*I wonder if any of these assertions is actually true. Obviously people who hack are gonna hack the living daylights out of cities if they get the chance, but how would one objectively measure if that was "good" for cities or "bad" for cities? This quite reminds me of the reaction of cities to the automobile, which was a big stinking deal and the very sign of progress for quite a long time. Cities just couldn't have too many freeways or parking lots. It was only later that the asthma, pedestrian deaths, urban sprawl and declining downtowns mounted up, and nowadays if you jumped up during a civic hacking session and said "let's make the city more friendly to cars!" they would probably kill you.
From:
http://codeforamerica.org/2013/05/14/10-ways-civic-hacking-is-good-for-cities/
From: IFTTT Action
Date: Tue, May 14, 2013 at 1:06 PM
Subject: Blog CFA: 10 WAYS CIVIC HACKING IS GOOD FOR CITIES
"At Code for America, were getting excited for the National Day of Civic
Hacking; the weekend is a galvanizing moment in our ongoing movement to
call citizens to action. We want citizens everywhere to help their cities
work better, through technology. Why do we think this is so important?
We put together a list of 10 reasons why civic hacking is good for cities:
"*1. Creates space for innovation (for government and citizens)*
"Every week in cities across the country, local government officials and
civic-minded volunteers (developers, designers, urban planners, policy
wonks, etc.) come together to collaborate on web apps and technologies to
make their communities work better. In the Code for America
Brigadenetwork alone, there
are regular hack nights in more than 25
cities.
"These hack nights create a space for government and citizens to come
together to solve interesting challenges.
"*2. Engages digital citizens in the process of governance and creative
problem solving
*
"Civic hacking offers new opportunities for citizens and government to
connect. For example, as San Diegos Code for America Brigade Captain, Jeff
Johnson spoke in front of the city council about participatory budgeting
and how transparency, crowdsourced community input, and crowdfunding
projects could tie in.
"*3. Spurs economic opportunity*
"NYC BigApps 2013 competition is put on by the city
to stimulate the development of applications that improve access to
information and government transparency; to encourage innovation and the
creation of new intellectual property with commercial potential; and to
help leverage technology to solve select city challenges and problems.
"*4. Provides insight into government decision making*
"Technologies built by civic hackers such as Open Budget
Oaklandor Look
at Cook provide deeper insight into government
decision making. Open Budget Oakland is an app that allows citizens to
easily dive into different allocations and departments to see how money is
budgeted. Look at Cook allows the citizens of Cook County, Ill. to explore
the countys budget from 1993 to 2012 and learn how the money is being
spent.
"*5. Enables community service through technology*
"Apps like Adopt-a provide new opportunities for
community service through technology. Through Adopt-a, citizens claim
responsibility for taking care of communal infrastructures by adopting
them. Through this program, citizens have already helped shovel out fire
hydrants in Boston and Anchorage,
sidewalksin Chicago, and check tsunami
sirens in Honolulu.
"*6. Teaches important new tech skills*
"Whether at a civic hack night, hackathons, CityCamps, and other civic
hacking events, you can expect to find people learning new skills such as
GitHub, GIS, data visualization.
"*7. Creates a broad network of civic hackers*
"Civic hacking is a movement that is spreading rapidly across the country.
As the momentum builds, networks like the Code for America
Brigadeallow
civic-minded volunteers to connect both within and between cities to
share stories and collaborate on projects. At just over a year since we
started Brigade this is what our members have reported as the most valuable
asset of the program.
"*8. Helps citizens serve themselves*
"Government is often best when it provides the framework for citizens
working together to solve their own issues. Such is the case with
technologies like Citizens
Connectand
Adopt-a . Whether its helping a neighbor get
rid of a possum camped out in their
trash
or
shoveling the sidewalk during a snowstorm, civic hacking is both the
technology and the action of citizens working together.
"*9. Helps government manage expectations around technology*
"The average consumers expectations when it comes to mobile web technology
is at an all time high. At the same time, our local governments resources
are at austerity levels. Even in the best of times we dont have any
expectations that government will have the ability to keep up with
technology they way most people would like. Civic hacking helps people
understand whats doable and what isnt.
"*10. Connects technology & non-technology groups together*
"One the most important things civic hacking does is bring people together
from different backgrounds, experiences, and skill sets. Its often the
case that technologists and non-technologists are not getting enough access
to one another to swap perspectives. Events like National Day of Civic
Hacking, Code Across America, CityCamp, and weekly Hack Nights facilitate
these important connections.
*[Your example here]*
"We want to hear how civic hacking has been good for your city. Let us know
on our Brigade Tumblr: http://codeforamerica.tumblr.com/submit
Questions? Comments? Hit us up
@codeforamerica
via Code for America
http://codeforamerica.org/2013/05/14/10-ways-civic-hacking-is-good-for-cities/
