The City of Montgomery in April was named one of five Smart Cities Readiness Challenge winners, earning it global recognition, new development opportunities and access to a year-long technology program.
The team effort was accomplished by the city, county, Montgomery Public Schools, Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce and Alabama Power Co. TechMGM, Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce’s initiative to connect and leverage Montgomery’s unique technology assets, was part of the weeks-long campaign.
The Smart Cities Readiness Challenge is a grant program supported by the Smart Cities Council, the industry’s largest smart city coalition. The program offers communities interactive workshops, mentoring and digital tools that help them develop their smart cities plans, build community support and strengthen their projects to deliver more widespread and inclusive results.
Smart cities work at improving infrastructure, along with physical and intellectual resources, to lure tech investment, says TechMGM Executive Director Charisse Stokes. “Receiving this honor reinforces our strategy to make Montgomery a smarter place to live and work.”
Besides mentoring and workshops, Montgomery will receive nationwide publicity as a great place to live and work, plus travel scholarships to Smart Cities Week twice per year to continue learning. The city and its partners get access to financiers who can structure public/private partnerships and other forms of alternative financing.
Montgomery City/County IT Manager Savio Dias accepted the honor on behalf of the team during the Smart Cities Council’s annual conference and awards ceremony in San Diego. Along with Baltimore, Maryland; Edmonton, Canada; Racine, Wisconsin and Cleantech San Diego, Montgomery was selected from more than 100 applicants throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
