Spokane is finalist in Smart Cities Award - online voting open now

Friday, March 30, 2018

(as reported by KREM2)

The International Data Corporation (IDC) named Urbanova a finalist in its 2018 Smart Cities North America Awards. It is nominated in the sustainable infrastructure category alongside three other sustainability efforts in Illinois and California.

Urbanova, a partnership between the City of Spokane, Avista Utilities, Itron, McKinstry and the University District Development Association, is a “smart city living lab to design cities of the future”.

According to the IDC website, Urbanova is driving three initial projects: Smart and Connected Streetlights pilot, Shared Energy Economy Model pilot and Gallup People-Center Analysis Research. The City of Spokane has also achieved net zero energy consumption across all of its municipal facilities and services.

The street lights project aims to install energy-efficient, networked street lights that will monitor air quality, according to Urbanova’s website. Through the shared energy pilot program, residents’ solar panels would be connected to a smart meter that would determine when to use excess energy.

Visit the IDC website to vote for Urbanova and view the full list of finalists.

Urbanova is one part of Spokane city leaders’ pursuit of the "Smart City" title.