The 24-Hour City

In the years of 2001 - 2002 a study has been con-ducted within the city of Sundsvall aiming at producing an action plan for 24-hour city of Sundsvall. At the same time, the Swedish government and the EU have been working with the same issues.

The 24-hour city is to be characterised by accessibility, service and quality in a three-year perspective. The aim of a 24-hour city is that residents and companies need to only have contact with one authority when dealing with a specific issue.

Here the concept of the 24-hour city is that the city, via its website, www.sundsvall.se, will be able to provide information 24 hours a day about civic operations and provide services requested by residents that can be appropriately handled in a digital format. Furthermore, the city, via its local resident offices, departments and employees, will continue to supply information and civic services during regular working hours.

The action plan has a three-year perspective. During this period the city of Sundsvall and its residents aim at achieving the following goals:

• manage all registration and submit applications via the Internet
• pay fees and request grants directly on the Internet
• monitor progress and communicate with the parties involved in a given matter
• have access to all public documents via the Internet
• identify the correct civic employee/unit via the Internet
• present proposals and submit complaints via the Internet

The services on the website should be developed so that the disabled have a reasonable opportunity to make use of the services, too. A number of services can be developed and introduced on the website during the first year while others will require more time. In several cases the services are dependent upon the city exchanging information with governmental agencies and other cities. Initially, a joint effort will be made to make all civic forms used by the public available on the website. This can be regarded as a transitional measure while more sophisticated services are being developed.

Another important aspect of the city's presence on the web is improved basic information. A major part of this work is being undertaken in connection with the current updating the city's website. The action plan only covers services aimed at residents and businesses.