NextEnergy is developing MiNextCities—

one smart city

at a time

Smart.

Sustainable.

Reliable.

Equitable.

These are MiNextCities.

MiNextCities is driving a sustainable future by engaging cities and towns statewide to identify and deploy tailored smart city solutions that enhance quality of life, attract talent and business, improve infrastructure, reduce emissions, and reinvent our places.

As part of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s Catalyst Communities Initiative, this three-year program will develop, design, and drive input for an ultimate smart city roadmap. This roadmap will provide a consistent process small to midsized Michigan cities can use to craft successful, sustainable solutions that are customized to meet their unique needs.

Our goals

Identify and deploy tailored smart city solutions

Equitably distribute access and benefits among residents

Provide a roadmap for implementing similar solutions across Michigan

The work begins in Dearborn, Flint, and Marquette.

Learn more about our inaugural cities

Meet the team

NextEnergy is a leader in deploying smart city technologies in real-world environments and has a proven track record of quickly scaling solutions. With its extensive technical expertise and partnership network, NextEnergy serves as the prime program contactor and spearheads the program management, solution deployment, and research for MiNextCities.

Public Sector Consultants is a nonpartisan public policy research and consulting firm with vast experience in stakeholder and community engagement to support program development, facilitation, research, and community outreach. The firm has developed numerous roadmaps and best practice guides for multistakeholder initiatives and leads the engagement work for MiNextCities.

MiNextCities is supported by an advisory group composed of state government entities, industry representatives, and business associations. The group provides strategic guidance and feedback on program design.