Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
The city of Boston was chosen to receive a grant worth approximately $400,000 through the 2012 Smarter Cities Challenge, an initiative by IBM.
Through the grant, Boston will be welcoming a group of five to six IBM engineers who will share their expertise with various city departments, including planning and transportation.
Boston plans to use the engineers to assist with data modeling and analysis of traffic flow, in an effort to develop original solutions to both traffic challenges and greenhouse gas emission-reduction efforts. In its grant application, the city said it plans to share the solutions with other communities in Massachusetts and hopes to serve as a model for other cities facing similar challenges.
“The proposal is part of a larger effort by Mayor Menino and his staff to provide useful information to the population, improve traffic flow, and reduce green house gas emissions,” said Chris Osgood, co-chair of the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics.
The team of IBM engineers will be in Boston for a period of three weeks, but they will use computer analytics and traffic camera records to develop data gathering models that will remain in place far beyond that timeframe. They will also conduct their own analysis of the initial data and present their conclusions and suggestions to city staff.
The mayor’s office is hoping the data will also offer insight into the progress of the city’s current greenhouse gas reduction initiatives, in addition to informing future ones.
The large commuter population in greater Boston presents an additional incentive for collaboration, and Boston is hoping that will be part of the process.
“The team will be on the ground in June, so stay tuned to hear the results,” Osgood said. “There will definitely be opportunities for partnerships with other communities as the project develops.”
Initiated in 2008, the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge project has sent about 1,400 engineers on assignments throughout the world. Approximately 140 applications were submitted this year from cities in more than 40 countries; Boston was one of 33 cities selected.