The beauty of technology lies in its ability to make something magnificent out of the mundane. Take, for example, the transformation of the telephone into a mini, portable computer. A similar transformation is just around the corner, so to speak, for something equally familiar: the city street.


According to the market research firm, Navigant, smart street technology is about to experience a convergence of innovation, which could translate into tremendous growth for the industry. In its December report, “Smart Street Management,” the firm outlines a number of factors contributing to this development.


Streets are a symbol of the possibilities and challenges of urban life, as well as the technological changes in American cities today. Navigant describes streets as, “not just a point of physical connection, but also a point of virtual connection to a wide range of service providers and information sources.”


Increasingly, streets are furnished with an array of overlapping and interconnected technologies, including intelligent street lights; smart parking systems; sensor-enabled waste containers; sensors that monitor air quality, noise pollution, flooding and other hazards; and CCTV and other systems that provide a variety of information, data and services.


According to Navigant, the deployment of digital technologies is changing how everyone experiences streets, including pedestrians, drivers, city workers and the municipal governments that manage them. The general development of smart cities and the emergence of the Internet of Things will drive rapid market growth for smart street management over the next decade. Navigant projects global smart street management revenue to grow from $552.2 million in 2015 to $5.3 billion in 2024.