Wanted: smart ideas for a smart Lethbridge
LETHBRIDGE TAKING UP SMART CITIES CHALLENGE
The City of Lethbridge is asking local residents to put on their thinking caps and come up with a few great ideas to make Lethbridge a “smart” city.
“If we’re going to have smart ideas that are going to benefit the City of Lethbridge — smart ideas that are going to use technology, we would like the population to participate,” said Mayor Chris Spearman.
“We know we have bright people in the city who work in technology, and people attending our university and college. We want the very best ideas.”
The Smart Cities Challenge is a pan-Canadian competition for communities of any size, including municipalities, regional governments and Indigenous communities.
The challenge is hosted by Infrastructure Canada and features a single prize of $50 million open to all communities, two prizes worth $10 million for cities under 500,000, and one prize worth $5 million for cities under 30,000. Currently, the City has its sites set on one of the $10-million prizes.
“The federal government is trying to encourage innovation,” said Economic Development Lethbridge CEO Trevor Lewington.
“It’s an interesting opportunity for Lethbridge if we can submit a successful application.”
Lewington said the City needs to identify a specific challenge statement.
“What is a problem in Lethbridge we want to solve, and how do we solve it through technology?” Lewington asked.
A smart city is one which uses connected technology and data to deliver meaningful outcomes its community.
According to the Infrastructure Canada website, the challenge is about “building the cities of tomorrow.”
There are six areas from which municipalities need to draw their challenge statement from, covering topics such as security, economic opportunity, mobility, environmental health, empowerment and providing an opportunity for an active and healthy lifestyle.
Lewington said it was also important to be mindful of digital inclusion.
“We’re living in a digitally fuelled world that’s globally competitive,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we don’t leave anybody behind.”
Submissions must be made by March 14. More information or submission information can be found on the City of Lethbridge website.
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