Roanoke Ranked a Top Digital City

For the 14th consecutive year, Roanoke has been honored for technology in government. 

The Center for Digital Government has named the top-ranked cities in its 2014 Digital Cities Survey, and Roanoke landed in the 3rd position in cities with a population between 75,000 and 124,999. Roanoke jumped significantly in this year’s rankings; the city placed 9th in last year’s survey. 

The annual survey focuses on collaboration among cities, counties and regions. Open to all U.S. cities, this year’s survey questions targeted which initiatives cities were most proud of in the areas of citizen engagement, policy, operations, and technology and data. The top 10-ranked cities will be honored at a special awards ceremony during the National League of Cities’ annual conference in Austin on November 20th.  

“Technology is an essential part of Roanoke’s future success, and we applaud the work and acumen of our Technology staff, which has consistently earned us a ranking among the top cities in the country,” says City Manager Chris Morrill.

Here is what the Center said about the role of technology and digital assets in Roanoke’s government: 

“Among the innovative initiatives in the digital city of Roanoke, Va., is the use of predictive crime analysis, with iStar, which stands for intelligence, statistics, technology, analysis and research. The program allows Roanoke police to focus their resources based on detailed crime patterns. Roanoke’s IT governance board in 2014 added an innovation fund which makes $10,000 or less available for one-time project costs for creative uses of technology to increase efficiency. So far, monies have gone toward library self-checkout stations and an iPad-based mobile real estate inspection program. Judges also noted Roanoke’s unique pavement management system, which cataloged the city’s 557 lane miles using high-res panoramic images and 3-D pavement distress data in order to assign ratings and generate a multi-year pavement management strategy.”

To see the full results of the survey >>>