There are some exciting initial projects that hold the promise of further expansion and improvement in the quality of life for citizens, said Steph Stoppenhagen, Smart Cities Business Development Director for Black & Veatch’s Connected Communities business.
In fact, Black & Veatch recently announced it has partnered with Envision America, a program set up by the White House to advance smart city program planning and implementation. Black & Veatch will apply its engineering, construction, program management and data analytics expertise to help selected U.S. cities develop and deploy smart city programs.
Developing a Master Plan
Stoppenhagen said Black & Veatch is developing a master plan for the city of Chula Vista, Calif., a greenfield site on the bayfront that will provide an opportunity to build a smart community from the ground up.
“We’ll provide an analysis of the various options, the advantages and disadvantages, the different business models that could be used, as well as expenses associated with each, and an assessment of city ownership vs. leasing or private partnerships. We’ll show the positives and negatives of each outcome.”
The foundational infrastructure systems – energy, water, telecommunications and transportation – are going to get smarter and more connected, based upon advances in sensors, cloud computing, edge computing and data analytics, such as Black & Veatch’s ASSET360™ platform.
“Every city situation is unique. We can follow either fork in the road – either start with a pilot project or undertake a comprehensive master plan. We’ve helped clients in both directions.”
Fred Ellermeier, Vice President and Managing Director of Black & Veatch's Connected Communities Business
Sample of Black & Veatch Smart City Project Involvements
| Location | Project |
|---|---|
| Kansas City, Mo. | Smart + Connected City framework with Cisco, to create a kiosk information system. |
| Major U.S. Metropolitan City | Conversion of more than 7,500 old telephone booths into smart city kiosks to be used freely by the public. |
| Midwestern and a Southeastern Municipalities | Leak detection program to curb water losses. |
| The Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) | Identify strategies for transforming the island chain’s power system to 100 percent renewables by 2045. |
| Chula Vista, Calif. | Master planning of smart communication and electrical infrastructure. |
| Port of San Diego in California | Multiple programs to encourage energy efficiency and reduce carbon footprint. |
Reasons for Entering the Smart City Space
| Municipalities are discovering many benefits from smart city initiatives: | |
|---|---|
| Operational Savings | A street lighting program that converts standard mercury vapor lights to LED bulbs has an immediate 50 to 60 percent energy savings. |
| New Revenue Streams | Kiosk systems that are springing up in many cities can be funded by an advertising model. |
| Environmental Impacts | Many cities have targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering their overall environmental footprint. |
| Safety and Security | Sensors and video components that are now available can literally put eyes and ears in specific locations to benefit public safety. |
| Economic Development | Just as light rail is known for attracting new businesses and population, businesses are attracted to locations that are “smart.” |
Subject Matter Experts
Fred Ellermeier: EllermeierFJ@bv.com
Steph Stoppenhagen: StoppenhagenSA@bv.com
