Session 8D: Smart Cities - A Synopsis

Session Description: Wikipedia defines a smart city as an urban area that uses different types of electronic data collection/sensors to supply information used to manage assets and resources efficiently. This includes data collected from citizens, devices, and assets that is processed and analyzed to monitor and manage traffic and transportation systems, power plants, water supply networks, waste management, law enforcement, information systems, schools, libraries, hospitals, and other community services. The smart city concept integrates information and communication technology, and various physical devices connected to the network to optimize the efficiency of city operations and services and connect to citizens. Smart city technology allows city officials to interact directly with both community and city infrastructure and to monitor what is happening in the city and how the city is evolving. This session’s objectives will be to educate attendees on how this concept is growing on a national level and what Pennsylvania’s largest cities are doing to embrace smart city technology.

Moderator: Anthony Castellone, Pennoni

• Smart Communities and the Institute of Transportation Engineers, Eric Rensel, Vice President, Gannett Fleming
• Philadelphia — A “Smart” City of Brotherly Love, Rich Montanez, Deputy Commissioner-Transportation, Department of Streets, City of Philadelphia
• Smart PGH “Into The Future” — USDOT Challenge Recap, Alex Pazuchanics, Assistant Director, City of Pittsburgh, Department of Mobility and Infrastructure

Speaker Bios:

Eric Rensel has been with Gannett Fleming for more than 19 years serving in many capacities. He is currently part of the senior leadership team of the Transportation Operations Practice. In this role he is responsible for leading the firm’s efforts for TSMO in the Midwest, Transportation Management Center Services, Connected Automated Vehicles, and Smart Communities. Eric serves on many professional capacity building groups including as a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for the National Operations Center of Excellence, the Freeway Operations Committee for the Transportation Research Board, and the chair of the ITE TSMO Council.

Richard Montanez is the deputy streets commissioner for Transportation for the City of Philadelphia. He is responsible for maintaining, operating, and improving approximately 2,500 miles of local roads, 3,000 traffic signals, 280 bridges, over 100,000 street lights, and 18,000 alley lights in the City of Philadelphia. He leads the Streets Department in a variety of efforts, such as transportation management, operations, intelligent transportation systems, and smart cities and is responsible for the development and implementation of the transportation division’s strategic plan.

Alex Pazuchanics serves as policy advisor for Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto. He manages the city’s legislative and policy agenda across local, state, and federal levels, and coordinates interdepartmental initiatives such as mobility, city process improvement, affordable housing, city-university partnerships, and storm water management. Alex led Pittsburgh’s response to the USDOT Smart City Challenge, which was named one of seven finalists from 78 applications. He manages the city’s designation as an autonomous vehicle proving ground and is a member of the PennDOT Autonomous Vehicle Policy Task Force. He has testified before Congress and presented at South by Southwest on smart city policy. A graduate of The George Washington University and Carnegie Mellon University, Alex previously worked in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Pittsburgh City Council.