By blitzing a troubled neighborhood with “smart city” technology — including AI cameras on streetlights and ubiquitous Wi-Fi — Dallas officials have seen crime reduction and quality-of-life improvements that they hope to replicate elsewhere.
Why it matters: Smart city initiatives fell out of favor nationally after lots of money was spent with few results — but projects like the one in Red Cloud in Southeast Dallas are starting to deliver on the promise that earlier efforts did not.
Driving the news: Dallas has won national recognition for its Red Cloud transformation project, in which “all streets, alleys and sidewalks were reconstructed in conjunction with multiple technological quality-of-life improvements,” as the city put it.
- Wi-Fi was provided to about 190 homes over 21 acres.
- New LED streetlights were installed, equipped with AI-enabled overhead cameras.
- A total of 52 devices were added, including environmental monitors to gauge air quality.
www.axios.com/2023/08/07/dallas-smart-city-drones-cameras-red-cloud