Updated: May 10, 2013 – 3:00 p.m.
Fresno mayor Ashley Swearengin said today that the recommendations from the experts from the IBM Smarter Cities Challenge grant provide a "solid roadmap" for Fresno to develop and revitalize its neighborhoods.
A team of six IBM experts worked for three weeks in April and May on three main challenges in Fresno identified by Swearengin. The challenges were to revitalize the Downtown Fulton Mall area, use broadband to expand downtown economic growth and better use data that the city has at its disposal.
The IBM team recommended that the Fulton Mall should add cultural events and open public food markets to increase traffic to the area, and that local businesses should use social media to reach out to a wider audience. They suggested a CitiStat Model, which allows city officials to share and track data on the city’s development.
The team also suggested a city branding campaign to attract businesses, agricultural technology firms and Millenials to the city, with a particular focus on the agriculture firms by partnering with the Department of Agriculture.
"Their recommendations in many ways support the work that the city has already started, and the team’s emphasis on engaging young professionals to embrace their future is an ideal fit for our revitalization efforts," Swearengin said in a press release.
