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One thing led to another toward a part in organized civic tech

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Water from heavy rain around a blocked drain formed a puddle, and nearby resident Michael Norelli could have called the city. But he just cleared it himself. He kept on clearing it in storm after storm — simple do-it-yourself action that eventually led him to a civic tech team and even some notoriety.

It led him to meet a neighbor, a developer who volunteered at the San Francisco “brigade” of the nationwide civic tech group Code for America. That volunteer told him about a project called Adopt A Drain. Eventually, after a move across the bay, Norelli joined OpenOakland, the Oakland brigade.… Read the rest “One thing led to another toward a part in organized civic tech”

Civic tech projects need storytellers

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I asked a leader of one civic tech group the other day what his team lacked. Among the group’s half-dozen or so core contributors and about 20 occasional ones, they have a coder. They also have a guy who’s tied into local politics. And the guy I talked to, Nick Brooks, is the user-interface designer.

The group is Open Budget: Oakland, one of nearly a dozen active projects in OpenOakland, a local “brigade” associated with Code for America. Open Budget Oakland aims to provide everyday citizens with an understanding, mostly with data visualization, of the city budget and budget-making.… Read the rest “Civic tech projects need storytellers”

Big Smart, Small Smart, smartest

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No sooner had I posted the story in 2017 about Steve Pepple’s real-time visualization of a San Francisco parade’s data than a reader lodged an objection. “Building displays that show where the parties are,” wrote that reader, “could also show a gunman what sites to shoot up.”

True, Pepple’s LCD display, hanging in a neighborhood art project’s entryway for any passerby to see, posed that familiar risk. But let’s not all run away screaming in terror just yet. Pepple’s project — a bit player in the “smart cities” super-genre — deserves a long look at what it and others on the same scale may offer.… Read the rest “Big Smart, Small Smart, smartest”

The “spaghetti soup of challenges” for an air quality app

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To watch Jess Sand lead a meeting of developers and others building an air-quality related app is to see a snapshot of the civic tech movement today.

Civic tech projects start out looking like it’s all about technology. But the more you look, the more you see that “civic” — meaning the development team, the people who’ll use their app, and anyone who might someday find value in their work — swings way more weight than “tech” ever will.

The project has been in the works for a few years already, and this team is at least its second generation to take it on.… Read the rest “The “spaghetti soup of challenges” for an air quality app”

Even some spooks like open data

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You’ve no doubt heard of or even confronted stubborn resistance by data “owners.” Some of them can say “no” faster than Italian bureaucrats. You want what? Some of my data? This seems so pervasive that would-be data users might stand a better chance at winning the California lottery.

But as soon as you think the game’s over, there’s a surprise. This month I heard a formerly high ranking American intelligence official talk about, of all things, open data. She seemed to say that we should let our very clever people benefit us all by finding what they can in it. She also seemed to like publicly produced data, which is much cheaper than the homemade stuff.… Read the rest “Even some spooks like open data”