Fort Worth’s SMART project earns global Smart 20 Award

Fort Worth's SMART project earns global Smart 20 Award

Published on April 01, 2026

The City of Fort Worth has been recognized on the global stage for its leadership in emerging mobility technologies. The City's SMARTer Weather, Safer Mobility Initiative was named by the organization Smart Cities Connect as one of this year's Smart 20 Award recipients, an honor reserved for the world's most transformative smart city projects.

The award highlights Fort Worth's work to develop an intelligent micro-weather sensor network, a system designed to improve transportation safety and operational reliability for autonomous vehicles, advanced air mobility, drones and traditional roadway users. The project combines low-altitude and surface weather sensors with advanced modeling tools to deliver highly localized, real-time weather information.

Supported by federal investment

In March 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded Fort Worth a Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grant for $2 million to launch the micro-weather sensor network. The City was the only grant recipient from Texas in that application cycle. The City is now exploring Phase II, which would expand the system toward a broader citywide application. There is currently no funding or timeline for Phase II.

Global recognition with local impact

The Smart 20 Awards, presented during the Smart Cities Connect Spring Conference & Expo, in Raleigh, North Carolina, on March 10, recognized projects with municipal-scale impact and application, innovation and cross-sector collaboration. Representing the City at the conference and award ceremony were Kelly Porter, assistant director of Transportation & Public Works (TPW), Regional Transportation & Innovation; Teanna Thompson, senior capital projects officer, TPW; and Gadimi Hilton, transportation communications manager, TPW. Fort Worth's selection underscores the City's growing presence as a leader in innovation, digital infrastructure, intelligent mobility and technology-driven public safety.

Strengthening safety and supporting innovation

The micro-weather sensor network consists of 27 sensors and was deployed in 2025 in an area within the Alliance Texas master-planned development in north Fort Worth. The sensors are compact, non-intrusive and mounted on existing infrastructure such as light poles or rooftops. The data gathered helps the City inform people about changing weather conditions, reducing weather-related risks and improving situational awareness. The project advances the City's Vision Zero commitment to eliminate traffic fatalities and serious injuries by improving real-time weather intelligence for ground and air systems alike. The City partnered with TruWeather Solutions, North Central Texas Council of Governments, Texas Transportation and Hillwood, each contributing to the region's growing network of intelligent transportation initiatives.

• Community Safety
• Transportation
• Innovation