We are Smart Columbus and we are:
Writing the playbook on Smart Cities.
America's test city.
Electrifying our region.
Transforming transportation culture.
Preparing for 1M new residents by 2050.
As the winner of the Smart City Challenge, Smart Columbus was challenged to decrease carbon emissions from transportation and encourage mode shift to make life better now and for our future. From our learnings and best practices, we created this Playbook to inspire radical collaboration across sectors to move cities toward electrification and smarter transportation.
Mobility is the great equalizer of the 21st century.
Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther
In 2016, the City of Columbus won $50 million from the first-ever U.S. Department of Transportation Smart City Challenge. Columbus' unique spirit of collaboration, dubbed the 'Columbus Way', has allowed us to move quickly and impactfully to transform our region.
Accelerating Progress
Columbus received $50 million in the form of two grants: $40 million from the USDOT and $10 million from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Public and private sector leaders came together to write Columbus’ Challenge application and committed to match the $50 million in grant funding with a $90 million Acceleration Fund – aligned investments intended to scale and sustain our smart city growth. These dollars provided the seed funding for Smart Columbus—a region-wide smart city initiative co-led by the City of Columbus and the Columbus Partnership. Today, the Acceleration Fund has grown to $720 million in aligned regional investment, transforming our region into an epicenter of smart mobility innovation.
Moving the Needle
Smart Columbus is the Columbus Way in motion, and we’ve been able to move the needle on mode shift in our region. Driven by the $10 million Paul G. Allen Family Foundation grant intended to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by electrifying transportation, our region, businesses, nonprofits and residents are transitioning to a more sustainable mobility culture.
Engaged and educated 100,000 residents
Installed 900+ EV charging ports
Influenced 3,200+ people to buy an EV
Shared our learnings with 75 global city peers
The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation partnered with the U.S. Department of Transportation on the Smart City Challenge to create a first-of-its-kind modern transportation initiative that will demonstrate “what’s possible” by showcasing bold innovations, climate-friendly vehicles and technologies that link people to transportation information in ways that will improve quality of life and lower GHG emissions.
Learn More