Arlington's innovative operations and asset management system, used by the Parks and Recreation Department, Public Works and Transportation and Water Utilities, received one of the IDC Government Insights' inaugural Smart Cities North America Awards this week.
These new awards were designed to recognize the progress North American communities have made in executing Smart Cities projects, as well as provide a forum for sharing best practices to help accelerate Smart City development in the region. Winners were named in 14 categories. Arlington and 15 other cities will be honored at the Smart Cities New York event in May.
The City of Arlington implemented a comprehensive system to manage more than 50,000 assets, including roads, signs, playgrounds, water/irrigation and all aspects of operations from equipment to labor. Approximately 200 city employees use the system on mobile devices. As a result, the City has improved flood response, equipment usage, criminal trespass warnings, volunteer hours and more.
"One of the Arlington City Council's priorities is 'Put Technology to Work, which commits our City to deliver better services to the community by improving our efficiency and responsiveness," said Dan Withers, Parks and Recreation Asset Manager. "The City's comprehensive operations and asset management system provides us with real-time data, allowing us to work smarter and make informed decisions when it comes to maintaining our streets, parks, and water and sanitary sewer infrastructure."
IDC Government Insights said award winners illustrate best practice examples of urban innovation with a particular focus on the use of technology (cloud, platforms, analytics, IoT, mobile solutions) and data, unique partnerships, funding models and/or community involvement.
"The overwhelming positive response to our inaugural Smart Cities North America Awards has been encouraging as winners represent the most innovative smart city projects, implemented across the country, designed to improve our cities for the betterment of its citizens," said Ruthbea Yesner, Vice President, IDC Government Insights and Smart Cities Strategies. "We are thrilled to promote their success and offer a forum for this community to share best practices and lessons learned as government officials look to replicate similar projects in their own municipalities."
Put Technology to Work
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