The U.S. Dept. of Transportation announced the finalist cities in the Smart City Challenge on March 12. The cities of Austin, Tex.; Columbus, Ohio; Denver; Kansas City, Mo.; Pittsburgh; Portland, Ore.; and San Francisco will vie for up to $50 million in grants to show how an innovative city can use advanced data, technologies, and applications to shape how people and goods move in the future.
The DOT initiated the Smart City Challenge last December. Each finalist city will now receive a $100,000 grant and have two months to develop a detailed proposal on how to make their plans a reality.