The City of Chula Vista was named the inaugural winner of the Smart City Blueprint Award at the CityLaunch 2019 conference on March 11.

The award recognizes the city’s innovation in creating and implementing the Chula Vista Smart City Strategic Action Plan, which was published in September 2017. The plan identifies how the city will integrate new technology and data tools into city efforts to grow the economy, engage the community, improve government efficiency and enhance the quality of life for all Chula Vista residents.

“With so many cities across the country working to become smarter and better connected, it is quite an honor to be singled out and recognized for our strategy,” said Chief Sustainability Officer Dennis Gakunga. “Developing and implementing this plan is a reflection of the continued hard work and commitment from our staff, elected officials, and community.”

The CityLaunch conference, hosted by the Connected Communities Collaborative, drew over 200 attendees and presenters, including academics, elected officials and staff from cities and regional agencies across the United States.

The Smart City Blueprint Award recognizes excellence in city plans and roadmaps that use technology and data to increase the quality of life for citizens and support local innovation and digital equity. Submissions were assessed by a panel of smart and connected community leaders from the public, private and non-profit sectors.

Chula Vista’s Smart City Strategic Action Plan has previously won awards from the American Planning Association’s Technology Division as well as Smart Cities Connect. Additionally, earlier this month, the California Police Chiefs Association gave the 2019 Excellence in Technology Award to the Chula Vista Police Department for its Drone as First Responder program.