The City of East Point is one of 50 cities being recognized for using cutting-edge technology to digitally transform communities. The Smart 50 Awards, in partnership with Smart Cities Connect, Smart Cities Connect Foundation, and US Ignite, annually recognize global projects to honor the most innovative and influential work. This year’s categories included community engagement, digital transformation, smart mobility, urban infrastructure and urban operations. Dominic Maldonado, East Point’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Coordinator, and Farhad Islam, East Point’s IT Director, are finalists in the Digital Transformation category with their project titled 2020: A Spatial Odyssey.

“East Point’s journey from a humble 1880’s rail city to becoming a 21^st century Smart City leader is nothing short of a sci-fi fairytale, so this project presentation is our narrative,” said Dominic Maldonado, GIS Coordinator. “I can’t wait to share it with several thousand people in Denver for the conference. I believe we are now on the edge of gamifying the experience of work itself; which is huge for millennial workforce recruitment.”  

The project’s name is a spin-off of Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey and has kept Maldonado busy for the past two years.  The fun concept uses gamification to explore the understanding of how East Point Government works while creating transparency for both staff and the public. It uses multimedia and augmented reality such as Torch, 8^th Wall, Esri Geographic Information Systems, various game engines (Unreal, Unity, Lumberyard) and Ethereum Blockchain as a new way to tell East Point’s story. The project includes games to educate people about the 2020 Census, training for the Fire Department on hydrant testing, and helps Code Enforcement officers monitor violations to enhance quality of life.

“There is an intersection between arts and science,” said Farhad Islam, East Point’s IT Director. “We looked at different game design applications and visualized how it could be integrated into our business processes to utilize its different features for the Planning, Parks & Rec, and Economic Development Departments.”