Is New York City The Best Place In the World For Open Data? We Find Out March 7
BY Miranda Neubauer | Friday, February 22 2013
Last year, the New York City Council passed a bill touted as a groundbreaking step forward for open data that would make New York a leader among 21st-century cities. On March 7, city officials will have their first chance to show whether they're up to the challenge. Read More
In Slovakia, Student Developers Open Up the Court System
BY Julia Wetherell | Thursday, February 21 2013
Screengrab from otvorenesudy.sk, showing a prototype of the dataset.
When two Slovak computer science students couldn’t easily access the information they were looking for about court decisions on the Department of Justice website, they built a solution that made their search easier. The dataset they created from information about 400,000 rulings since 1997 could be a model for open government practices in eastern Europe.
Read MoreHacking Cities With Open Data and Minecraft
BY David Eaves | Tuesday, February 19 2013
I'm excited about how a new set of low cost tools — Minecraft and open data — seem to be increasing the opportunity space for people to rethink their city. Read More
For the First Time, Japan's Government Hosts a Hackathon
BY Julia Wetherell | Thursday, February 7 2013
Japan’s recent strides in open data have displayed a growing interest in transparency from both citizens and public officials. A hackathon held this past weekend shows that the government is already letting developers in on one high-level project: maintaining national security.
Read MoreOpen Docket, an Open Government Tool for Small Towns and Cities
BY Sam Roudman | Monday, February 4 2013
In small towns, getting civic information can be a mess. Figuring out the history or status of a request for a new stop sign can require a slog through weeks or months of PDF files of meeting agendas, minutes, and reports. Is the information public? Yes. Is it accessible? No. Sean Roche lives in Newton, Mass., population 85,000, and he's hoping to solve that with Open Docket, an open-source project he's launched to provide a better way to track the lawmaking goings-on of small cities and towns.
Read MoreIs This Japan's Year for Open Data?
BY Julia Wetherell | Friday, February 1 2013
Last summer, the Japanese government announced a new open data strategy, with the intention of connecting the country’s governmental, industrial, and academic sectors. Now Japan is set to have a record year for open data projects, with open government advocates leading the way. Read More
Weekly Global Readings: Transparency
BY Lisa Goldman and Antonella Napolitano | Wednesday, January 30 2013
The theme of this week's global readings is transparency, whether it be government initiatives or dissident code words. Read More
With Open Data, The Transparency Medium Can Matter As Much as the Message
BY David Eaves | Wednesday, January 30 2013
This is going to sound crazy, but bear with me: Transparency matters, even when no one seems to be watching. Read More
In Uruguay, Quesabes.org Helps Citizens Use Their Right to Open Government
BY Elena Casas-Montanez | Tuesday, January 29 2013
When Uruguay passed a freedom of information law in October 2008, international watchdogs applauded. The country of just 3 million people, squeezed in between Argentina and Brazil, became a regional leader in freedom of information. Citizens could access nearly any piece information held by the government, with exceptions for issues like national security. There was just one problem — nobody was actually using their rights under the law. That's where www.quesabes.org came in. Read More
Hack Day Brings Tech Solutions to Refugees Seeking Family Members
BY Julia Wetherell | Friday, January 25 2013
Developers at last weekend's Refugees United Hack Day
The world population of refugees displaced both within their home country’s borders and to harboring nations numbers in the tens of millions. Four fifths of that population is accounted for in the developing world, where humanitarian crisis cuts across communities, often separating families. On January 19, London-based developers worked to create new solutions for reconnecting these families, at the second Refugees United Hack Day. Read More