I had an enjoyable time on Saturday at the Talk About Local unconference, where lots of people involved in hyperlocal websites get together to share stories and experiences and to figure out answers to tricky questions. There tends to be two angles with hyperlocal – the future of local journalism stuff which I tend toRead… Read more »
So this weekend I’m in Joplin, MO for the Joplin Hackathon put together byCivicPlus and City of Joplin. The goal of the event is to create a new digital townhall for the City in time to release for the 1-year anniversary of the Joplin tornado. Here is their current websitewe are going to improve overRead… Read more »
Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia on Friday unveiled a new, smartphone-age tool designed to enhance the ability of citizens to send tips to law enforcement authorities. Flanked by several members of his command and investigative teams during a press conference at the Harris County Jail, Garcia touted “iWatchHarrisCounty,” a free downloadable application for Blackberries, iPhones,Read… Read more »
Over the past ten years the City of Carrollton Texas has grown in population from 80,000 residents to 120,000 residents. The City of Carrollton has also implemented a culture of managed competition estimated to have saved the city $30 million over the last decade. Despite an increase of over 40,000 residents, the city still operatesRead… Read more »
Once again I’ve been intrigued by the similarities between online and offline communities with the topic this time focusing on the handling of community events. And I wonder how much the “real” and “virtual” communities can learn from each other. If you work for a city, your experience is probably very similar to mine –Read… Read more »
Whether you’re new to a city or a long time resident, you almost certainly have knowledge and perspectives you can share with and learn from your neighbors. If cities had one spot where they could collect and capture the spirit of a thriving area, they might just increase collaboration and knowledge dissemination across an entireRead… Read more »
To promote open government, students at the Honors College Think Tank on Transparency and Privacy at the University of Utah recently studied 16 local governments in Utah to determine best practices for keeping local government open. The results of the study will be officially released at a press conference on Wednesday, April 11th. Their workRead… Read more »
By Katherine Parker, Associate Consultant, MPA’12 In early March, we completed a six month engagement with a coalition of seven synagogues along Pennsylvania’s Old York Road and presented our final action plan for the revitalization of the area. Although the project is at an end, it feels much more like a new beginning – withRead… Read more »
Detroit is dealing with a host of financial issues as the city struggles to survive and reinvent itself. As a recent article pointed out: “The city’s badly strapped bus system recently halted late-night service (between 1 and 4 a.m.) and even cut off some routes at 8 p.m. Those buses that do run rarely showRead… Read more »
I’m a big believer in the ancillary benefits of a single big goal. Set a goal that has one clear objective, but as a result a bunch of other things have to change as well. So one of my favourite Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG) for an organization is to go paperless. I like theRead… Read more »