With Zappos’ purchase of City Hall, imminent relocation downtown in 2013, and a growing group of passionate tech-ers who will soon occupy a coworking space on Carson Avenue, the City of Las Vegas has much to celebrate.And there is no better way to celebrate than to continue on the path to make Las Vegas into one of the biggest coworking, community-driven capitals in the world. To help achieve this goal, the City of Las Vegas has applied as a contender for one of Code for America‘s 2013 fellowships.

Code for America is a nonprofit organization, founded by Jennifer Pahlka and backed by both Google and Microsoft, that is the tech equivalent of Teach for America and the Peace Corps. Its premise is simple: to improve web technology in governments, so they can provide more services for their citizens.

After accepting a city’s bid, CfA provides web innovators, city researchers, and technology industry leaders who work closely with community leaders to improve public services and increase participation at the local level. Experts in their respective field, fellows collaborate directly with city leaders for a year. They devise and implement solutions for urban development and planning using open-source data that is accessible to everyone.

The City of Las Vegas’ leaders who will sponsor and work closely with the fellows include City Manager, Betsy Fretwell; the Chief Administration Office, Mark Vincent; and the Chief Information Officer, Joe Marcella.

Code for America also improves the relationship between a city and its government using this open-source data and web-based applications for leverage. For example, the City of Las Vegas’ goals, if partnered with CfA, can include how to improve public transportation, parking, and venue accessibility using an app that puts the information directly in the hands of its users. With the aid of CfA’s fellows, the City of Las Vegas can also accelerate learning with new technologies, improve life for residents, and promote a stronger community in the process.

The deadline to apply as a CfA city ends March 31st, the finalists are announced June 1st, the cities confirm funding and finalize contracting June–August, and in September the selected cities are announced. The fellowship kicks off January 2013

www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDsQFjAB&url=http://downtownproject.com/2012/the-city-of-las-vegas-bids-for-a-code-for-america-fellowship/&ei=IM6-UPagJqWVjAKJzoCYDQ&usg=AFQjCNFjc-ID89WiwrOMOHzqmWylok_jqg&sig2=VXx1hvzQQRl8dp-w6_EAPQ&cad=rjt