The Smart City Challenge is a competition organized by the DOT to encourage cities to develop plans for a 21st-century intelligent transportation system, including such innovations as data-driven management platforms, electric and automated vehicles, and the sharing economy.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced that 77 cities have submitted applications for the Smart City Challenge, including medium-size cities from Anchorage to Albuquerque to Reno to Rochester.

The winning city will be awarded up to $40 million to implement the proposed projects. A couple of private firms have gotten in on the action, too: Paul Allen’s Vulcan Inc. has announced that it will award up to $10 million to the challenge winner to support EV deployment and other carbon emission reduction strategies, and Mobileye announced that it would outfit the entire fleet of the winning city’s bus system with its collision avoidance technology.

Five finalists will be announced at SXSW in Austin on March 12, and each will receive $100,000 to hone their proposals for the final selection process scheduled for June 2016.

“Cities understand that in order to plan for tomorrow, they need to embrace technology and innovation.” said Secretary Foxx. “This Challenge is going to do more than just help one city adopt innovative ideas. It will serve as a catalyst for widespread change in communities across America.”

“The extensive interest this Challenge has generated demonstrates the tremendous opportunity to transform our country’s transportation systems,” said Vulcan CEO Barbara Bennett. “Electrification of transportation will play a critical role in reducing greenhouse gases.”

Source: Securing America’s Future Energy