Toyota Mobility Foundation Selects Varanasi For $9 Million Sustainable Cities Challenge
The Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) has recently announced that they have selected Varanasi to host the Toyota Mobility Foundation’s $9 million Sustainable Cities Challenge.
Other than Varanasi, Venice and Detroit have also been selected to host the massive event. The Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF) organises the Sustainable Cities Challenge in order to move towards sustainable mobility for a healthier and safer environment.
This event will also invite innovators and technicians from all around the world to provide solutions to the specific mobility obstacles that are present in these global cities. The selected cities have been shortlisted from a list of 10 cities that were announced in November last year. These cities will be launching their own ‘City Challenges’ that will invite innovators to work with them.
Talking about Varanasi, the city will start its City Challenge on June 27, 2024. It is one of the most popular heritage sites and is known as the ‘Spiritual Capital of India’. The city has an influx of tourists, which has led to concerns about safety and crowding. Overall, the main aim of the City Challenge is to generate data-driven solutions that enhance safety and accessibility for both religious tourists and local residents in the city.
As reported by ET Auto, Akshat Verma, who is the Municipal Commissioner of Varanasi, stated, “This initiative offers us a valuable chance to explore technical and design-related avenues for enhancing mobility within our city. By collaborating with innovative minds, we aim to bolster Varanasi’s reputation as a premier global tourist destination.”
Talking about Detroit, the main aim of the City Challenge organised by TMF is to provide sustainable mobility solutions for the eastern market. They will be planning to cut fossil fuel use and reduce the costs of freight operations by using cleaner technologies. The City Challenge has already been launched on May 29, 2024.
For Venice, TFM seeks innovative solutions to encourage the use of existing sustainable transport modes, enhancing the overall mobility landscape. The City Challenge will begin on June 11, 2024.
Innovators and technicians will come from all over the world, but their solutions must always be tailored to the problems of an individual city. Those solutions that are considered best as per the needs of each city will be selected by late 2024. They will also be given a share of the $3 million per city innovation grant for demonstration and pilot testing.
