Mayor Walsh Announces Syracuse Wins North American Smart Cities Award
Published on April 14, 2023
City claimed top honors in the SCNAA competition for a second year in-a-row
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh announced the City of Syracuse has been named a winner in IDC Government Insights’ Smart Cities North America Award (SCNAA) competition that recognizes progress by municipalities in smart cities projects. An online vote picked Syracuse as the winner in the Next-Generation Emergency Services category for its forward-thinking snow response and resources for winter weather operations.
“Winning this award for the second year in-a-row is a great distinction for Syracuse and shows we are setting the standard for smart city projects in municipalities across the country,” said Mayor Walsh. “By continuing to use innovative technology to improve our services, we are creating a smarter, more resilient city for the next generation.”
Winners of the SCNAA illustrate best practice examples of how forward-thinking municipalities are effectively leveraging technology and innovation to offer sustainable, new services and economic opportunities to meet the needs and expectations of diverse communities.
The City of Syracuse Department of Public Works (DPW) uses an integrated, cloud-based platform to streamline its snow operations, helping to maximize productivity and improve public communication. It offers DPW live visibility into the location and status of snowplows, enabling them to track coverage and optimize routes. Live images and on-demand video provide remote visibility into road conditions and on-road incidents, helping DPW investigate citizen concerns faster and more accurately.
Seamless integration with mapping technology makes it possible for the DPW to share a publicly accessible map of plow coverage with residents, increasing transparency and leading to a 30% decrease in citizen calls about snow plow service.
“Our annual Smart Cities North America Awards recognize the best of the best among smart city initiatives and unlike anything else in the industry, provide a blueprint for government officials looking to execute similar projects,” said Ruthbea Yesner, Vice President, IDC Government Insights and Smart Cities and Communities Strategies. “We congratulate the winners on their unwavering dedication to executing compelling projects from start to finish – leveraging cutting edge technology to offer sustainable, new services and economic opportunities and enhancing the lives of citizens.”
The City of Syracuse claimed top honors in the 2022 Smart Cities North America Awards in the Sustainable Infrastructure category for work converting the city street light network to energy efficient LED lights. The City saves an estimated $3 million annually in energy and maintenance costs and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 8,500 tons a year—the equivalent of taking more than 1,660 cars off the road.
Only 17 of the 42 cities nominated in the United States and Canada received awards. Syracuse beat out the County of San Bernardino, CA to share top honors with the City of Irving, TX in the Next-Generation Emergency Services category. Columbia University was the only other entity in New York State selected as a finalist; they placed first in the Transportation category.
To learn more about other 2023 winners in the awards program, visit the IDC winners page. Winners will be honored at Smart Cities Connect on May 16–18, 2023, at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO. To learn more about the event, please visit https://spring.smartcitiesconnect.org.