BRAMPTON, ON – The City of Brampton has officially entered the Government of Canada’s Smart Cities Challenge. On Tuesday, May 1, the City received official notice from Infrastructure Canada that its application has been accepted for consideration.
The City’s application is based on extensive public engagement over the past year. The application considers the results of the Brampton 2040 vision, an unprecedented public engagement program that involved 15,000 residents and achieved widespread awareness across the community. In March, the City hosted a Smart Cities Hackathon that was attended by approximately 200 high school and post-secondary students, as well as entrepreneurs, government officials and experts in technology. A stakeholder engagement session took place in April attended by 75 representatives from the City and Region of Peel, academia, private sector companies, service providers and local schools. By working in partnership with its stakeholders, the City developed the following challenge statement:
“Brampton will become Canada’s most inclusive and fastest growing citizen-driven community inspired by the needs and vast potential of its newcomers and youth; our community will be shaped around citizens’ uniquely understood values and ideas to enhance newcomers’ connection to the City and retain youth – our largest enablers of change.”
The ultimate goal of the City’s application is to create Canada and the world’s first truly citizen-driven city. Sentiment on all issues will be transparent and real-time, and all residents will shape their community, driving next-level social cohesion. The City will achieve these goals by developing and implementing technical solutions, and transforming the way government delivers solutions in response to citizens’ needs.
Open to all Canadian municipalities, local or regional governments and Indigenous communities (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis), the Smart Cities Challenge is a competition that encourages communities to adopt a smart cities approach to improve the lives of their residents through innovation, data and connected technology.
Finalists will receive support to develop their Smart Cities proposals. Winning communities will be awarded prize money based on population size to help implement them. If selected the winner, Brampton could be eligible for up to $50 million.
Smart Cities Challenge finalists are expected to be announced this summer.
For more information on the Smart Cities Challenge and the City’s ongoing Smart Cities initiatives, visit www.brampton.ca
Quotes
“The City of Brampton is on the leading-edge of excellence and innovation. By listening to and understanding the unique needs of our residents, we’re in a position to become Canada’s most inclusive and fastest growing community. We’re inspired by the needs and vast potential of our newcomers and youth and I would like to personally thank all residents and businesses who participated for their inspirational ideas and practical solutions.”
- Mayor Linda Jeffrey
“The City of Brampton continues to follow a smart city approach as part of building a future ready Brampton, and strives to achieve meaningful outcomes for residents through data and connected
technology. We look forward to hearing the results of the first phase of the Smart Cities Challenge, and are committed to working towards meeting our goal of becoming Canada’s first truly citizen-driven city.”
- Harry Schlange, Chief Administrative Officer
Quick facts
The City of Brampton actively follows a smart city approach while working to build a future ready city, with a continued focus on thinking big to fuel the community’s vibrancy. Some current smart cities initiatives include:
- The City of Brampton actively follows a smart city approach while working to build a future ready city, with a continued focus on thinking big to fuel the community’s vibrancy. Some current smart cities initiatives include:
- The award-winning Brampton GeoHub
- Computer-Aided Dispatching (CAD) and Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) systems on Brampton Transit buses
- A new pilot project to test electric battery-powered buses
- In the fall of 2017, the City began a journey to harness Brampton’s potential and think bigger about its future. Working with internationally acclaimed urban visionary Larry Beasley, the City aimed to create a vision for what Brampton could be in 5, 10, 25 years and beyond. Through an intensive community-wide conversation, the City created the Brampton 2040 Vision.
- On April 19, it was announced that a new Ryerson University campus will be established, with Sheridan College as an academic partner, in downtown Brampton. Slated to open for classes in the Fall of 2022, the new campus will focus on providing students data-driven science and business programming paired with experiential learning. Plans include the new campus, a partnership for a National Centre for Cybersecurity, and a centre for innovation – a joint-use facility which will include public and academic libraries and an innovation zone.
Quick links
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Brampton is thinking bigger. We are a future ready organization with a sharp focus. We know our community’s growth, youth and diversity set us apart. We sit at the centre of Canada’s innovation super corridor, encouraging investment and growing our global success. We are building vibrant urban centres that ignite opportunity and instill pride in the people who live and work here. We are moving Brampton forward to be a connected city that is innovative, inclusive and bold. Follow us on
Twitter and
Facebook. Learn more at
www.brampton.ca.
