TORONTO, Nov. 25, 2013 /CNW/ - Throughout the year, smart Canada continued its quest to encourage an open dialogue about how citizens can affect positive change in their own cities through the smart city project. This multi-faceted, thought-provoking mission to improve urban environments across Canada has celebrated many successes since its inception. Thousands of ideas have been submitted, and some have already been recognized and implemented. To this day, the smart city project continues to incite an ongoing discussion on how individuals can make cities a better place to live for everyone.
Some major highlights of the initiative so far have included reclaiming a derelict alleyway in downtown Toronto and significantly improving its appearance with beautiful art installations, creating inner-city sanctuaries in Vancouver from the space actual smart owners save when parking their smart fortwos in standard sized parking spots, and the recent installation of solar-powered bus shelters in Québec City and Toronto that enable commuters to charge their mobile devices while waiting for public transit.
The visionary nature of the smart city project was also recently recognized at the Media Innovation Awards in Toronto. This annual gala is designed to identify the best in strategic media thinking and execution, and this year smart captured a gold award for the smart city project's creative use of traditional out-of-home promotion and an additional gold for being the number one brand in the "Cars and Automotive Services" category.
smart has also cultivated strong new partnerships with like-minded organizations through the smart city project. For example, the company supplied smart fortwos to Earth Day Canada Eco Leaders across the country to assist them in their mission of providing environmental education to Canadians. In addition, smart Canada also donated $10 for every test drive to Earth Day Canada's Eco Mentor program in August and September. This helped fund the important work they do including the "Beyond Green Environment" Summit, which explored ways that youth can take an active leadership role in facilitating environmental change.
This past summer, smart was also a proud sponsor of the Urban Ecologies conference at OCAD University. Prior to the conference, students were invited to submit their ideas on how to make cities cleaner and more livable. In the end, OCAD student Max Wessman was awarded a $5,000 prize for designing a thought-provoking project that outlined strategies for adaptive road infrastructure.
"smart has always been a pioneer and leader from the very beginning, and the compact dimensions of the smart fortwo represent the perfect, forward-thinking transportation solution for congested city streets. While every loyal customer already understands how the safe and fuel efficient smart fortwo can simplify urban life, the smart city project's aim was to extend that notion beyond our owners to create an open forum to share ideas that would ultimately make our cities more enjoyable, functional and healthier places for everyone," said Nicole Israng, Head of smart Marketing. "We are extremely proud that the smart city project was so well-received from coast-to-coast. It has also been particularly rewarding to see many of the imaginative and ingenious ideas submitted by Canadians actually be implemented for everyone to enjoy. The creativity has been truly inspiring, and we are all very excited to see what this transformative initiative can yield moving forward."
Further information about the smart fortwo can be found online at www.media.mercedes-benz.ca, www.thesmart.ca, facebook.com/smartCanada and twitter.com/smartCanada.
Image with caption: "smart Canada supplied smart fortwos to Earth Day Canada Eco Leaders across the country to assist them in their mission of providing environmental education to Canadians. (CNW Group/smart Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20131125_C4764_PHOTO_EN_33813.jpg
Image with caption: "As part of the smart City Project, solar-powered bus shelters were recently installed in Québec City and Toronto, and enable commuters to charge their mobile devices while waiting for public transit. (CNW Group/smart Canada)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20131125_C4764_PHOTO_EN_33814.jpg
SOURCE: smart Canada
Contact:
JoAnne Caza
416-847-7550
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Michael Minielly
416-847-7509
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