A new collaboration between the Ford Motor Co. and Pittsburgh is joining public and private partners in the launch of a crowdsourcing platform for the city, with the goal of improving its mobility.
Residents, businesses and community groups will all have a stake and a place in the Pittsburgh City of Tomorrow Challenge, with the ability to both propose and pilot efforts pitched therein. Dell Technologies, Microsoft, and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership have all announced their place in the effort as well. They hope to award $100,000 in funds to test the new ideas this project brings.
The project is built on a series of pillars: greener living, sustainability, and a more accessible future. The partners want to learn how data, technology, and new designs could play a part in that over the next eight months.
“Nobody knows the Steel City better than its own hard-working businesses and community members, which is why we’re reaching out directly to them with the City of Tomorrow Challenge,” Mayor Bill Peduto said. “We want to give anyone who’s interested in their city a chance to be a part of finding real solutions to the issues they face every day – and to put those ideas to the test for everyone’s benefit.”
Would-be participants can go to the Challenge website to share their experience of transportation in Pittsburgh and discuss how mobility there has either helped or hindered their daily lives. Others can put forth ideas for improvement, be it for accessing travel information or building community confidence in existing efforts. Community working sessions will also be offered through the program.
“No two cities are the same – that’s why we’re committed to really understanding their specific issues and their needs,” John Kwant, vice president of Ford City Solutions, said. “With the City of Tomorrow Challenge, our goal is to provide a program and access to technology that makes it easy for cities to engage residents, businesses, and other groups in a way that can lead to real solutions.”
The application period will open on July 2 with semi-finalist selection in September. Semi-finalists will then attend a prototyping session and gain access to mentors for idea refinement, before submission of their final proposals. The $100,000 will be awarded during the challenge’s final stage when pilots will be tested.