Digital City Projects: Information and Public Services Offered by Chicago (USA) and Curitiba (Brazil)

Abstract

Offering full information and efficient public services is a permanent challenge for cities concerned with citizens' quality of life and effective municipal management. The objective of this study is to describe and assess the digital city projects in Chicago (USA) and Curitiba (Brazil), using information and public services offered to citizens by the website. The research methodology consisted of case studies covering the city hall, municipal departments, and other municipal entities. The results show advantages for the citizens who have free communal access to public services on the internet. Chicago offers its citizens 281 public services distributed in 256 subjects or themes and Curitiba 508 public services distributed in 26 subjects or themes. The conclusion reiterated the importance of the implemented projects. In both cities it resulted in benefits for citizens through access to information and public services offered by the internet.