A Smart City Quietly Grows in Georgia

A small Atlanta suburb is rapidly becoming a model for the much-discussed ‘smart city,’ but the city may look less futuristic than you imagine, writes Mohar Chatterjee in Politico.

“The 45,000-person city is home to an unusual public innovation experiment. Peachtree Corners’ chief technology officer, who also happens to be the assistant city manager, runs an incubator called Curiosity Lab, which invites private firms to come test out their prototypes in a 500-acre public space called Technology Park Atlanta.” The concept recalls Walt Disney’s goal for E.P.C.O.T. and Larry Page’s idea for the smart city Sidewalk Labs would build: a living community as an innovation lab for new inventions and technology.

With the new technology, Peachtree will also have to navigate the new waters of data privacy and safety. “It’s the kind of place entrepreneurs and civic leaders will need to reckon with as they make their next round of high-tech promises.” The city is proceeding cautiously. For example, “Right now, Peachtree Corners has gone as far as any American city in integrating self-driving vehicles — but the city’s autonomous shuttles still run only in dedicated lanes.”

The city is using the strictest federal standards for data privacy as it encourages home builders in the community to install data-gathering devices. “[Chief Technology Officer and deputy city manager Brandon Branham] said he is aware of the ‘fine balance’ between ensuring data privacy and having a better operational base to deploy citywide IoT technologies.”