Co-creating solutions for smart cities

Earlier this year, the World Bank partnered with Chile's Ministry of Transport and Telecommunication on a project to innovate technology and mobility solutions: Smart City Gran Concepción. So far, the project has met two milestones, ideation (in January) and formation of a diagnostic and strategic support plan (in March).

Last month, it was time for the project's third phase: a competition to surface new ideas for mass transit options, road safety and mobility information. This event, called the MueveTT Innovation Challenge, brought together 14 teams of people to brainstorm ways for the government, companies, universities, organizations, citizens, and others to work together toward the vision of smart cities.
 
The competition offered teams seven challenges:

• How can we encourage good care of bus stations, stops and signs?
• How can we harness mobility information to make our city more sustainable?
• How can we reduce mortality in emergency situations in rural areas?
• How can we incentivize better driving behavior?
• How can we improve the travel experience on public urban transport?
• How can we promote alternative trips and mobility methods to make our city more sustainable?

Teams spent more than 30 hours formulating detailed solutions to these questions. At the end of the event, a jury selected seven teams to advance to the next stage, during which they will spend two months working with mentors to develop prototypes, test in real environments, create a viable business model and prepare a pitch for the final jury, business incubators and angel investors. This upcoming stage, which will road-map a local innovation center using the ideas presented, is scheduled for October.

To discover more about Smart City Gran Concepción, please visit the project website or download a newsletter featuring this third phase of the project. We'd also love to hear your ideas on smart cities.