Whisper Valley Named Winner in Smart Cities North America Awards
AUSTIN, Texas – March 27 2024 – Whisper Valley today announced it has been named a winner in IDC Government Insights’ seventh annual Smart Cities North America Awards (SCNAA). Whisper Valley was recognized for achievement and design in the Smart Buildings category.
The awards were designed to recognize the progress North American states and municipalities have made in executing Smart Cities projects, as well as provide a forum for sharing best practices to help accelerate Smart City development in the region. Winners will be honored at Smart Cities Connect conference and expo held May 7-10, 2024, at the Raleigh Convention Center in Raleigh, NC.
Winners in the SCNAA illustrate best practice examples of how forward-thinking municipalities are effectively leveraging technology and innovation to offer sustainable, new services and economic opportunities to meet the needs and expectations of diverse communities.
In Whisper Valley’s case, many new building codes across the nation are requiring builders to build homes that are zero energy ready in just a few years. However, getting homes zero energy ready through home construction techniques and materials alone is so expensive, it’s out of the reach of the majority of the homebuyers.
Whisper Valley, a 2,067-acre master-planned community in Austin, TX, is the first master-planned community to showcase this innovative green infrastructure. It is the nation’s largest sustainable master-planned community. To accomplish this, developer Taurus Investment Holdings, Inc. created an affiliate company called EcoSmart Solution, a green energy provider offering a comprehensive solution based on this geothermal infrastructure installed up front like other utilities.
This innovative developer has become a leader in sustainable development by installing a revolutionary new geothermal infrastructure – the GeoGrid™ – that is easy for homebuilders to tap into – which allows them to deliver zero energy capable homes affordably to the mass market. Priced from the $200s, these homes make a sustainable lifestyle available to all income levels- not just the affluent homebuyer.
“Our annual Smart Cities North America Awards recognize the best of the best among smart city initiatives and unlike anything else in the industry, provide a blueprint for government officials looking to execute similar projects,” said Ruthbea Yesner, Vice President, IDC Government Insights and Smart Cities and Communities Strategies. “We congratulate the winners on their unwavering dedication to executing compelling projects from start to finish – leveraging cutting edge technology to offer sustainable, new services and economic opportunities and enhancing the lives of citizens.