Brigade Captain Andrew Jawitz discusses the origins and momentum behind Code for Maine, the value in organizing regionally, and just why every civic hacker should care about transit data. What’s the origin story of Code for Maine? Code for Maine grew out of a number of simultaneous initiatives that needed a catalyst to spark realRead… Read more »
Last year, Open City – the civic apps collective I’m a part of – released CPS Tiers, a website that makes it easier for parents to navigate Chicago’s selective schools admissions process. Like many of our apps, this one was made with Derek Eder’s open source fusion tables map template. The app caught the eyeRead… Read more »
At our first-ever Fellowship Projects webinar, three of our 2012 fellows shared an in-depth look at projects they’ve been building this year and had a chance to answer live questions from our audience: Textizen, OpenCounter, and LocalData. Watch the full recording below to find out the answers to audience questions like: How did Textizen, builtRead… Read more »
A path to civic action is often sparked by moments like these: by Gary Rides Bikes via Flickr Walking down a busy street only to realize your sidewalk is closed without providing a safe or convenient detour. via New York State Department of State Division of Corporations e-Statement Filing System Or encountering a government websiteRead… Read more »
Day 1 of being in Santa Cruz, Calif. The maps around city hall are confusing, out of date, and the display cases are fogged up: City’s website is no better: CfA January training: “Look for quick wins.” I make a google map with all the city offices and their hours. I also draw a printableRead… Read more »
What would society look like if we felt about government the way we feel about our iPhones? I had the opportunity to speak to some of the top user experience designers in the world earlier this week, at Adaptive Path’s renowned UXWeek, here in San Francisco. It was an intimidating task, sandwiched between Jensen Harris,Read… Read more »
This is an inspiring time to be walking the halls of Code for America’s headquarters in San Francisco. Part of this inspiration comes from watching the enthusiastic response communities are having to the applications Fellows are deploying. For example, at the recent launch of Prepared.ly, an application developed in partnership with the City of Austin,Read… Read more »
Brigade is all about recognizing and supporting the volunteer efforts of civic minded technologists throughout the country who want to contribute to the civic web and code for America where they live. Our aim at Code for America is grow, strengthen, and connect the network of people involved in doing so. We have two mechanismsRead… Read more »
“Every new movement needs heroes.” Tim O’Reilly said this in the recruitment video we made when we were just starting Code for America over two years ago. We were so grateful when the tech and design community answered our call, and we were grateful again when hundreds more applied for the second year. But nowRead… Read more »
At our July’s Salon, CfA hosted Hanauer and Liu for a discussion of their recent book, “Gardens of the Democracy.” In it, they challenge Americans to approach the world not as a machinery that needs to be perfected but as a garden that needs constant attention, discretion, and periodic weeding. The book argues that sinceRead… Read more »