Alcorn to Pursue ‘Smart Community’ Strategies, Emerging Technology Benefits

It’s no secret that Northern Virginia is well-known for being a technology corridor.

Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn (D) is looking for ways to bring the benefits of emerging technologies to all residents.

In a board matter proposed this week, Alcorn says he wants to find ways to promote innovative and equitable technologic Fairfax County.

Here’s more from the board matter:

Beyond our internal investments in GIS, other examples of our leadership in advancing technology include these initiatives championed through our Economic Advisory Commission (EAC):

• Our pilot with Dominion Energy is the first state-funded connected autonomous vehicle (CAV) public transportation demonstration in Virginia.
• Testing of driverless cars, by public and private entities, on our more than 70 miles of “connected corridors” in the county.
• The county’s state-funded efforts to attract and retain workers for high-demand IT positions, including cybersecurity.   
• Our partnership with Smart City Works and Refraction utilizing their $750,000 federal grant to increase regional capacity to bring technologies to market and grow innovative companies.

To complement these EAC activities we can also do more to promote innovative and equitable technology in Fairfax County. The Board’s IT Committee, which I now chair, provides an excellent opportunity for board members to explore how we can use technology more efficiently and ensure that our residents also benefit from new technology.

In concert with the efforts by the county’s EAC and the Economic Development Authority (EDA) to encourage emerging technology companies, it is also important that we look to bring the benefits of safe and consumer-friendly emerging technologies to our residents as consumers.  And we should do so with an equity lens in mind so that residents who are in most need of the efficiencies and cost reductions often associated with these innovations actually receive the benefits.

The board is expected to discuss ways to promote emerging technologies at a future IT meeting committee.

Staff photo by Jay Westcott