e.Republic, a California-based media and research company focused exclusively on state and local government, has included Baton Rouge on its annual listing of the nation’s top cities for implementing new technology services.
Baton Rouge is ranked No. 10 among cities with populations between 125,000 and 249,999 on e.Republic’s 2015 Digital Cities Survey, released today. The company cites the Open Data BR website Baton Rouge launched in January as one of the main reasons for the city’s inclusion.
“Open Data BR … has quickly become a popular destination for citizens, receiving more than 100,000 page views in its first two weeks of operation,” reads the report. “Data sets from the site have been used by civic hackers to create multiple crime tracking apps, the city says. Open Data also is the foundation for a city-created web app that lets users examine the city’s overall budget and departmental spending down to individual line items like overtime for police officers or specific capital projects.”
Now in its 15th year, the Digital Cities Survey is part of e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government’s Digital Communities program and is open to all U.S. cities. The survey focuses on 10 initiatives across four categories: citizen engagement, policy, operations, and technology and data. Responses are reviewed and judged based on a set of criteria and how well the cities implemented technology services across the entire city. The annual survey recognizes leading examples of cities using technology to improve services and boost efficiencies.
Along with Open Data BR, Baton Rouge also launched Open Budget BR this year, as well as a new Geographic Information System map portal. Most recently, the Metro Council approved spending $94,327 to update its GIS mapping data and include a new feature that will show building heights.
“These past several years, we have been laser-focused on identifying ways that we can leverage emerging technologies and digital platforms to increase the efficiency of how we provide services to and better engage with the citizens of Baton Rouge,” says Mayor Kip Holden in a prepared statement. “It hasn’t been an easy process, but today’s announcement that Baton Rouge is now included among some of the most digitally advanced cities in the nation is validation that our efforts have been well worth it.”
