Is the Sharing Economy Set Up to Help or Turn a Profit When Disaster Strikes?
BY Rebecca Chao | Friday, August 15 2014
Faces of Airbnb hosts who offered free housing during Hurricane Sandy (screenshot)
During Hurricane Sandy, many users of peer-to-peer platforms like Airbnb and TaskRabbit offered free housing or reduced prices to victims of the disaster. But others took advantage of those in need and raised prices. Can the sharing economy resolve its inherent contradictions? Read More
In Red Hook, Mesh Network Connects Sandy Survivors Still Without Power
BY Becky Kazansky | Monday, November 12 2012
A Red Hook Houses resident accesses mesh network-provided wifi using a smartphone. Photo: Becky Kazansky / techPresident
Offered through Personal Democracy Plus: A mesh networking experiment in Brooklyn turned into an exercise in 21st-century disaster relief this weekend when an innovation fellow with the Federal Emergency Management Agency teamed up with neighborhood activists and tech volunteers to bring Internet access back to Red Hook Houses after Hurricane Sandy. Read More
U.S. Enters Age of Location-Aware Mobile Emergency Alerts
BY Nancy Scola | Tuesday, May 10 2011
White House photo by Pete Souza If you're a customer of one of the big four mobile carriers and live in New York City, you could soon see a public safety announcement from President Obama pop up on your mobile phone. At ... Read More
Red Cross Looks at Confronting Crisis with Social Media
BY Nancy Scola | Thursday, August 12 2010
Disaster Victims Given a Mobile Way to Say They Need Help
BY Nancy Scola | Monday, July 19 2010
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, aka FEMA, has set up a way for people in disaster zones to register for assistance using their mobile phones. Read More
In the Gulf, a Joint Online Response
BY Nick Judd | Tuesday, May 11 2010
Crews work Saturday, May 8, 2010, to collect oil near and around the location where the Deepwater Horizon oil platform caught fire and sank. U. S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Casey J. Ranel // via ... Read More
FEMA Strips Down to Reach Survivors with Cell Phones
BY Nancy Scola | Wednesday, April 28 2010
An Interview with Craig Fugate, Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
BY Nancy Scola | Tuesday, November 24 2009
Hurricanes might gather force, low-lying areas pool with water, and wildfires rage much as they long have. But today they rise as a challenge to a different American people. From mobile phones to Twitter, the ... Read More