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Potential Smart Cities: Pennsylvania
Five cities in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that would be good potential locations for a Smart Cities startup company include Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Erie, Scranton and Lancaster.
1. Philadelphia
Why it has been included
- Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania, with a population of 1.6 million people. The city also recently released its SmartCityPHL Roadmap, which serves as a guideline for "innovation and collaboration in City government around smart city and the policies and technology surrounding it."
- Furthermore, Philadelphia was among the top ten large metros in the U.S. with the largest creative class shares (42.2%) as of 2017.
City Contacts Related to Smart City Initiatives/Plans
- Mark Wheeler is one of the co-chairs of the SmartCityPHL Advisory Committee, and is also the Chief Information Officer for the City of Philadelphia. His email address is mark.wheeler@phila.gov.
- Brigitte Daniel, the founder of Wilco Electronic Systems, Inc., is among the members of the SmartCityPHL Advisory Committee. Her email address is bdaniel@wilcoinc.com.
2. Pittsburgh
Why it has been included
- Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in Pennsylvania, with a population of 302,908 people. The city is also a leader in the field of Smart Cities, working to come up with new mobility and communications technologies. The SmartPGH Consortium, led by the City of Pittsburgh is "designed to provide the structure for collaborative planning and decision-making to guide the creation of the City and region’s next generation of infrastructure."
- In addition, Pittsburgh has experienced substantial creative class growth between 2005 and 2017 (19.7%), making it the metro with the second-highest growth rate in the U.S.
City Contacts Related to Smart City Initiatives/Plans
- William Peduto, the Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh, is one of the founding members of the SmartPGH Consortium. His email address is william.peduto@pittsburghpa.gov.
- Dave Onorato, the Executive Director of Pittsburgh Parking Authority, is another founding member of the consortium and his email address is donorato@pittsburghparking.com .
3. Erie
Why it has been included
- Erie is the fourth-largest city in Pennsylvania, with a population of 95,956 people. Although it could not meet the criteria of a population of over 120,000, it is still among the largest cities in Pennsylvania. The city also has a smart city initiative, working in conjunction with the Erie Innovation District to collect data and use it to manage assets and resources.
- As of 2015, Erie had over 31,700 residents employed in the creative class, and this sector was growing fast.
City Contacts Related to Smart City Initiatives/Plans
- Karl Sanchack is the President and CEO of the Erie Innovation District. His email address is ksanchack@erieinnovationdistrict.com.
- Rebecca Styn is the Vice-President of Ventures at the Erie Innovation District. Her email address is rstyn@erieinnovationdistrict.com.
4. Scranton
Why it has been included
- Scranton is the sixth-largest city in Pennsylvania, with a population of 77,546 people. Although it could not meet the criteria of a population of over 120,000, it is still among the largest cities in Pennsylvania. In addition, the Scranton City Council got into an agreement with Smart City Media LLC to bring free public Wi-Fi and digital information kiosks to downtown Scranton.
- Scranton has a creative class, and has been revitalized through the growth of this sector.
City Contacts Related to Smart City Initiatives/Plans
- Bill Gaughan is a councilman for the city of Scranton who has spoken on the city's smart city projects. His email address is wgaughan@scrantonpa.gov.
- Mary-Pat Ward is the Executive Director of the Office of Economic and Community Development in Scranton. Her phone number is (570) 348-4216.
5. Lancaster
- Lancaster is the eighth-largest city in Pennsylvania, with a population of 58,846 people. Although it could not meet the criteria of a population of over 120,000, it is still among the largest cities in Pennsylvania. One of Lancaster's recent smart city initiatives is its public-private partnership with MAW Communications to implement a high-speed municipal fiber optic network.
- Lancaster also has a creative class share of 24.4%.
- Pat Brogan is the chief of staff for the Mayor of Lancaster, and she has spoken on the city's smart city plans. Her email address is pbrogan@cityoflancasterpa.com.
- MAW Communications is the company working on one of Lancaster's smart city plans. The general email address for the company is info@mawcom.com and the phone is 1-877-926-8629.