Cities started looking at flying taxis and crypto

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti unveiled a plan this year to launch a flying taxi service within the next three years. The plan taps Archer Aviation, a California-based aircraft maker, to launch a fleet of electric-powered planes as part of an effort to reduce traffic congestion and emissions. Miami has similar plans to build vertical airports in its urban centers by 2024.

Miami is also leading efforts to embrace cryptocurrency. Mayor Francis Suarez and Chief Information Officer Mike Sarasti are converting portions of their paychecks to bitcoin. Miami has also welcomed the creation of a cryptocurrency dedicated to the city, called MiamiCoin. New York City has its own coin, too, and others are on the way.

Some of the year’s innovations haven’t panned out, though. Blockchain-based technologies have fared poorly in state governments, and Nevada, meanwhile, backed off a concept, called “innovation zones,” that would have allowed corporate interests to own and govern large plots of desert land.