Background

Smart City Columbus

As Columbus looks to move forward in the 21st century, primary goals for our transportation system include improving safety, enhancing mobility, enhancing ladders of opportunity, and addressing climate change. A pilot program is being implemented through four typical urban districts: Residential Districts (Linden), Commercial District (Easton), Downtown District (Urban Core), and a Logistics District (Rickenbacker Airport).

Funding

In 2016, the City of Columbus won $50M in grant money ($40M from the U.S. Department of Transportation and a corresponding $10M from Vulcan Incorporated), for the best description of a “Smart City.” Since then a total of $417M in support has been collected to help support the original four-year grant with implementation beginning during 2017/2018.

Urban Desert
The residential area chosen to be the focus of Smart Columbus is Linden. Due to I-71,
Linden (an area of approximately 30K citizens) is cut off from many basic services and centers of employment including healthcare, grocery stores, and banking. Bus stops (especially those with shelters) are lacking. Three of the 25 highest crash intersections are in Linden. In order to enhance the ladder of opportunity, there is a need to connect people from Linden to Commercial Districts for jobs and services.