City Making Strides In Smart City Initiatives

Projects include wireline broadband systems throughout the city

CINCINNATI — The City of Cincinnati aims to be one of the “smartest” cities in the country when it comes to municipal operations. As such, the City Administration – as guided by direction from the Mayor and City Council – has implemented numerous “Smart City” initiatives including a plan to facilitate the implementation of 5G wireline broadband systems throughout the city.

“Currently, the City Administration has numerous projects underway in order to lead the way in becoming a smarter, more innovative city, exceeding the expectations of residents,” wrote City Manager Harry Black on Wednesday in a memo to the Mayor and City Council.

Below is a comprehensive list of Smart City initiatives that are currently operational or in the works.

• Smart Cities RFQ/RFP. The 5G network would pull the City’s infrastructure together with residents’ technological accessibility in order to establish more modern and advanced services to fuel Cincinnati’s economic growth and open doors to future innovations that will benefit residents and businesses.
• CincyInsights. The Office of Performance and Data Analytics and CincyInsights continue modernizing and streamlining the way the City and its residents utilize data to improve performance and customer service by offering navigable and interactive data visualizations through CincyInsight’s open data portal datasets.
• Apps. With the Fix it Cincy! app, residents can submit service requests directly to various City departments using GPS technology to increase the safety of our streets and the safety of motorists. This is part of the City’s overall 5916000.com customer service system. This is one of several mobile applications published by the City to improve resident engagement and interaction.
• CAGIS Enhancement. The Cincinnati Area Geographic Information System provides an integrated platform where users can operate interactive, layered maps to perform a variety tasks ranging from checking the progress of land development projects throughout the City or research neighborhood code issues in their community.
• Smart Sewers. In order to reduce overflows in creeks and rivers at a lower cost, the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan Sewer District is pursuing a Smart Sewers Initiative.
• Smart Water Meters. Greater Cincinnati Water Works utilizes water meters that are read using radio so that service providers can save time delivering assistance to residents instead of having to physically visit each water meter.
• Emergency Response Development. The City can monitor the locations of all Fire and EMS vehicles in real-time to most effectively manage and allocate our resources while ensuring the safety of residents and first responders.
• Drones. In order to assist in City operations, the City is in the beginning stages of purchasing drones to assist in maintaining water infrastructure while also establishing citywide regulations for drone registration as part of City operations.