Smart City Strategy for Residents' Engagement
Focused on the idea that the use of information and communication technology can enhance the quality of services, transform city operations and infrastructure, engage citizens and accelerate innovation, the City of Doral adopted the Smart City approach since the strategic planning session of June 2015.
The Information Technology in 2016, destined to upgrade the technology infrastructure of the City of Doral, budgeted to enhance the network systems, upgrade of devices, purchase of traffic safety technology and the implementation of the Digital Citizen Engagement System.
This Citizens’ Engagement strategy has involved the completion of many technology projects, including the deployment of license plate cameras for traffic monitoring; the development of new applications for real time informational services for citizens and the update of the website and the technology for the 311 system, which allows residents to request information from different departments form the City as well as to communicate their needs and report events.
Doral wants to deliver innovative services that reduce cost and increase impact. The goal of building a Smart City is to improve the quality of life by using technology to improve the efficiency of services and meet residents’ needs.
A smart city uses information and communications technology to enhance its livability, workability and sustainability. To that end the technology allows the organization to collect information about its operation through different sensors; next that data is communicated to the information systems that process and ‘crunch’ it, analyzing the information collected to understand what is happening, initiate responsive actions and even predict what is likely to happen next. These are the core functions we follow when implementing new technologies in the City of Doral.
The interaction of residents with the new information platform on the website was developed to be a one-stop shop, allowing the possibility of registering to receive updates using widely used social media applications. It also can be accessed through home or mobile devices with a consistent user interface.
The City’s eServices Portal makes the online experience more convenient and accessible for its residents. The end result is a more interactive environment that will enable residents to access their specific city related information on the device of their choosing. The City’s Website eServices provides a “Residents 1st” experience and address the critical need to improve resident access, business intelligence, service delivery and efficiency while reducing costs for the City.