Las Vegas works with tech firms to build up its Innovation District.

Path to evolving into ‘smart city’ involves data, experimenting

Michael Sherwood wants to make sure the need for new technology in the Las Vegas Innovation District is data-driven before the city doubles down.

“We’re using these technologies and testing them before going out and making a large investment,” said Sherwood, the city’s chief innovation officer.

The city is testing technology such as sensors that send alerts when garbage cans are filling up and show where people are jaywalking, and cameras that can pick up things like graffiti or an abandoned backpack on the sidewalk.

Sherwood emphasizes that the city won’t keep individual information on file from data funneled back to the city.

“We won’t know who jaywalked or ran the red light, just that someone did,” he said.

The Innovation District, launched last year, is a technological testing ground spanning a large swath of downtown Las Vegas. The city is working

Gabriella Angotti-Jones Las Vegas Review-Journal A building under construction near the intersection of Clark Avenue and Casino Center Boulevard exemplifies Las Vegas’ designs on using technological innovations.