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The twenty-eighth most populous city in the United States, Las Vegas is renowned for its nightlife, entertainment, shopping, and fine dining. Las Vegas is also one of the fastest-growing cities today and like most urban areas, grapples with transportation and parking challenges. Deploying smart city technologies at breakneck speed, the city is soon becoming a leader in leveraging technology to improve livability.

Deploying sensors

Las Vegas has deployed sensor technologies in several areas for collecting data on traffic, public safety, air quality, and weather. The idea is to make use of this data to design solutions for some of the city’s most pertinent problems. For instance, to prevent accidents on dangerous intersections, sensors are being used as a way to identify and warn pedestrians who might have entered an intersection unsafely. The city is also using sensors to gather parking usage data to understand parking patterns and needs.

Leveraging data

The city is using data gathered from sensors to conduct research into why accidents happen, how they can be predicted, and what causes near misses. Data collected from sensors are being used to identify patterns that can point to accurate conclusions. It uses a data management platform that analyzes sensor data related to air quality, public safety, parking, and the environment and displays it on a dashboard for city managers to make informed decisions.

Mobile apps

A citywide app has been introduced so that locals and visitors can interact with the city using their computers, phones, and Amazon Echo. It is now possible to ask Alexa about elections, parks, community centers, and buses.

A smartphone app is in the works that allow drivers to check where the nearest parking lot is located and how many parking spaces are available in any given parking lot. This saves a lot of time and effort cruising around for parking space.

The Smart City initiative is picking up speed worldwide. The race is on to create perfect urban spaces which balance the needs of the population and the environment by integrating innovative technologies to solve long-standing problems. With Las Vegas gearing up to become a data-driven city to solve problems related to parking, traffic, and the environment, other cities are expected to soon follow suit.