Alexandria tabbed as ‘top tech city’

The port city of Alexandria, Va., was named one of the top ten tech cities in the U.S. by a group focused on civic tech.

It held the number 10 spot among cities with a population of 125,000-250,000 in the annual Digital Cities Survey by the Center for Digital Government. Alexandria, which was the only DMV locality recognized, will be recognized for the award at the National League of Cities conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Nov. 16. 

Alexandria, which neighbors D.C., has made it to top 10 over the last 13 years in its population category, and has reached first place twice in efforts to engage its citizens through tech.

“This year’s leading digital cities are leveraging technology to connect disadvantaged citizens with critical information and services, promote citizen inclusion in important government processes and share government data with the public,” said Teri Takai, executive director of the Center for Digital Government, said in a statement. “Thanks to the efforts of these innovative cities, citizens can now meaningfully interact with city government more easily than in any other time in history.”

The city is spending $52 million on information technology over the next decade, including enhancements and applications to the city’s website and updating its Call.Click.Connect app, which coordinates public requests for service.

“Once again, Alexandria has been recognized as a public technology leader,” Alexandria City Manager Mark Jinks said in a statement. “To remain a leader in delivering convenient and cost-effective services to our community, we should continue to support technology initiatives and accelerate additional investments.”