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Gridics Recognized as a GovTech 100 Company Making a Difference in Municipal Planning & Zoning

Government Technology Magazine, a leading publication covering information technology’s role in state and local government, recently named Gridics as a GovTech 100 company for 2019.

Each year, GovTech.com analyzes the top software companies based on investment capital, sales, industry niche, and impact across all levels of government.

“Four years in, the GovTech 100 continues to provide a glimpse at the most innovative companies partnering with government to solve mission-critical problems,” said e.Republic Chief Innovation Officer Dustin Haisler, who was heavily involved in the list’s creation.

Gridics is featured in this year’s report alongside transformative companies such as OpenGov, Tyler Technologies, and the Boring Company, Elon Musk’s project to help cities combat crippling traffic gridlock.  As the only intelligent zoning company on the list, Gridics stands in a category of its own.

“It is an honor to be highlighted among the 2019 GovTech 100 companies,” says Jason Doyle, CEO of Gridics.  “From day #1, our team has been on a mission to change the way municipal governments solve zoning and planning challenges.  The GovTech 100 recognition is validation that Gridics is creating technology to help build better cities and underscores just how important visualizing development capacity, driving economic development, and increasing zoning transparency are to the future of cities.”

Numerous municipal governments including New York, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Cupertino are already using Gridics, the world’s first 3D zoning management engine.  From managing zoning code text online to understanding future development in 3D, Gridics brings never-before-seen transparency to city zoning.

Curious to learn how the Gridics technology platform can help you build a better city?  For more information, please visit www.gridics.com or contact us at info@gridics.com.

The One Thing Your Smart City (Probably) Doesn’t Have

There’s been a lot of talk lately about “Smart Cities”.  So what is a Smart City?  According to Techopedia:

“A smart city is a designation given to a city that incorporates information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance the quality and performance of urban services such as energy, transportation, and utilities in order to reduce resource consumption, wastage and overall costs.  The overarching aim of a smart city is to enhance the quality of living for its citizens through smart technology.”

The Smart City movement seems to be predicated on the embedding of computerized sensors into the urban fabric.  This means that car and bike shares, parking, lamp posts, traffic lights, home appliances such as internet fridges and remote-controlled HVAC systems, all become part of the so-called “internet of things”.

One of the latest companies to launch a Smart City project is Sidewalk Labs, a Google company, which will attempt to build a “Smart Neighborhood” in Toronto.  Last year Sidewalk Labs partnered with Waterfront Toronto to bring planning, process, community, and technology together in order to develop more than 800 acres of vacant land that sits just southeast of Downtown Toronto.

We should applaud Sidewalks Labs, a holistic approach to urban planning, development, and construction.  This type of out-of-the-box thinking is what drives innovation.  However, technology alone won’t considerably improve the quality of life in our cities.

Technology and data collection are powerful and can help us better plan our cities as well as increase efficiencies.  However, if we truly want to build cities that have an excellent quality of life we need to get zoning right.  If your city’s zoning code promotes sprawl and automobile dependency Smart City technologies won’t save your city.

The invisible hand that guides a city’s development and future growth is zoning.  Zoning builds the foundation of your city.  If your city’s zoning code doesn’t encourage density, mixed-uses, walkability, transit/mobility options and reduced parking requirements there is probably little or no hope for your city.  If the end goal is to build a city that is walkable, transit-friendly and less reliant on the automobile, start with smarter zoning or you’ll end up like Tucson, Arizona or Houston, TX.

When thinking of “Great Cities” Toronto, London, Vancouver, Seattle, Paris, Tokyo, Vienna, and Curitiba all come to mind.  What makes the quality of life so great in these cities?

Great cities:

  • Are walkable
  • Encourage density
  • Provide mobility options (transit, biking, walking)
  • Are less reliant on motor-vehicles
  • Have reduced or eliminated minimum parking requirements

So if you want a want a Smart City, start with smarter zoning.

University of Miami Students Create Possible Designs for the Biscayne Line

Students from the University of Miami School of Architecture have created concept designs for the Biscayne Line, the stretch of bay walk planned to boarder Edgewater. The Related Group, which is developing the Paraiso district, and the recently completed Icon Bay, both in Edgewater, sponsored the design studio at UM last fall.

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Rickenbacker Causeway Park Would String Together Miami’s Own Emerald Necklace

In the annals of urban planning and landscape design, the original ‘Emerald Necklace’ is a string of interconnected parks in Boston designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted that link the old Boston Common with Franklin Park, looping around the city. Rickenbacker Park, a new linear park proposed by architect Bernard Zyscovich, could similarly string together a chain of existing parks and green space along the Rickenbacker Causeway, creating an emerald necklace for Miami that would be South Florida’s own version of Olmsted’s great design.

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Miami Approves Seaplane Base Redevelopment on Watson Island

The long-discussed redevelopment of the old Chalks Airlines Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island is finally moving forward after a rezoning of the southwest corner of Watson Island, where the base currently exists, from its previous zoning as park land. A base in the form of an art deco tower is slated for the site. 

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Mini Wave of Small-Scale Infill Urbanism Coming to the Grove’s Bird Avenue

Significant changes, including a few new multifamily residential infill projects, are coming to Coconut Grove’s Bird Avenue—the extension of Bird Road east of US-1—with land available for more, as the road gears up for a redo. Pelican Grove, a ten unit development of luxury townhouses is under construction at 3258 Bird Avenue, while just down the street at 2955 Bird Avenue the six unit L’Uccello project is nearing completion. Meanwhile, lots at 2961 and 2967 Bird Avenue are for sale, possibly meaning more multifamily development could soon come to the Avenue.

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Car2go Pulling Out of Miami Due to Not-Great Ridership and High Taxes

Just two days after ride-sharing service Uber won a big victory in Miami-Dade County, another service, Car2go, has decided to suspend their operations in South Florida, according to an email to members. This will take effect on March 1st, just under a month and a half from now.

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