News

Aurora city council approves downtown kiosks from Smart City Media

November 5, 2018

The city council in Aurora, Illinois, has approved an agreement with New York-based Smart City Media to add information kiosks, possibly starting as early as the spring of 2019, according to a report in Government Technology.

The 11–0 vote, with one abstention, moved forward a proposed rollout of kiosks that the city hopes will boost foot traffic and enhance the downtown area. The mayor’s office initiated the plan for a kiosk rollout based on a desire to convert River Edge Park into a "smart park." Officials considered multiple companies, including Smart City, which was responsible for the implementation of smart kiosks at Kansas City International Airport and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, according to the report.

Downtown business officials expressed a concern that the Smart City initiative might hurt business by offering advertising focused on national rather than local businesses, the report said. However the agreement now calls for only 40 percent of advertising to be focused on national business, with the remaining focused on local.