By collaboratively advancing technology that benefits our community, our region will have a demonstrated edge over others when competing for economic development and diverse talent. And residents will have a more frictionless experience with infrastructure, systems, and services, increasing access to opportunity and improving quality of life.