Civic Innovation
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So-called drone entertainment offers cities like Aspen and Parker a diverting but less flammable option to Fourth of July fireworks displays. The latter may have the “boom factor,” but could also ignite a wildfire.
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City officials are building a comprehensive artificial intelligence ecosystem to support economic growth, by incentivizing businesses and enabling experimentation in what they call "the capital of AI."
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Ongoing work with Medici Land Governance has yielded a blockchain-enabled tool to aid in property searches and sales. The goal is to ease the transformation of thousands of vacant, abandoned or blighted properties.
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Two local governments have taken steps to make residents aware of their digital rights. Experts argue that cities actually have a responsibility to do so.
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The village of Saugerties, New York, may utilize TextMyGov to reach residents who subscribe, about issues including water main breaks, road closures and emergencies. Officials have discussed a $5,000 contract with the company.
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The federal oversight agency has launched its first cohort focused on artificial intelligence for its Presidential Innovation Fellows program, aiming to create a talent pipeline for AI in government.
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Artificial intelligence isn’t everywhere yet, but several local governments around the country have either discovered how it can further enable modern 311 or are considering how it could.
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Results for America has recognized nine municipalities for using data to inform policy and improve government service delivery to residents. To date, 83 cities have received the What Works Cities Certification.
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A new mobile-responsive web page from the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation lets the public more easily report harmful algal blooms. Features include an updated map and reporting system.
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Technology like mobile apps and data visualization dashboards is helping the state serve more of its residents — often without them having to leave their homes.
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AskCOS, the city of Colorado Springs’ new artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot, was trained using Colorado city government information alone. The virtual assistant can answer constituent questions in 71 languages.
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The city will work with technology company Populus and an urban design firm to digitize its streetscape. It’s part of a project known as The Curb Reimagined, which will create a real-time, digital city map.
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State data released one year after the launch of California vs. Hate, the hotline and online portal for reporting hate crimes and incidents, shows its impact. People statewide reported more than 1,000 acts of hate.
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The city of San Jose has adopted an AI-powered translation tool to improve accessibility at City Council meetings for people who primarily speak a language other than English. It may see wider use, depending upon its performance thus far.
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Technology work underway in Luzerne County includes a new infrastructure management platform, and migrating election-related information off paper. The goal is to make services more efficient and effective.
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Bill Zielinski, who has led the Information and Technology Services department since 2020, will step down April 30. In recent years, he led the city’s response to a ransomware attack, and to the deletion of millions of police records.
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Officials have leveraged digital and mobile tools to make services more widely accessible to Coloradans regardless of location. Simultaneously, they are upgrading their IT infrastructure to more modern tools.
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City Councilmembers in the Silicon Valley city recently voted to seek state and federal funding to cover a portion of the service’s annual cost. Other operational details remain to be resolved, including how far users would be able to travel.
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Huntington Beach, Calif.’s new city website, which launched Monday, eliminates nearly half the pages on its old site. A curated visitor search drives sought-after pages to the top, and the process for back-end changes has been refined.
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A new all-in-one platform will head to development, the Hawaii capital’s planning and permitting director told a City Council committee Thursday. Officials upgraded a related system in July and will pilot AI-based software for plan and code reviews.
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After two years as the Tennessee city’s tech leader, Tyson Morris will pursue other opportunities. He said Friday he is committed to continuing his work using technology to help people.
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