This academic practice paper describes the design of a new Vertically Integrated Projects course on smart cities at New York University Tandon School of Engineering. It provides an overview of smart cities topics and related project-based design curriculum. The goal of this paper is to make this type of course transferable to other universities. Vertically Integrated Projects, a program based at Georgia Institute of Technology, has expanded to a consortium of 24 universities. The goal of this program is to provide long-term research projects to undergraduate students. Typically, five to thirty students from all grade levels and disciplines work under a faculty advisor on a team project. Sophomore to senior students receive one credit hour per semester and must enroll for at least three consecutive semesters. Requiring multiple semesters helps students to advance the project’s complexity and move through ranks of leadership. Teams recruit students at the sophomore level and can have leaders through the graduate level. This research paper documents the preparation of a Vertically Integrated Projects course focused on creating innovative technology for smart cities initiatives. Four sub-teams will be working on different aspects of smart cities: including quantified cities, autonomous vehicles, connected infrastructure, and shared mobility.