Leading
In addition to being home to a wide range of business accelerators and technology incubators, Downtown Dallas was one of the first cities in the U.S. to become part of the Smart City Initiative – a federally supported program leveraging a collaborative network of technology, data, and analytics to help communities tackle key challenges, foster economic growth, and improve quality of life. These Smart City solutions are helping improve efficiency, increase sustainability, and enhance public safety, ensuring Downtown Dallas will continue leading the way – now and always.
Tech & Entrepreneurship
Telecom
Dallas was one of the first 5G cities where service launched in 2019.
With the convergence of over 70 fiber data carriers at two locations, Downtown is consistently within the top three national markets for fiber connectivity.
Smart City
In addition to being home to a wide range of business accelerators and technology incubators, Downtown Dallas was one of the first cities in the U.S. to become part of the Smart City Initiative – a federally supported program leveraging a collaborative network of technology, data and analytics to help communities tackle key challenges, foster economic growth and improve quality of life. These Smart City solutions are helping improve efficiency, increase sustainability and enhance public safety, ensuring Downtown Dallas will continue leading the way – now and always. Some of the key highlights to the Smart City Initiative are:- The Dallas Innovation District in Downtown Dallas' West End neighborhood focuses on bringing together civic, corporate, and startup innovation efforts through a single district-level testbed. This collaboration is bringing together the Dallas Innovation Alliance's Smart Cities Living Lab, the Dallas Entrepreneur Center’s efforts to seed new startups, and new innovation initiatives from corporations in the technology, banking, and healthcare sectors.
- The Dallas Innovation Alliance testing 9 Smart Cities technologies in a 4-block radius within the Dallas Innovation District (located in the West End).
- The Smart Cities Living Lab is the fastest-to-market smart cities initiative in the country, providing a testing ground for the future that improves everything from public safety to small business growth to mobility.
Future Mobility
As a leader in innovation, Downtown Dallas is cultivating the future of mobility with advances in transportation technology that will not only shape the way we travel in Texas, but also the way the world travels.
UberAir
Dallas has been selected as one of only three cities to become the first locations for UberAir. Dallas is working with Uber Elevate to take transportation to the skies. Uber is working with Fort Worth-based Bell Helicopter and Dallas-based Hillwood to accelerate the eventual large-scale deployment of electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicles (VTOLs)—the air taxi.
Texas High Speed Rail
Dallas is also leading all domestic metros in the development of the first truly high-speed rail in the U.S. Texas Central Partners is building a 186-mph Dallas-Houston train line that will cut the current commute time from three to four hours by car to only 90 minutes. This project will spur multi-modal rail-station development and is predicted to boost transit ridership, car-sharing, and other transportation opportunities in both metros.
Virgin Hyperloop One
It was recently announced as one of the 10 global finalists for the development of a new hyperloop route. In the Hyperloop Texas proposal, the tube infrastructure will be elevated along a 640-mile route, connecting Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and Laredo.