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Coaxing a city into the digital age :: Architecture leader at GE Digital, a mom, born in Pakistan, and the first woman of color to be elected to the San Ramon (CA) city council (republished from August 2019)

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Take a look at the San Ramon City Council’s official portrait and see what you notice. What’s hard to miss is four white men of about Boomer age standing shoulder to shoulder — and in line with them one young woman rising just above their belly height. She’s about to shake things up there by coaxing the city into the digital age.

She’s Sabina Zafar, architecture leader at GE Digital, a mom, born in Pakistan, and the first woman of color to be elected to the city council. She knew from the start her job wouldn’t be easy, as she’s found out since being elected in November 2018, later as vice-mayor.… Read the rest “Coaxing a city into the digital age :: Architecture leader at GE Digital, a mom, born in Pakistan, and the first woman of color to be elected to the San Ramon (CA) city council (republished from August 2019)”

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”

Smart cities sounds magical, but civic tech gets it done

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Louisville, Kentucky’s chief technology manager works with civic-tech innovators every day. That sounds to me like a good way to make a city smart. But that’s only the beginning.

First comes openness, and not just open data. Ed Blayney welcomes the innovators. He stands in stark contrast with the cold eyes and stiff silos some of them face when they come to offer a city helpful, usually free new technology.

It’s not easy for city administrators, says Blayney. “They have their nose down in their day-to-day work and you’re asking them to change the way they do their jobs. It’s not easy changing people’s minds.”… Read the rest “Smart cities sounds magical, but civic tech gets it done”