Featured Smart City Strategy: InnovateABQ
Albuquerque has long served as a hub for technological innovation, and InnovateABQ is an extension of that passion. InnovateABQ is a place for individuals to live, work, and create in the center of the city.
This new entrepreneurial hub will encourage research and commercial labs, science and technology companies, and commercial and retail businesses to share space and work together to create new tech.
Researchers, inventors, and entrepreneurs are welcome to come, explore and create!
Community Profile:
What sets Albuquerque, New Mexico apart? For one, it’s home to the world’s largest international hot air balloon festival. It also happens to be a city on the forefront of innovation in technology and business. In the City of Albuquerque innovation is happening in partnership with US Ignite, and fast.
Splitting the city in two is the Rio Grande. Running from north to south, the river poses a challenge to city officials: connecting the two parts of town. Their solution? The Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART), a project focused on providing residents with a robust and reliable public transportation system. And they’re doing it the smart way.
The city is revitalizing the Route 66 corridor, a highly utilized and iconic byway frequented by both pedestrians and motor vehicles. One part of the process involves the installation of high-speed broadband access through the fiber in the homes and businesses along the corridor, a nod to the efforts being made to bring community-based fiber optic networks to Albuquerque.
And to give travelers a unique experience, each stop, and the accompanying signage has been tastefully designed. By providing safe, consistent, and timely transportation, Albuquerque is destined to curb the use of fossil fuels by offering this attractive public transportation option.
ART is just the beginning of the city’s plans for innovation. From city-wide Wi-Fi to LED street light fixtures, Albuquerque is showing off the benefits of implementing smart technology to improve the city for residents and tourists.
While the installation of LED lighting around the city is in its initial phase, future plans include adding sensors and cameras in high traffic areas to monitor and collect data. When this 15-year “lighting master plan” is finally complete, 20,000 street lights will be converted to LED. This data will provide information like pinpointing the exact location of non-operational street lights, cutting down repair times, and reducing the city’s carbon footprint. The best part? LED lighting life expectancy exceeds Albuquerque’s current street lights and will reduce light pollution.
