Smart cities and safer celebrations
19 March 2025
By Chelsea McCullough, Strategic Advisor, Smart Cities Connect
Almost 20 million people visit New Orleans every year to enjoy the city’s vibrant culture and the wide variety of exciting events. There is something for everyone from boisterous Mardi Gras parades, to jams at Jazz Fest, to football and live music at Caesars Super Dome (not to mention the city’s recent success at hosting Super Bowl LIX!).
Ensuring that fun is the focus of these events is a considerable effort that requires careful, strategic planning with teams of experts who are dedicated to creating safe experiences. Smart technologies can play a pivotal role in supporting this work.
In February 2025, the City of New Orleans announced a pilot project to deploy smart monitoring systems in areas near the Super Dome to monitor pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicular traffic. The intent of these systems is to provide real-time analytics on high-traffic areas to maintain safety especially during high-volume events.
Chief Administrative Officer for the City of New Orleans Gilbert Montaño commented: “As the city continues to attract millions of visitors for major events, we need to enhance and improve our public resources to make sure our city is safe and accessible for all. We hope this pilot programme, being installed adjacent to the Superdome, provides a blueprint for implementation across the city and allows us to provide valuable services like real-time vehicle and pedestrian analytics, and to monitor high traffic areas to maintain safety for our residents and visitors.”
Designing and implementing these types of complex projects requires collaboration between public and private sector partners to ensure technologies and platforms integrate seamlessly to address the right challenges. There will be a chance to hear about this project first hand from an experienced team of experts at Smart Cities Connect in San Antonio, Texas.
On Monday, April 14, industry experts from Ubicquia, Inc., Ameresco, TerraGo Technologies, and Acuity Brands will speak on a panel titled, “Enhancing Public Safety and Resilience Through Streetlights in NOLA.” This will be the chance to interact, ask questions, and interact directly with speakers who can share information about interoperable technologies, the planning process, and plans for the pilot launch.
This panel is a part of the Smart Cities Connect Conference & Expo that will take place in San Antonio, Texas from April 14 – 16. Register to attend and enter a discount code 25CITIES.
In addition to speaking at the conference, the panelists will also take part in a webinar on May 6 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM CDT. This is a great opportunity to follow up on insights and conversations from the conference and to invite additional members of your team to learn more. Click here to register to attend.
Taking these moments to connect and learn more about smart cities is increasingly important as technology becomes more integrated into almost every facet of our urban lives. Smart technologies promise greater operational efficiencies in delivering city services, such as ensuring that visitors and residents can enjoy safe, accessible events and entertainment.
These projects require careful consideration and thoughtful planning. Events like Smart Cities Connect bring city leaders together with solution providers so that we can all explore the implications of smart cities. We can discuss lessons learned, share best practices, and debate new issues and questions.
Geoffrey Urbach, Smart City Senior Manager for the City of San Antonio recently mentioned: “This conference isn’t just about showing off what we’ve done in San Antonio–it’s about sharing ideas, learning from each other, and creating partnerships that last long after the conference wraps up. Because just like the title of our initiative, we must act Smarter Together!”
Please share this opportunity with your colleagues and join us at Smart Cities Connect in San Antonio April 14-16, city leaders attend for free, non-city leaders can use (discount code 25CITIES) for 25 percent off!
