Jeff Sheffield | The Pulse Behind a Smart City

Jeff Sheffield is obsessed with the future of cities. He wants to ensure Jacksonville is positioned to be a “smart” city that uses tech solutions to confront city planning challenges. He believes that by embracing smart technology in all sectors of our region — health and human services, transportation, public safety, energy, etc. — we can apply what we learn to solve problems and improve our quality of life. By eliminating the traditional silos that prevent collaboration between government agencies and private sector partners, we can create a Jacksonville that is safer, more efficient, more sustainable, economically competitive, and that provides multi-modal transportation options that are accessible, reliable, affordable, and encourage commerce. Today, he’s challenging tech professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors to commit to collaborating and innovating right here in North Florida: recognize a community problem you want to solve and apply emerging technologies to solve it using the data available in the public space.

Jeff Sheffield

Jeff Sheffield, a 27-year transportation professional, is the executive director of the independent four-county North Florida Transportation Planning Organization (North Florida TPO) handling transportation planning and prioritizing in the region. He has a Master of Science in urban planning from Florida State University.

In his role, Mr. Sheffield leads regional coordination and policy development and oversees project management for the many short and long-term programs and studies prescribed by federal law.

Working with partner agencies, Sheffield has championed results-oriented investment in intelligent transportation systems (ITS), traffic incident management, safety, bicycle and pedestrian planning, freight and logistics planning, Clean Fuels Coalition, and multi-modal mobility improvements. Most recently, Sheffield has focused on implementing North Florida TPO’s Smart Region Master Plan that uses innovative and emerging technologies to collect, analyze and apply data from many sources to enhance the region’s economic vitality and quality of life. This includes developing an integrated data exchange (IDE) and the Bay JAX Innovation Corridor. The Florida Transportation Commission has cited the North Florida TPO as the model for regional transportation planning organizations. Sheffield is also a frequent speaker and panel moderator on infrastructure and other transportation topics.