The City of West Hollywood’s Innovation Division has received the American Planning Association Technology Division’s Smart Cities Award for the “WeHo Smart City” strategic plan.
In a statement, the city said: “The WeHo Smart City Strategic Plan is an initiative to holistically weave technology into the fabric of the city to improve the quality of life, health, safety, and economic prosperity of residents. It focuses on optimizing urban systems by using technology and data to improve service delivery and customer satisfaction while creating new opportunities for engagement and problem-solving in the City of West Hollywood.”
The Strategic Plan addresses local and regional urban challenges with a focus on five core subject areas: sustainability, mobility, accessibility, resiliency, and, transparency. Francisco Contreras, the city’s Innovation and Strategic Initiatives manager, will use three core strategies to serve as the framework for the plan:
- bringing data-driven decision-making to departments citywide, such as the introduction of metrics; performance management and dashboards; and data analytics and visualizations;
- supporting collaboration and experimentation and to make it easier for City Hall staff to work together on piloting projects and proof-of-concept trials; and,
- focusing on automating processes for an exceptional customer experience.
“Cities are never finished. Technological changes arrive at a rapid pace, it’s thrilling that the American Planning Association is recognizing the excellent work of the City of West Hollywood as we weave technology safely into the daily lives of our residents and visitors,” said West Hollywood Mayor John D’Amico. “West Hollywood’s Smart City Initiative will help us initiate resident-facing technologies to improve our infrastructure and responsiveness.”
The WeHo Smart City Strategic Plan was developed by the City of West Hollywood in partnership with CityFi LLC, a leader in urban change management, as well as a team comprised of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), Iteris, and Steer Davies Gleave. More information about the city’s plan can be found here.
