http://topplabs.org Open Source Civic Hacking Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:37:38 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Recently, we've been working with a lot of public agencies (mostly in the transportation sector) who are interested in setting up developer conferences or app contests.   While we are big fans of both conferences and contests, our main point of advice has been get away from thinking just about conferences ... http://topplabs.org/civichacker/2010/02/bootstrapping-a-developer-outreach-program/ February 9th Update: This post originally limited focus on the declaration of "equal" within these three cities open source policies, but I have expanded to also cover the issue of  defining "open source" and stipulating open source licensing for code developed in-house. San Francisco recently established a new policy requiring open ... http://topplabs.org/civichacker/2010/01/cities-powered-by-open-source/ When you think of iterative development, you're unlikely to also think "government agency." You're even less likely to think "MTA." But that might not be the case in the future, as today the MTA showed a strong sign that the situation is changing: They listened to feedback and responded. Quickly. In my ... http://topplabs.org/civichacker/2010/01/the-mta-is-iterating/ It's here: The MTA has officially launched its redesigned website, complete with a spiffy new look, access to multiple trip planners, and a convenient way to quickly check on the status of subway and bus lines. While there's much to say about the site's new design, what excites us most is ... http://topplabs.org/civichacker/2010/01/the-largest-transit-agency-in-the-us-is-now-open/ The quest for open transit data in New York continues, but the Times' coverage today of the upcoming launch of the MTA's new website gives cause to be optimistic. As the Times reports, the MTA is set to launch a redesign of its website this Wednesday, giving the agency's site ... http://topplabs.org/civichacker/2010/01/redesigned-mta-website-and-more-coming-wednesday/ The Open Planning Project is partnering with the PenTales Storytelling Projects to develop an interactive web app for the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. The application will serve as an interactive platform for New Yorkers of all ages to share and collaborate on stories they have produced ... http://topplabs.org/civichacker/2009/12/wanted-volunteer-web-developer-for-nyc-parks-project/ There's a nice post from David Eaves today on the need for a "MuniForge" -- a repository for open source municipal software.  Without getting too into the details, I wanted to point out one line that really struck a chord with me, discussing the conundrum that governments find themselves in ... http://topplabs.org/civichacker/2009/12/held-hostage/ At last night's PlanningTech workshop, we diagrammed out planning processes to see where the insertion of technology might have been helpful.  The processes we looked at ranged from seemingly simple (getting a bike rack installed on your street) to massively complex (advocating for funding for MTA's capital plan). Keep an ... http://topplabs.org/civichacker/2009/12/living-plans/ At the recent Technology for Participatory Planning workshop, one of the suggestions for follow-up was to look back at a completed planning process, map it out step-by-step, and find places where inserting technology might have improved things.  Frank from RPA blogged it out here.  Even just the first step, mapping ... http://topplabs.org/civichacker/2009/11/mapping-the-planning-process/ We were blown away by the great turnout at last Friday's Tech for Participatory Planning workshop.  Thanks to RPA for hosting with us, and to everyone who came out for a great afternoon of lightning talks, brainstorming, and discussion.  It's clear that we just scratched the surface here, and we ... http://topplabs.org/civichacker/2009/11/planningtech-workshop-the-aftermath/