digitalcitiessurvey17

digitalcitiessurvey17

The City of Long Beach was named a Top 10 Digital City for the seventh year in a row in a nationwide survey highlighting municipalities that “best demonstrate how information and communication technologies are used to enhance public service,” the city announced today.

“Across Long Beach we are building a stronger and more accessible digital city. That’s why for us technology and innovation are at the core of our city-wide strategy,” Mayor Robert Garcia said in a statement. “Being recognized as a top 10 Digital City is not only a source of pride, but also an affirmation that we are working hard on these challenges.”

The designation was based on the city’s progress in building a fully integrated smart digital city, which included: (bullets)

  • Making enhancements to its open data government portal, OpenLB, to provide easy access to statistics and other data from all City departments. This feature enables users to create new information, collaborate with one another, and share insights using data that was previously difficult to access. There are over 80 data sets on the site.
  • Refining the new online engagement portal, BizPort , funded by a Bloomberg Philanthropies  grant. The portal enables businesses and investors to find information to seamlessly open a business. BizPort won the Center for Digital Government’s Government Experience Award in September for Government-to-Business Experience.
  • Creating a robust campaign aimed at educating staff and residents via social media and local TV about cybersecurity best practices. The City also added a Cyber Risk position that is responsible for developing and implementing an integrated cybersecurity approach to ensure data and identities are properly authenticated, authorized and audited.
  • Producing videos for City departments in response to research showing visitors are three times more likely to watch a video for information. Nineteen of the City’s 23 departments now have active Facebook pages and regularly post video to 12 different YouTube channels.

“Using technology and data to improve City services, creates new opportunities and better connects our community, which is why we are so committed to innovation in Long Beach,” the city’s Chief Information Officer Bryan Sastokas said in a statement. “This recognition as a national leader in technology is a confirmation of our team’s dedication and creativity to the evolving needs of our residents and businesses.”

The survey classifies cities in five population groups, with the City of Long Beach falling under the 250,000 – 499,999 category where the city ranked sixth alongside the City of Chandler, Arizona. Long Beach placed behind the Cities of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Durham, North Carolina; Greensboro, North Carolina; Kansas City, Missouri; Sacramento, California; Omaha, Nebraska; and Riverside, California, while scoring higher than the Cities of Atlanta, Georgia; Mesa, Arizona; Cincinnati, Ohio and Henderson, Nevada.

“This year’s leading digital cities are leveraging technology to connect disadvantaged citizens with critical information and services, promote citizen inclusion in important government processes and share government data with the public,” Teri Takai, executive director of the Center for Digital Government, said in a statement. “Thanks to the efforts of these innovative cities, citizens can now meaningfully interact with city government more easily than in any other time in history. Congratulations to the winners!”

Conducted by the Center for Digital Government and now in its 17th year, the annual survey recognizes cities using technology to improve citizen services, enhance transparency and encourage citizen engagement, according to the release.

Asia Morris is a Long Beach native covering arts and culture for the Long Beach Post. You can reach her @hugelandmass on Twitter and Instagram and at [email protected].