Smart city technologies comprise innovative advancements embedded in the urban fabric that is designed to improve citizens’ quality of life and increase connectivity across communities, both in a city’s current state and as it evolves into the future. Through safety enhancement, public space renovation, service improvement, and so on, the potential role of new technology and data collection in cities and towns is practically limitless. A steadily growing community in the Phoenix Metropolitan area, Peoria’s interest in investing in a smart city framework is emblematic of the City’s commitment to serving its residents and visitors effectively and efficiently.
The potential applications and implementation strategies of smart technologies and infrastructure are numerous. Additionally, by fulfilling community needs and enhancing services, smart technologies can impact a community’s economic and environmental sustainability, as well as happiness and well-being. The rollout and implementation of new technology needs to be informed by community preferences and attitudes, as residents may have varying levels of comfort with regards to privacy and other considerations. Smart technologies are also not static, as technology is constantly evolving; thus a city framework for technology implementation should reflect that reality by being adaptable and responsive to new data, and also proactive in its implementation initiatives.
To help narrow the scope and maximize their research impact, students focused on a few key groupings of smart city technologies, which they determined to have a high community value and perceived impact. The teams studied technology in the role of public safety, including police and fire department applications, and enhancement of the public sphere, specifically parks, trails, libraries, and iconic spaces in Peoria. Students collected data from government resources, academic literature, interviews with Peoria staff and subject matter experts, product research, and a survey of residents. The students’ recommendations focused on technologies that would be useful, feasible, scalable, sustainable, and easy to implement. Students suggest that Peoria should aim to consider any future technology integration as part of a broader, planned framework approach, targeted on partnerships, public policy, inter-agency connectivity, and infrastructure.