Mobile in Top 10 Digital Cities Survey

Dec 8th, 2003

The City of Mobile has gained national recognition for being one of the top ten most digital-savvy cities of its size in the country. According to a 2003 Digital Cities Survey, an annual study conducted by the Center for Digital Government Mobile scored will on progressing in utilizing information technology to streamline operations and deliver quality service to citizens. Mayors, city managers and chief information officers in more than 300 cities across the nation were invited to participate in the survey which grouped cities into three categories based on population: 250,000 or more; 125,000-249,000; and 75,000-124,999.

Tampa, Florida retains its number one ranking from the 2002 survey in the big cities category. Fort Wayne, Indiana moves from third to number one in the 125,000-249,999 population; and Roanoke, Virginia holds on to the number one position for cities with populations of 75,000-125,000.

Mobile falls into the middle category, with a population between 125,000-249,999. The city tied for ninth place with Madison, Wisconsin. "We are really proud of our progress", said Mobile Mayor Mike Dow. "We are using our city web site to make it easier for our citizens to gain access to services and information with the click of a button." Mayor Dow says he looks forward to Mobile moving higher in the survey rankings next year. "We don"t intend to stay tied in 9th place, we intend to take on the number one contender."

This year"s survey received a record number of responses from cities large and small. According to the executive director of the Center for Digital Government the reason is nearly every city that participated has made great progress in improving their business functions with customers and increasing their overall service delivery to citizens - all with the support of technology.