Information technology to be included as “important aspect” of comprehensive plan

In response to community feedback, information technology priorities are being discussed for inclusion in the city’s forthcoming comprehensive plan, a city official said in a Planning Commission meeting Wednesday.
“There’s quite a lot of feedback and discussions we had in the Utilities section about including more information about how information technology, as a utility, going forward, will really be an important aspect,” said Alan Urek, director of the strategic planning and policy division of the Planning Commission.
The Commission also announced that the comprehensive plan, known as Philadelphia 2035, will likely be renamed to The Comprehensive Plan/Citywide Vision, according to a report from PlanPhilly.
As we reported earlier this month, Urek said that the Commission sees opportunity in short-term policy goals like shrinking the digital divide.
At the Commission meeting, Urek mentioned looking into digital divide issues, “[particular] to some of the places that we called out, like in the North Broad area around Temple University.”
The Commission is still accepting comments on the Philadelphia2035 draft until next Friday, April 29, should you not have had a chance to submit to our inquiry.
Video and more after the jump.

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Urek, at the Planning Commission meeting. Information technology detail at the 7:00 mark.
In late March, Technically Philly offered the Commission a series of recommendations for inclusion in the plan which was solicited from our readers, including the expansion of citizen access to broadband and the utilization and improvement of existing city network infrastructure.
Late last month, interim Chief Technology Officer Tommy Jones was spurned by City Council President Anna Verna for the poor internet connectivity at City Hall, according to a report from NewsWorks. And as we reported, fixing the city network is the top priority for the Division of Technology.