By Jim Dallke
ChicagoInno
Chicago is quietly preparing itself to be a testing ground for driverless cars as officials are currently in the process of identifying “innovation zones” within the city that could pilot autonomous vehicle projects and other new technologies.
The City is in the process of pre-approving parts of Chicago to be ready for driverless cars, said Brenna Berman, the CIO at Chicago’s Department of Innovation and Technology. It’s part of a concept the city is calling the Beta City Initiative, an ambitious and wide-ranging plan within Chicago’s official Tech Plan to make the city more tech friendly to local startups and out-of-state tech companies, and prepare the city for future technology.
The Beta City Initiative consists of three parts. The first is centered around the idea of “urban experimentation,” Berman said, and solving large city issues like flooding on the West Side and air quality issues. This includes identifying innovation zones for certain city projects, like driverless cars, and handling policy issues and zoning concerns before the technology hits the streets.
“When you’re dealing with the built environment, there are city processes that can slow you down,” she said. “Anything from permitting to installation to even identifying the best neighborhood for the technology you’re looking at. What we want to do with those innovation zones is kind of pre-approve and prep certain neighborhoods across the city to pilot a technology.”
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