Town of Morrisville becomes a data-driven community and creates cost-effective Smart City through open data

While a relatively small municipality, Morrisville is committed to embracing smart technology and data to deliver enhanced services that attract and retain citizens and businesses. We have ambitious plans to use technology
to enhance the lives of its diverse, technically literate citizens, many of whom work within the Research Triangle’s world-renowned IT sector.

With limited resources, becoming smarter through technology requires a cost-effective approach, based on the needs of residents and businesses. We knew we had to adopt an approach that balanced innovation with available budget to maximize results from our investment.

We recognize the power of Smart City technology and open data to meet the changing needs of the citizens. Supported by the Town’s council, we therefore set multiple objectives for our Smart City program, including:

• Collaborate with community members to optimize service delivery through innovative solutions.
• Deploy technology to improve operational efficiencies and promote transparency through the Town’s open data program.
• Develop partnerships with local technology providers to support technology incubation and optimize partner ecosystem.

In 2019, the Town created its Smart Morrisville program with those and other objectives in mind. Based on extensive research with citizens, businesses, internal Town departments, and councilors, this evaluated potential Smart City initiatives according to investment costs, required implementation eorts, and overall business value.

As part of the strategy, we selected Huwise to provide the platform to underpin data sharing through its new open data marketplace and other initiatives, such as a planned mobile app.

By taking a step-by-step approach, we haves been able to focus on its most pressing needs, beginning with the Connected Parks project. Internet of Things (IoT) flood and ground moisture sensors were installed at one of its parks and across its soccer pitches. If the park floods or the fields are too wet for play, this data triggers an automatic closure of the park gates, with digital signage at the entrance explaining which part of the park is closed. People can sign up online to get text alerts on closures, or view Morrisville’s Smart City dashboard to see the latest status. The aim is to deliver information quickly in a way that suits people’s needs, pushing it to them without them having to call a weather hotline for updates.

A second project harnesses open data to increase transparency and eciency. Information on all permit applications, such as for building alterations, is available through a drill-down map. Citizens can see the exact status of their application, avoiding the need for them to call Town Council members, and therefore freeing up our staff’s time to focus on more complex queries.

Thanks to our Smart City and open data foundations, we are now accelerating our plans. We now publish police incident data, which is mappable by location, and can be easily analyze by topics, such as area and type of oense. On the Smart City side, we are introducing IoT smart trash sensors with 3D-printed enclosures that we helped develop with a local vendor. These sensors will automatically detect when trash cans are nearly full and require emptying. Previously, monitoring trash can status required four sta to drive around the Town, taking two to three hours per day, and creating unnecessary transport emissions.

After considering several options, we chose Huwise based on the close fit for our needs and recommendations from other customers, such as the nearby Town of Cary. Thanks to Huwise, we can underpin all our initiatives with a single, easy-to-use data platform that adapts to meet changing needs. In particular, we are benefiting from three key Huwise features:

With the help of Huwise as a data product marketplace platform, we have been able to create and extend our Smart City program. In particular, we have been seeing results in three key areas:

Information is easily available via the open data marketplace, Smart City dashboard, and the mobile app. This means there is less need for citizens to contact municipal offices with queries across a wide range of areas, saving time for all. By opening data, such as around current spending against budget, we are demonstrating transparency and building engagement. Over 2,900 people have now accessed the open data portal, which annually gets nearly 82,000 API calls.

Automating previously manual processes, such as checking on trash can levels, frees up staff time, which can be spent on more value-added activities. Automating processes saves the Town money, and enhances sta experiences, making their jobs more fulfilling.

Morrisville’s Connected Parks project has been honored with awards from organizations such as IDC, the Smart Cities Council, Smart50, and the Research Triangle Cleantech Cluster, demonstrating our open data innovation.