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With Fort Worth on board, NTXIA now includes two of the five largest cities in Texas, with more than 950,000 residents that included 20,000 new arrivals last year.
“Bringing Fort Worth into the alliance further strengthens our regional efforts in broadening smart city growth and economic development across North Texas,” said NTXIA Executive Director Jennifer Sanders in a news release. “We are proud to partner with city leadership who have demonstrated forward-thinking approaches to improving broadband infrastructure, mobility, entrepreneurial development and access to economic opportunities and human services, as well as offering scalable solutions for the North Texas region.”
NTXIA membership includes Dallas, Arlington, Irving, Plano, Garland and Richardson, among others. Special district members include the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG). These represent some of the largest municipalities in Texas — even the U.S. — but also smaller exurbs including Corinth and Wilmer.
Together, they explore:
- Connected public works
- Connected transportation
- Creating smart corridors
- Creating seamless customer experiences
- Using data to break down silos
“It’s a combination of convening, educating, programming, and then we do some individual member support in addition to looking at this cohesive strategy for the region,” Sanders told Industry Insider — Texas.
NTXIA is almost five years old and has added breadth and depth to a region that has long-standing collaborative organizations such as the North Texas Commission and the NCTCOG.
Using Fort Worth as an example, city leaders are implementing and using multiple technologies and processes that fall under the smart city umbrella. Some include:
- Using AI for permitting
- Piloting a digital twin
- Creating smart intersections to improve safety
- Incorporating broadband into transportation projects
- Creating a public-private partnership to bring citywide fiber
“The outstanding thing about joining is the number of people within Fort Worth who are engaged … when there's nine different departments that are really excited to leverage their resources … that’s a pretty diverse group of functions within the city,” Sanders said. “I think it's really exciting how they are really committed to selling their vision, individually and collectively.”
