"city government" entries
New hope for the vision of metropolitan regionalism
Web portals and mobile apps have the potential to facilitate regional collaboration between municipalities.
Editor’s note: this post originally appeared on Glenn’s CityState blog. This version has been lightly edited.
Others have written — and I’m sure will continue to write — with enthusiasm and hyperbole about the ways that new web portals and mobile apps are changing the landscape of public participation and responsive city planning. It seems that we are constantly being showered (or perhaps barraged?) with fun new social media tools to engage citizens and activate urban sharing networks — for everything from reporting graffiti to mapping public murals (yes, the irony is noteworthy), and from finding a parking space to avoiding being mugged, and so on. Whether or not these apps will ever wind up being the “game changers” we are often promised remains to be seen, but the level of excitement and activity they are generating is undeniable, especially after so many years of resignation and inattention to urban problems.
That said, despite the energy that has been thrown behind developing and promoting these new weapons in our urban information arsenal, one aspect of these tools has been noticeably overlooked: the potential they provide to facilitate regional collaboration between municipalities, an as-of-yet unfulfilled dream of urban planners in the past century. Read more…
Civic Commons taps tech to make government work better and cost less
With a new management team and funding, Civic Commons is poised to make a difference.
With a new management team in place and $250,000 in funding from Omidyar Network secured, Civic Commons is poised to help cities share code and make better use of technology.
Citizen engagement platforms grow in 2010
With a wave of platforms and apps, citizens in 2010 could contribute much more than a vote or a donation.
As the new year beckons, there are more ways for citizens to provide feedback and become stakeholders in their government and policy than perhaps there ever have been in history. Here's a look at the platforms, applications and projects that got us to this point.
Civic Commons code-sharing initiative bids to reduce government IT costs
Civic Commons, a new project launched at the Gov 2.0 Summit, will help city governments reduce costs and inefficiencies by sharing the software they develop.