A group of universities in Florida, New Jersey and New York announced last week they are forming a federally funded center to research “smart streetscapes.”

The Engineering Research Center for Smart Streetscapes will explore improvements related to road safety and traffic efficiency, public safety, assistive technologies, the future of outdoor work and hyper-local environments. Researchers plan to partner with municipal agencies and community organizations in West Palm Beach, Florida; New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Harlem, New York.

The center’s leaders have taken into account lessons from past smart cities projects’ pitfalls, said Jason Hallstrom, the center’s deputy director and chief research officer…

The center is funded by the National Science Foundation for the next five years with $26 million, with the potential to renew for another five years thereafter. Columbia University, Florida Atlantic University, Lehman College, Rutgers University and the University of Central Florida are the center partners.