City Detect

About City Detect

CityDetect is an innovative startup based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, specializing in the automatic detection of urban blight and decay using advanced technology. The company employs cameras and artificial intelligence (AI) to identify signs of neglect in city environments, such as boarded-up windows, damaged roofs, missing street signs, overgrown foliage, and potholes. By attaching proprietary cameras to municipal vehicles, CityDetect captures images of properties as the vehicles move through the city. These images are then processed using deep learning software, which is a type of AI that can learn and make decisions from large amounts of data.

CityDetect primarily serves city governments and municipal code enforcement agencies. The company’s main product is a comprehensive blight report, which helps cities identify and address areas of urban decay more efficiently and equitably. Traditional methods of identifying blight are often subjective and inconsistent, but CityDetect’s systematic approach ensures uniformity and fairness across different city districts.

The startup operates in the urban management and smart city market, which focuses on using technology to improve city living conditions and governance. CityDetect’s business model is service-based, earning revenue by providing tailored blight detection reports to city clients. These reports help cities enforce codes more effectively, leading to better-maintained urban environments.

Currently, CityDetect is operational in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Springfield, Illinois, and is looking to expand to additional pilot cities. Since its inception, the company has taken over a million pictures of 60,000 properties and identified more than 670 blighted properties for its clients.