The Center for Digital Government ranked Charlottesville fourth in its list of top 10 digital cities - up one spot from last year - in the category of cities with a population of 30,000 to 74,999.
The higher ranking can partly be attributed to improved Internet technologies accessible to city residents, according to the Center's rankings released Thursday.
In light of the current economy, this year's digital cities survey focused on how cities can use technology to provide services to residents while spending less money, said Janet Grenslitt, surveys and awards director for the Center.
The survey assessed key factors such as the cities' online service delivery implementation, infrastructure, architecture and planning measures.
"Our purpose is to showcase city government and how well governments are using digital technology to serve their citizens," Grenslitt said.
Among the technologies that helped Charlottesville gain the fourth spot on the annual list are the increased use of broadband wireless internet and social networking.
As a result of technological innovation, Charlottesville residents can now make use of city services from home, Charlottesville spokesperson Ric Barrick said. For example, residents can pay taxes online and order services such as trash removal, recycling and reparation of potholes instead of coming to City Hall to complete those same tasks. This use of technology allows city officials to provide the same level of service with fewer staff members, Barrick said.
In addition to paying taxes and ordering services, area transit users can also use a recently implemented online GPS systems to track buses from their computers. Technology is also used to provide online access to local government meetings, which are streamed online.
"The community wants more access to the government," Barrick said.
Other planned projects include putting police data online, Barrick added. The data would include both reported crimes as well as positive developments in particular areas.
The city's high ranking is nothing new. Charlottesville has been ranked in the Center's top 10 for the past five years, and Barrick said he is optimistic about the city's progress in the digital realm.
"We are often ahead of the curve," Barrick said.
Flower Mound, Texas, Jupiter, Fla. and Manchester, Conn. took the top three spots in the same population category, respectively, while Lynchburg - the only other Virginia city in the top 10 - ranked seventh.
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