2013 Partner: Las Vegas, NV[BETA]
“As the economy shifts toward recovery It’s now time, for us at the City of Las Vegas to get creative. Serving the community will require innovation, critically different thinking and most of all, focus and energy. Participating in the Code for America project will be the catalyst for the city to become a high-tech community-minded model for other cities to emulate.” — Joseph Marcella, CIO, City of Las Vegas
The economic recovery of the city of Las Vegas (CLV) depends heavily on its ability to re-define itself beyond gaming and entertainment. CLV has partnered with locally-based Zappos to reinvest in the downtown area, turning it into a high-tech business incubator and creating a public environment that appeals to a creative and educated core of workers, bringing them to the city center to live, work, and play. CLV and Zappos envision downtown as the focal point to of the city both commercially and governmentally, and the partnership with CfA will help realize this goal by having the fellows provide fresh ideas and perspectives on how to achieve this through the application of social media tools, putting relevant and useful information in the hands of the public 24/7, and creating opportunities for citizens to be activists for their community.
Goal: increase citizen engagement in downtown revitalization
Key Outcomes:
- Development of a comprehensive strategy for how to manage CLV’s presence on social network platforms and harness the energy of social media in revitalization efforts
- Examination and understanding of existing points of citizen engagement
- Development of a streamlined, digital point of access to CLV for citizens
Lead Agency: City of Las Vegas IT Department and Las Vegas Department of Economic Development
Primary City Contacts: Pat Dues (Information Technology Manager), Joe Marcella (CIO), Bill Arent (Chief, Economic Development Department)
Core Partners: Downtown Project, Zappos
