Tired of not finding accurate property registry information when buying property here? La Paz Mayor moves towards a more Transparent Digital Information Platform
The Pichilingue convention Center was buzzing with government officials, business owners, heads of various non-profit organizations as well as members of the public for the anticipated inauguration of La Paz’ new app “Visor Urbano”.
The event was held on Wednesday October 8th, and as the presentation started, the skillful staff of the convention Center quietly and effortlessly laid out additional chairs to accommodate the unexpected large turnout for the event.
Visor Urbano (Urban Viewer) is a digital platform that integrates various municipal services with the aim of transparency and order in public administration. It joins the efforts of La Paz City Hall to offer digital tools such as electric kiosks, which it plans to implement for recharging cards to access the ‘Tiburón Urbano’ (Urban Shark) bus service, among other services.
The platform was presented at an event headed by Mayor Milena Quiroga. A project that she initiated two years ago with the goal to empower citizens with access to public information that was previously difficult to obtain. An app first of its kind in Mexico.
This is not the first step towards a more modernized information technology procedure in La Paz. Visor Urbano follows in the footsteps of the ‘La Paz App’, which already has more than 30,000 users and was equally designed to improve the management of various public services. This trend plugs in with other technological initiatives in Baja California Sur, such as the recent implementation of the Digital Alert by the Cybercrime Police Division and the State Center for Anonymous Citizen Complaints (DAC). This tool allows citizens to anonymously report cybercrimes, or extortion attempts through text messages or social networks. It already has prevented losses of more than one million pesos.
“Visor Urbano is a window to transparency for all citizens,” said Mayor Milena Quiroga. “It allows you to know where the streets, parks, and schools are. If someone wants to invest, they can search zoning, tax information and accessibilities. This information has always been public, but it was only accessible to a few.”
This push towards a more transparent digital government is essential according to Mayor Quiroga, who believes that this will facilitate processes such as property tax payments, stressing the fact that currently, only a shocking 45% of property taxpayers are current.
In a sit down with the mayor, she indicated her satisfaction and appreciation for the launch of the app. Expressing that it was two years in the making, two years too long according to her.
“Take the example of the general Todo Santos and Pescadero area”, she shared, “It’s a complete Red Zone on the app, meaning that most homeowners in that region are in arrears on their property taxes.” An area dotted with luxury homes. She is hoping that the visual cue showcased on the app will prompt homeowners to do their civic duty.
Mayor Quiroga has additional future expansion plans for the Visor Urbano, public access to local water usage being among one of them. The platform will include relevant information such as the Risk Atlas, which identifies flood and landslide zones.
Here is a breakdown of the Visor Urbano App:
Link: https://visorurbano.lapaz.gob.mx/
• Transparency and access to information: Allows citizens to easily access public information that was previously difficult to obtain, such as street maps, locations of parks and schools, land use, etc.
• Urban planning: Facilitates consultation of the Urban Development Plan (PDU) to know construction regulations, permitted levels, etc., which helps in the orderly growth of the city.
• Risk prevention: Integrates the Risk Atlas, which shows flood zones, landslide areas, and other danger zones, so that citizens and authorities can take precautions.
• Consultation of cadastral information: Allows you to know the status of a property, including data on property tax payments.
• Management of procedures: Facilitates the carrying out of municipal procedures digitally, such as consulting construction permits.
• Combating corruption: Reduces discretion in access to information and streamlines processes, reducing opportunities for corruption.
• Citizen participation: Promotes citizen participation in the development of the city by providing key information for decision-making.
• Informed decision-making: Provides investors, real estate agents, architects, and other professionals with relevant information for decision-making.
• Improved administrative efficiency: Streamlines the management of information and internal processes of the City Hall.
• Promotion of investment: Facilitates access to information to attract investment and promote the economic development of the municipality.
Let’s all cross our fingers that it works as intended and may be replicated in Los Cabos, a municipality with bigger challenges than La Paz.