In the United States, the city of Philadelphia has launched a program to collect real-time data on weather, air quality and transportation in order to make operational changes for the well-being of its residents.

The project, titled SmartCityPHL, was developed in collaboration with Comcast and US Ignite. An initial test phase, which is scheduled to last until the end of 2022, is underway in the Midtown Village neighbourhood in the heart of the city.

Sensors have been installed on 14 street lights in the neighbourhood to gather valuable data on such things as weather conditions and the different modes of transportation used.

The goal is to obtain a dynamic understanding of the urban environment, while guaranteeing the privacy and autonomy of residents, since absolutely no personal or identifiable data is collected as part of this experiment.

This is a unique system, since data is collected in real time and is processed in the cloud. This data will help the city to respond more effectively to urgent issues concerning the well-being of the neighborhood, its environment and its security. More globally, it will help guide the city's decisions on how to manage its public spaces.

By harnessing this data, the city hopes to be able to tackle future transitions in an intelligent way.

 - AFP Relaxnews