Smart community experts scale up innovation solutions with policy focus to enhance livability and City services

Centennial NextGen Infrastructure Study & Future Ready Action Plan

The City of Centennial has a strong vision for a more resilient, connected, and innovation-focused future. To achieve the goal of becoming a smart suburban destination, the City knew they would need forward-thinking policies focused on development, design considerations, and future-ready infrastructure.

The City partnered with our team to evaluate local development policies and regulations and provide an action plan to integrate smart city solutions. In the first two phases, our funding and financial services teams completed an analysis of priority trends. We also documented case studies and lessons learned from other smart city developments across North America and supported discussions with developers, prospective funding partners, and service and technology providers.

Additionally, we considered a variety of funding options and financial factors when developing recommendations for solution-oriented pilot projects. Our team used our Financial Analysis and Management System (FAMS) to model the City's General Fund. By looking at past trends and making predictions, we estimated the fund balance for the next 10 years. This helped the City quickly evaluate and compare different “what if” revenue and spending plans. We also estimated the initial costs, ongoing expenses, and potential returns from the proposed smart city and new infrastructure features.

In the final phase, we hosted an interactive workshop along with the City to explore next generation scenarios and wrestle with structural, governance, organizational, and scaling challenges.

These efforts culminated in the City’s Future Ready NextGen Infrastructure Action Plan. It will support City personnel as they manage and deploy technology to demonstrate how an innovation-friendly municipality can achieve their vision and set an adaptable path forward.