Seventy-seven cities have submitted applications for the first-of-its-kind U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Smart City Challenge, which seeks to create an innovative, fully integrated model community that uses data, technology and creativity to shape how people and goods move in the future.

The winning city will be awarded up to $40 million from DOT to implement data-driven ideas that make transportation safer, easier and more reliable. Additionally, Paul Allen’s Vulcan Inc. has announced its intent to award up to $10 million to the challenge winner to support electric vehicle deployment and other carbon emission reduction strategies.

Mid-sized cities face rapid population gains and demands on their transportation infrastructure. Image credit: DOT.DOT developed the Smart City Challenge as a response to trends identified in its Beyond Traffic draft report. That report, issued in February of 2015, found that the U.S.' aging infrastructure is not equipped to deal with dramatically growing populations in various regions throughout the country. Many communities—particularly mid-sized cities—will experience rapid population increases and fast-growing demands on their transportation infrastructure in the next few decades, the study found.

The agency's Smart City Challenge is designed to help cities begin to address the challenges these trends present. In particular, DOT is looking at how to integrate multiple innovations such as automated vehicles, the sharing economy and other technologies into a network that connects people in an intelligent transportation system.

Five finalists will be announced at SXSW in Austin, Texas on March 12, 2016, and each will receive $100,000 to hone their proposal and develop applications for the final selection process, scheduled for June. Vulcan will be working with DOT to assist the five finalist cities with technical guidance.