Crowdsourcing

February 6, 2018 Civic Data This article originally appeared in Government Technology Magazine. During the wave of hurricanes that tore through a number of coastal areas in September, crowdsourcing was a lifesaving tool, allowing residents in need of...

October 3, 2017 Disaster Management Nothing exposes a city’s limited resources quite like an emergency. The reality is that during many natural disasters, municipalities face more 911 calls than they could possibly field, more ravaged buildings than they...

Whether the result of a destructive natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina or the consequence of the foreclosure and home loan crisis of the mid-2000s, cities across America have been burdened with blight, the presence of vacant and abandoned properties...

November 16, 2016 Infrastructure America’s roads need help. In a 2013 report on the state of U.S. infrastructure, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave road infrastructure a ‘D’ grade. According to the report, 32 percent of America’s major roadways...

October 17, 2016 Crowdsourcing Ed Blayney is an Innovation Project Manager in the Office of Performance Improvement and Innovation for Louisville Metro Government (KY). Crowdsourcing is an effective tool for governments to use to understand their...

May 5, 2016 Civic Engagement Our #DataSmart Resources series curates links and examples for those looking for an introduction to a particular civic data topic. Civic engagement has long been a universal concern for cities. Governments depend on...

April 27, 2016 Civic Engagement Earlier this year, the City of Chicago launched OpenGrid, its latest and most interactive web platform for open data. OpenGrid lets residents visually understand and navigate map-based city data on their computer, tablet...