Dallas Deployed a Smart Cities Living Lab Pilot Program That Contains Nine Component to Improve Pedestrian Traffic and Quality of Life in Its Historical District.
Dallas, Texas, United States
Smart Cities Living Lab Case Study / DIA’s Case Study Shows Smart Cities Living Lab’s Positive Impact
Summary Information
The Smart Cities Living Lab pilot project, launched in March 2017, was located in Dallas’ West End Historic District and covered a four-block corridor in downtown. This pilot, initiated by the Dallas Innovation Alliance (DIA), originally comprised of nine integrated smart-city projects. A partnership of organizations across public, private, civic, and academic sectors, as well as collaboration with 20 City of Dallas Departments, made the Living Lab pilot a reality. The pilot lasted 12 months and implemented environmental and pedestrian sensors, smart lighting, waste management, digital citizen-centric kiosks, digital infrastructure nodes, smart park greenspace, smart water metering, smart parking, and public Wi-Fi. The main goal of the pilot was to improve operations, sustainability and create an inclusive and prosperous city through data and technology testing. This pilot study was also intended to be a steppingstone for future phases and expansions of this project implementation, providing insights to assess the future potential of a larger deployment throughout Dallas with all nine of the project components.
METHODOLOGY
Project results were reported quarterly to establish progress and areas of expansion or improvement. Results were measured from DIA project data, as well as publicly available data, and private data provided by local businesses.
FINDINGS
- The results showed that the pilot study area experienced a 13 percent boost in pedestrian traffic flow during the pilot program.
- Local businesses saw a 12 percent increase in revenue, and violent crime rates went down by six percent, comparing crime data of 2016 and 2017.
- The implementation of smart lighting resulted in a 35 percent reduction in energy consumption. When applied at scale, intelligent controls can contribute to additional savings of 20 to 30 percent across all 85,000 lights in Dallas, which would equate to tens of millions of dollars in operational savings over the life of the LED bulbs.
- Of the 440 plus people who utilized the interactive kiosk monthly on average, 53 percent utilized its multiple functions.
