Washington, D.C., could be a leader in the United States — and worldwide — in using technology to improve the lives of its residents and visitors.
As a rapidly growing city with a diverse and highly educated population, the District is a leader in law, education, tourism and, of course, government. With this mass of educated and engaged citizens, the District can use technology to make local government more efficient and promote the further development of vibrant commercial corridors across the city.
That’s why the District government should join other leading cities in establishing an office dedicated to tech-based solutions to local, urban problems.
The networks that communities use to share information and facilitate commerce have evolved across U.S. history from waterways to railroads to broadband. As the Georgetown waterfront was once a profitable international shipping hub, cities today are leveraging their advantages to attract technology innovators. In Boston, for example, the mayor’s office found partners for its civic technology incubator (the Office of New Urban Mechanics) at Harvard University and Emerson College. Kansas City won a contest and became the first city where Google built its super-high-speed Internet service. And New York City, under the leadership of tech-savvy mayor Michael Bloomberg, developed in 2011 a “Road Map for the Digital City” to establish itself as a world leader in Internet access, open government, citizen engagement and digital industry growth.
True to the District’s status as a world political capital, the leaders in the city’s government, business and educational institutions should work together to benefit the region’s civic and economic future:
● The next mayor must establish a unified program housed in the mayor’s office and focused on using technology, data and innovation to make the city’s government more efficient and responsive to residents’ needs. Initiatives, perhaps similar to Boston’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, should be developed and executed in partnership with local companies, universities and nonprofits.
● Within such a program, the businesses and government could systematically encourage and support new grass-roots organizations similar to the Kennedy Street Development Association, which is using Facebook and Twitter to recruit residents and businesses, and whose investments signal the rebranding of an ailing commercial corridor as a lively mixed commercial and residential neighborhood. Memphis’s MEMShop business incubation program is a good model.
● Critical support for such a unified program is locally available because many global experts on telecommunications and Internet policy are already here. The District’s business leaders could easily engage this brain trust in developing technology policies and regulations that support growing broadband infrastructure and foster economic growth resulting from proven applications, such as Uber, Lyft and Airbnb.
By taking the lead on civic innovation, the District could be a template for other governments in the area. As the whole region shares information, researchers, local companies and governments can come together to tackle some of the biggest challenges we face, such as homelessness, education and transportation. With this spirit of collaboration, local Washington, D.C., can be a model for the federal D.C.
