Next American City's Christian Madera reports on a series of seminars looking at how the growing open data movement is helping to offer cities solutions to some of their operational problems.
Opening data up to the public has resulted in a vast array of online tools and applications. But the potential impact goes beyond web developers making cool programs for smart phones.
"While getting more municipal data released can help empower citizens, there's growing recognition that open data also has a role in empowering governments to better cope with the management challenges that urban areas face. With that in mind, John Tolva, Director of Citizenship & Technology at IBM, talked about how his company's efforts to create new tools that allow cities to interact with municipal data to generate insights into issues such as traffic, energy use, and public safety.
IBM has been busy repositioning itself for several years around the idea of using the technology and process management techniques it specializes in to help develop solutions for some of the enormous social challenges of the world – many of which are concentrated around cities."
Read the full story: Solving Urban Challenges With Open Data
A Better Way to Compare Cities
An online tool released three weeks ago by the Chicago Federal Reserve allows a more nuanced comparison between peer cities.
Gov 2.0 Grows
Gov 2.0 is on the rise, and an increasing amount of cities and groups are getting behind efforts to improve the way cities function by better processing their data.
Why Transit Agencies Should Open Their Data
Streetfilms offers this video about how opening up transit agency data can greatly improve urban public transit systems for riders at little or no cost to the agencies.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO resigns after $600,000 scandal
Under Ian Choudri, the authority used taxpayer dollars to fund first class flights and trips to nightclubs.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority