01/31/12 2:00pm

Article By: EarthTechling

January 31, 2012 By Susan DeFreitas

What’s the definition of a smart city? According to San Diego, it’s one that promotes sustainability and the growth of green jobs, as per the city’s Smart City San Diego collaborative.

This group, formed in January 2011, is made up of city of San Diego, GE, UC San Diego, CleanTech San Diego and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), and works to create and implement a wide range of initiatives designed to improve the region’s energy independence while reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and asserting San Diego as a national clean energy leader.

image via Ecotality

Those initiatives read like a laundry list of sustainable measures being taken in a piece-meal fashion elsewhere, including EV charging station infrastructure, smart appliance/smart grid communication systems, cleantech economic development, renewable energy storage research, cleantech-friendly policy development and green job workforce development. Oh, and the city is currently one of the top contenders in the running to host the 2013 Solar Decathlon competition.

The program’s EV infrastructure focus goes beyond just partnering with groups like Ecotality and Coulomb Technologies in putting American Recovery and Reinvestment funds to work, the way so many cities have. Smart City San Diego has been working with Daimler’s Car2Go program to make its San Diego pilot program a success, working collectively to promote participation in the pilot and spur interest in EVs in general, while also using the program to generate data indicating where more EV charging stations are needed.

This is a cross post from EarthTechling.

EarthTechling is an online consumer publication focused on all things green technology. From clean energy and electric vehicles to green gadgets and green buildings, our passionate team and readers weigh in on the latest green news, services, and products.