Press Release 2017-02-02T19:25:07+00:00

Press Release(s)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 2, 2017

Envision America 2017 Cities Announced

Charlotte, NC – January 24, 2017 – Envision America 2017 has just announced this year’s participants in its Smart City initiative. The following cities have been selected to participate in a workshop hosted in Charlotte, NC from March 6-8, 2017, they include: Jackson, MS; San Antonio, TX; Wichita, KS; Providence, RI; Burlington, VT; Detroit, MI; Chula Vista, CA; Greensboro, NC; Kansas City, MO; and, Long Beach, CA.

Envision America issues a challenge to America’s cities to become smarter by accelerating deployment of innovative technologies that tackle energy, water, waste, and air challenges. Cities were selected for participation in the program on the basis of several criteria, including goals, existing cross-sector collaborations, and a commitment to developing innovative approaches foundational to a Smart City. Over the course of the three-day workshop, representatives will collaborate with industry, academic experts and entrepreneurs to develop innovative strategies to help implement “smart” projects in their city.

Other cities, universities and non profits are invited to attend and gain valuable insights around Smart City projects and solutions.

Envision Charlotte will be co-hosting Envision America with the Data Science Initiative (DSI) at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The (DSI) is an industry-university-state partnership, led by the College of Computing and Informatics, the Belk College of Business, the College of Health and Human Services, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Executive Education, and includes collaborative partners across the university and the region. As cities strive to be smarter with their resources and manage them more efficiently, sustainable data is rapidly becoming the cornerstone of these efforts. As a result, partnering with the local university and having the students engage with the participating cities is a unique and valuable resource.

Launched in 2016, Envision America is building on the success of its inaugural workshop. Last January, the first cohort of cities learned what drives the success of smart initiatives from city leaders, utility partners and private sector allies. Representatives from Charlotte, Cambridge, Greenville, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York City, Pittsburgh, Portland (OR), San Diego, and Spokane discovered that success also requires cross-sector collaboration. Envision America is excited to sustain the momentum that began with last year’s workshop, when participants returned home with a renewed sense of leadership and a drive to innovate.

“Envision was a great opportunity for the City of Pittsburgh to develop some strategic thinking around our approach to Smart Cities,” Pittsburgh’s Chief Resiliency Officer Grant Ervin said of last year’s workshop. “Providing the space to meet with leading cities and cutting edge companies was a great network building and learning opportunity.”

Envision America is a program under Envision Charlotte, which seeks to make the city’s urban core a living laboratory to foster innovation and first-of-their kind programs that improve sustainability, resilience, economic competitiveness and quality of life, all of which can be measured, scaled and replicated in communities outside of the urban core.

Envision America is supported by AT&T, Bank of America, IBM, Itron, Microsoft, Philips Lighting, PTC SAS, Siemens and Wells Fargo.

Contact:

Amy Aussieker

320 E. Ninth Street
704-575-2861

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 13, 2016
CONTACT: Tracy Russ, SOLID; [email protected]; 704-579-0042

Ten U.S. Communities to Catalyze Smart City Projects

Envision America workshop open to registered participants and press only – not open to public

Charlotte, NC – Delegations from ten U.S. communities will create plans to catalyze progress on smart city projects during working sessions today at Envision America (envisionamerica.org). The delegations are paired with expert teams from corporate allies and academic partners that offer smart city technology solutions to create the catalyst plans.

“Yesterday, over 250 Envision America participants learned more about what works to build smart cities as we heard from city leaders, utility partners and private sector allies. We know that partnerships, collaboration and cross-sector cooperation are key drivers of success. Today’s workshops are facilitated working sessions designed to put that knowledge to work and create catalyst plans so that every city can return home and get started,” says Amy Aussieker, Executive Director of Envision Charlotte, host organization for the Envision America workshop.

Proposed city projects can be found on the Envision America website at https://envisionamerica.org/city-selection/.

Communities participating in Envision America include: Cambridge, MA; Dallas, TX; Greenville, SC; Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, WI; New York City, NY; Pittsburgh, PA; Portland, OR; San Diego, CA; Spokane, WA. Corporate allies participating in Envision America include: Accelerated Innovations; AT&T; Autodesk; Bank of America; Black & Veatch; Cisco; Duke Energy; Esri; GE; IBM; Intel; Itron; Landis+Gyr; Microsoft; OSIsoft, LLC; Qualcomm; SAS; ThingWorx; Wells Fargo.

Envision Charlotte began in 2011, with a goal of reducing energy use by 20% within the center city over five years. Reductions of 16.1 percent across 61 buildings within the Envision Charlotte footprint were announced in June 2015, representing savings of $17 million in energy costs and putting the initiative on track to meet its goal.

Duke Energy, Charlotte Center City Partners, the City of Charlotte, Cisco, Verizon Wireless, the U.S. Green Building Council, Intelligent Buildings and UNC Charlotte collaboratively created and launched Envision Charlotte.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2016
CONTACT: Tracy Russ, SOLID; [email protected]; 704-579-0042

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx
Will Deliver Remarks At Envision America Workshop

Workshop open to registered participants and press only – not open to public

Charlotte, NC – U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx will deliver remarks at the Envision America workshop on Thursday, January 14 at 9:00am in Charlotte. The Secretary will highlight the impacts of innovative technology in transportation. The three-day workshop – being held at the UNC Charlotte Uptown campus at 320 East 9th Street – is closed to the public. Members of the press are invited to attend the workshop with registration at https://envisionamerica.org/press.

“Secretary Foxx has been a leader as Charlotte’s mayor and as US Secretary of Transportation in advocating for innovative solutions that build better communities for people. We are thrilled that he is going to be with us during the Envision America workshop,” says Amy Aussieker, Executive Director of Envision Charlotte, host organization for the Envision America workshop. (envisioncharlotte.org)

Municipal leaders, smart technology experts and private sector allies will collaborate to help kick start smart city initiatives from ten U.S. communities during the three-day Envision America workshop in Charlotte from January 12-14. The workshop will leverage the success of Envision Charlotte to accelerate deployment of innovative technologies in urban centers to tackle energy, water, waste, and air challenges.

During the Envision America workshop, over 275 participants will work with leading experts from industry allies and academic partners to diagnose needs, workshop solutions, and develop new smart initiatives for their community. In addition, they will receive technical assistance throughout the year to support the implementation of their plans. Descriptions of city initiatives and a tentative workshop agenda are available at envisionamerica.org.

Communities participating in Envision America include: Cambridge, MA; Dallas, TX; Greenville, SC; Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, WI; New York City, NY; Pittsburgh, PA; Portland, OR; San Diego, CA; Spokane, WA. Corporate allies participating in Envision America include: Accelerated Innovations; AT&T; Autodesk; Bank of America; Black & Veatch; Cisco; Duke Energy; Esri; GE; IBM; Intel; Itron; Landis+Gyr; Microsoft; OSIsoft, LLC; Qualcomm; SAS; ThingWorx; Wells Fargo.

Envision Charlotte began in 2011, with a goal of reducing energy use by 20% within the center city over five years. Reductions of 16.1 percent across 61 buildings within the Envision Charlotte footprint were announced in June 2015, representing savings of $17 million in energy costs and putting the initiative on track to meet its goal. Duke Energy, Charlotte Center City Partners, the City of Charlotte, Cisco, Verizon Wireless, the U.S. Green Building Council, Intelligent Buildings and UNC Charlotte collaboratively
created and launched Envision Charlotte.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Amy Aussieker, Executive Director of Envision America or Tracy Russ, 704-579-0042 or [email protected]

10 U.S. Cities Selected to Kickoff Envision America
Smart Cities Acceleration Initiative

Smart Cities Effort Announced at White House Will Launch in January 2016

Charlotte, North Carolina, Dec. 3, 2015 — Envision America, a smart cities initiative that was announced at the White House this fall, is proud to select 10 U.S. cities to participate in 2016. The cities will leverage technology collaborators and businesses to address the challenges of climate change and improve city services. They include Cambridge, MA; Dallas, TX; Greenville, SC; Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, WI; New York City, NY: Pittsburgh, PA; Portland, OR; San Diego, CA and Spokane, WA.

“We appreciate Los Angeles being selected as one of the country’s first Envision America cities,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “L.A. has always been on the cutting edge of innovative technologies that tackle the biggest challenges of our time. This new partnership will help us continue to nurture ideas that can be developed today to better serve residents, businesses, and visitors tomorrow.”

Envision America, a program under the nonprofit Envision Charlotte, will host the 10 cities to attend a smart cities workshop from January 12-14th, 2016. The three-day workshop in Charlotte brings city leaders, smart cities experts and corporate partners together to facilitate project planning and implementation.

The Envision America program will help other cities use successes and lessons learned of Envision Charlotte in the City of Charlotte, North Carolina. Envision Charlotte began its smart cities initiative in 2011 with a goal of reducing energy use by 20% over five years in collaboration with companies such as Duke Energy, Cisco, and Itron. The City of Charlotte is also working to produce cleaner air, decrease the amount of waste going to landfill and reduce water use in buildings through the Envision Charlotte effort.

“Envision Charlotte is excited to share our experiences with cities from across the country and to help ignite a smart and sustainable cities revolution in the U.S., “ said Amy Aussieker, Executive Director of Envision Charlotte and Envision America.

Corporate partners for Envision America are Accelerated Innovations, AT&T, Autodesk, Bank of America, Black and Veatch, Cisco, Duke Energy, Esri, GE, IBM, Intel, Itron, Landis+Gyr, Microsoft, Qualcomm, SAS, ThingWorx, and Wells Fargo.

“Itron is proud to be a part of Envision America, and we look forward to helping advance smart cities initiatives both nationally and around the world. For participating cities and communities, this initiative will drive outcomes, including improved city services, enhanced energy and water management and increased economic opportunity, through collaboration and shared technologies,” said Philip Mezey, Itron president and chief executive officer.

For more information, please visit https://envisionamerica.org/

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