Moving forward

Racine is the first “Smart City” in Wisconsin, and also was the smallest city to make the list of finalists, second to Palm Coast, Fla., with a population around 86,000. The City’s press release stated that on average other finalists had populations around 800,000, though “98.5% of U.S. cities have populations lower than 100,000.”

“Because of its size, Racine will serve as an effective Smart Cities laboratory for small-to-mid-sized cities,” the release stated. “Being a city at the forefront of innovation is nothing new for Racine. For generations, Racine has been known as ‘Invention City.’ The blender, the garbage disposal, hair clippers, gas-powered lawnmower engines, early versions of automobile, and even malted milk were invented in Racine, improving the quality of life for millions around the globe. At one point in its history, Racine held more patents per capita than any other U.S. city.”

The city plans to conduct public outreach with the goal of “engag(ing) stakeholders from every sector of the community and to meet residents in their neighborhoods so that there is a clear understanding of what Smart Cities means and how it can benefit their lives.”