GE Selects Jacksonville As A Smart City
As outlined in the article, General Electric chose Jacksonville as one of two test cities for a pilot program that will use connected LED lighting to provide data to the city. GE cited the fact that Jacksonville is a tech city and tech cities attract a tech workforce as the main reason for its selection in the program.
Recent rankings by New Geography state that Jacksonville landed in the top 10 markets for attracting millenials and Forbes ranked Jacksonville second for tech job growth.
As Jacksonville becomes a “smart city”, having a tech workforce is essential. Smart cities are wired with sensors, harnessing the power of the Industrial Internet (IoT), to collect and analyze data that improves a variety of city services.
Jacksonville will use the pilot program to focus on increasing efficiency through energy savings and better asset management of streetlights, and will also look at issues such as traffic congestion and emergency response time. The city will also look for ways to better to create value-added services for residents and to make the city even more livable and workable.
The goal for Jacksonville is continued growth in the tech sector and to be a smart city full of high tech millenials. The city’s potential for expanding the applications of technology will inevitably attract a smart workforce.