Myrtle Beach city leaders are calling this next stage of technological advancements The Fourth Industrial Revolution.
City of Myrtle Beach Chief Innovation Officer Howard Waldie IV proposed turning Myrtle Beach into a Smart City at Tuesday's council meeting.
It's a global market that's created billions of dollars in revenue, and it could soon be coming to the Grand Strand.
“We’re in the world of the digital economy, the digital way of doing business and living your life. And that’s going to be our future- we can’t escape it," Waldie said.
So, what exactly is a Smart City?
It's a city that has sensors to electronically collect data about people and infrastructure.
Waldie said the benefits of implementing this technology are infinite- like generating billions in revenue and creating jobs.
He said other cities like Austin, Atlanta, and LA have all had major success in implementing Smart City ideals.
“There’s other benefits like being able to increase efficiency of services you receive from your government or being able to create new pathways for businesses to grow and expand and relocate here," he said.
One example of Smart City technology is, “Traffic AI- being able to say we ‘ve got a lot of traffic right now because of an event, or it’s a very busy tourism season; so, instead of having to manually flip a switch or change the system, the traffic AI automatically changes the lights for us to ensure we have to most optimal flow for vehicle or pedestrian traffic," Waldie said.
He said we could also see smart poles or poles with WIFI and 5G.
But Waldie said the most exciting part of this project is the community aspect.
“The Grand Strand and the county at large, it’s not just a community for a lifetime, it’s a community for today, and the future generations to come and that’s what this strategy ensures," he said.
Waldie said community input is crucial and they can't have this Fourth Revolution without the collaboration between the government and the community.
He said the next step is creating a Smart City Council and conducting research.
To read more about the proposal, click here.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Jenna Herazo
Quelle/Source: msn, 04.02.2023
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