Tennesseans Fear Smart Cities Will Lead To Travel Restrictions In The Future

Image Credit: Shaundd / CC & Public Domain

The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –

With transportation projects like the one currently underway in Chattanooga that will allow the city to monitor over a 100 “smart city” intersections when complete – the entire downtown area – some Tennesseans question where these initiatives are leading major hubs within the state. Will today’s smart cities become “15-minute cities” in the future?

The installation of 86 smart city intersections will lead to “the largest urban Internet of Things deployment of its kind in the United States,” boasted Seoul Robotics who is partnering with the Chattanooga Department of Innovation Delivery and Performance, and the Center of Urban Informatics and Progress at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

The $4.5 million project is being funded by the Federal Highway Administration through the ATTAIN program with installations beginning this year and continuing into 2024.

Chattanooga will become a “living laboratory” providing researchers with unparalleled mapping and tracking capabilities. While an earlier focus of a 2019 testbed was concerned with safety regarding vulnerable road users, this next phase switches to “next-generation transportation” which includes electric vehicles, and perhaps even automated vehicles.

Chattanooga is currently the only city in Tennessee participating in the G20 Global Smart Cities Alliance, but other major hubs within the state are coming into agreement with the World Economic Forum’s ideals. 

The mayors of Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis are all listed as partnering with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy.

Nashville has earned 4 out of a possible 9 badges, Knoxville has earned 3, and Memphis has also earned 3 badges.

Knoxville made tech upgrades in 2018 as a “first step” towards creating a smart city and Nashville has had a vision for “Music City” to become a smart city since at least 2016.

As with the Global Smart Cities Alliance, cities – under the leadership of these mayors – will rely on lots of data to meet their goals.

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), cities will rely on the Internet of Things (IoT) like the one Chattanooga is building, an “ever-expanding network” of connected devices, to not only collect, but share and analyze data to “combat crime, reduce pollution, decrease traffic congestion, improve disaster preparedness and more.”

Furthermore, the WEF says that thanks to Covid-19 and all of its safety measures and lockdowns, people are now receptive to the concept of living in “15-minute cities.”

These cities will become critical says the WEF, “as climate change and global conflict cause shocks and stresses at faster intervals and increasing severity.” 

What could that mean for Tennessee in the future?

Residents of Oxfordshire, England are being readied for a 15-minute city trial next year in which the councils of both the City of Oxford and the county of Oxfordshire will install “traffic filters” on six roads in Oxford.

While not physical barriers, there will be cameras installed that can read license plates so that if a car drives through the filter too many times a day, they will later receive a fine in the mail. Some residents will be allowed to apply for a permit for up to 100 days a year, while others will be limited to 25 days. Buses, taxis, pedestrians, and cyclists will be free to pass through at all times.

About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.

2 thoughts on “Tennesseans Fear Smart Cities Will Lead To Travel Restrictions In The Future

  • January 10, 2023 at 6:38 pm
    Permalink

    Now is the time to wake up people. This is nothing more than to control every aspect of our lives. By the WEF aka New World Order were one government rules every country. It is happening right before our eyes. Just look at the statements in the article. “The mayors of Nashville, Knoxville and Memphis are all listed as partnering with the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy”. ” According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), cities will rely on the Internet of Things (IoT) like the one Chattanooga is building, an “ever-expanding network” of connected devices, to not only collect, but share and analyze data to “combat crime, reduce pollution, decrease traffic congestion, improve disaster preparedness and more.” “These cities will become critical says the WEF, “as climate change and global conflict cause shocks and stresses at faster intervals and increasing severity.” “While not physical barriers, there will be cameras installed that can read license plates so that if a car drives through the filter too many times a day, they will later receive a fine in the mail. Some residents will be allowed to apply for a permit for up to 100 days a year, while others will be limited to 25 days. Buses, taxis, pedestrians, and cyclists will be free to pass through at all times.”
    You will be told what to do in your LIFE 24/7 365 days. The most telling statement is this one which is called conditioning, “Furthermore, the WEF says that thanks to Covid-19 and all of its safety measures and lockdowns, people are now [RECEPTIVE] to the concept of living in “15-minute cities.”
    “As with the Global Smart Cities Alliance, cities – under the leadership of these mayors – will rely on lots of data to meet their goals.” Control What and where you can go. This is very disturbing. We need to make a stand. Call the state legislators that represent you and tell them. We don’t want or need this in Tennessee. We want to keep our freedoms and not be told by Globalists how to live our lives. These Globalists don’t practice what they preach. Just look how they live. Hypocrites all of them.
    In God we trust not government or man.
    Have a blessed day. I pray Jesus returns soon.

    Reply
  • January 11, 2023 at 3:09 am
    Permalink

    Yes, this will hamper our right to travel, see Lynch V Household Finance, it is unconstitutional.

    LYNCH ET AL.v HOUSEHOLD FINANCE CORP. ET AL.
    No. 70-5058
    Supreme Court of United States.

    “Property does not have rights. People have rights. The right to enjoy property without unlawful deprivation, no less than the right to speak or the right to travel, is in truth a personal right, whether the property in question be a welfare check, a home, or a savings account. In fact, a fundamental interdependence exists between the personal right to liberty and the personal right in property. Neither could have meaning without the other. That rights in property are basic civil rights has long been recognized”

    While the case is not right to travel case it bears heavy on liberty and use current civil rights law to make the decision.

    Reply

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