If we want to keep pushing the leading edge of the Internet of Things and Smart Cities, the world’s leading technology companies are going to play an integral part.

IBM, a strong player in the IoT and Smart City space, has continued to generate positive headlines by pushing the frontier forward. Its latest comes in the form of an announcement that 16 more cities have obtained Smarter Cities Challenge grants. (You can see the list of cities below.)

The business world – and the rest of the world – is recognizing how the IoT lifestyle can improve city life. From Fybr’s perspective, sensors and smart parking can lead the way to improving the communities where we live and work. Imagine being able to pull directly into an unoccupied parking space and pay for it without any further thought – no need to circle the block or feed the meter.

The chosen cities – there will be more than 160 by the middle of next year, Smart Cities Council says in this article about IBM – will benefit from consulting services from IBM experts, as well as the debut use of its professional version of Watson Analytics, which will look to unearth trends in cities’ data. IBM says Watson could study travel patterns, public health or the effects of man-made and weather events.

Smart Cities make us cleaner, greener, safer and even more efficient. We recognize it. We’re glad global technology leaders recognize it. And we’re glad you recognize it, too. (You ARE reading this post, after all!)

The list of cities IBM picked for this year’s grants:

  • Allahabad, India
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands
  • Athens, Greece
  • Denver, Colorado
  • Detroit, Michigan
  • Huizhou, China
  • Melbourne, Australia
  • Memphis, Tennessee
  • Rochester, New York
  • San Isidro, Peru
  • Santiago, Chile
  • Sekondi, Ghana
  • Surat, India
  • Taichung, Taiwan
  • Vizag, India
  • Xuzhou, China