Smart City Columbus
The neighborhood of Linden is what’s called an “urban desert.” This means that even despite living in an urban area, the residents of this area are still cut off from opportunity and public services. An interstate highway that cuts through the region prevents people from being able to travel around the city with ease. The lacking public transportation system hinders residents in traveling to places near Linden. It is even difficult to reach a hospital under the circumstances in Linden. Thanks to a large grant from The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and Vulcan Inc., the Smart City Columbus Initiative was able to collaborate with Koffolt Properties at the Ohio State University to solve this problem.
The Smart City Columbus initiative is a collection of projects meant to technologically advance a certain area. The USDOT has chosen Columbus as one of the few cities to become a “Smart City.” The projects satisfy certain categories such as Enhanced Human Services (EHS) and Emerging Technologies. One of the many EHS projects that is being worked on is a Prenatal Trip Assistance service, which is a fast, two-way transportation system from expecting mothers to nearby hospitals as an attempt to halt Columbus’ infant mortality rate. So learn more about the Smart City Columbus Initiative please visit https://www.columbus.gov/smartcolumbus/projects/.
The Solution
The mission to solve this problem is to design, create, and test an Advanced Energy Vehicle (AEV) to efficiently and safely transport the residents of Linden to areas of opportunity such as Easton and Polaris. Team R at Koffolt Properties has been given all of the resources needed and a budget of $600,000 to complete this project.
To see the first steps in the design process for this project, please visit the Preliminary Research and Development page.