When Chattanooga decides to throw a civic hackathon, it does things a little differently. Over the weekend of May 31 and June 1, dozens of developers, designers, and community-minded people gathered in the Church on Main to hack for their city – and, oh yeah, for some yoga, team trivia, and that Southern staple, biscuits.Read… Read more »

I’m excited to announce that the Code for America Communities team selected the Midwest as the first Code for America Brigade region. The regional structure will support existing Code for America Brigade cities, as well as work to expand the number of Brigade cities in the region. I’m excited to work with Code for AmericaRead… Read more »

2014 Code for America Fellow (and once and future Portland resident) Lyzi Diamond hikes with the Code for Portland Brigade. On June 1st, in over one hundred different cities across the United States, hackers and designers stood side by side with policy makers and advocates, showing off apps and projects they worked together to hatchRead… Read more »

Democracy is a design problem. –Dana Chisnell On May 27th I received an absentee ballot in the mail, my first as a California voter. As excited as I was to perform my civic duty, I had a busy week traveling to Long Beach to meet with our fellowship project stakeholders. Sunday afternoon I finally satRead… Read more »

When I first told my friends I was switching my major from computer science to geography, they seemed pretty confused. What do you do with a geography degree? was a question I got used to hearing, and I became pretty skilled at answering it. And good thing, too, because now that I’m in the geospatialRead… Read more »

Part-Pakistani, part-American, I was conceived half-way across the world in Malawi, and my roots spring from the villages of rural India. Until a college scholarship brought me to America, I was a complete product of the developing world. I grew up with a fierce desire to make things better, I often wished to be PrimeRead… Read more »

Around the country, folks are making the road by walking when it comes to civic innovation and they’re forming new relationships in the process. At Code for America, we get excited when people participate in the democratic process in meaningful and interesting ways. Two projects in Boston show the importance of collaboration between residents andRead… Read more »

Code for America for the first time developed a Code of Conduct for use by all activities in the Code for America network. We decided to formulate these as a proactive way provide for a whole, positive, and safe environment in the community we’re helping to build. The Code of Conduct is on GitHub forRead… Read more »

“I have two warrants to issue before noon and we’re already late.” That was how my day riding along with a code enforcement officer started. It was a blur. My team visited Development Services last week. We learned about their broad mission and the challenges they’re facing making sure residents follow the rules and keepRead… Read more »

When someone sends you important mail, you probably expect to receive it in your mailbox at home. For Mike, who’s homeless, mail is a little more complicated. To receive his mail, his caseworker Candace explored three shopping centers, two river banks, and a few other spots he hangs out at, looking for his signature turquoiseRead… Read more »