Civic Tech

The Town Link program will support 10 organizations in Oakland, Calif., to offer digital skills programs to support their community as one piece of the city’s efforts to bridge the digital divide.

Software from Gridics is giving city planners access to 3D environments to help residents develop homes, analyze proposed zoning changes and development plans, and understand the potential effects of climate change.

Plus, Kansas City, Mo., launches new phase in digital equity work; Wisconsin unveils new broadband grants; Philadelphia debuts an online tax center; and a data map tackles chain restaurants.

Plus, applications for the U.S. Digital Corps will open soon, the Knight Foundation makes a significant commitment to Detroit’s digital equity work, and Denice Ross is the new U.S. chief data scientist.

Ohio Legal Help, a mobile-first website with free civil legal resources, announced a new online tool that enables domestic violence victims to safely and easily complete the legal forms they need to obtain a civil protection order.

Over half of the computers in the Dauphin County Library System couldn't be used by the public because of COVID-19 precautions. This week saw the return of all computers for public use.

A new website launched by the Kentucky Chamber Foundation and Workforce Center helps job seekers and employers connect through an automated and intuitive system. The product replaces a less advanced site.

Thanks to an increase in citizen participation after San Diego transitioned to virtual public meetings during March 2020, local officials say they will keep the meetings completely online.

The committee who split Spokane County into five commissioner districts spent hundreds of hours drawing maps this year as they determined how to divide the county into equally populated, politically fair pieces.

Plus, the USDA plans to make $1.15 billion available to efforts that aim to bolster rural access to high-speed Internet; Montana makes a move to create its own statewide broadband map; and more.

Local governments, including Sacramento, Calif., and Kauai County, Hawaii, have turned to City Portal by Airbnb to develop and manage short-term rental policies and gain short-term rental market insights.

The city of Lansing, Mich., modernized the process of marijuana business licensing through a new online records management system. The changes have simplified the process for city staff and end users.

Plus, Philadelphia reports progress in getting residents connected to the Internet, Cleveland has a new program to connect residents to resources, an online map lets residents get involved with redistricting work, and more.

Liza Massey, CIO of Marin County, just north of San Francisco, discusses the intersection of digital and racial equity, and the importance of getting the community involved to push efforts forward.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has outlined his billion-dollar strategy to bring broadband access to underserved parts of the state. At least 200,000 homes and businesses are expected to benefit.

Key computer systems used by the state of Missouri are so outdated that officials are worried some of the only programmers who know how to work with the antiquated technology will soon retire.

A team of researchers at Cornell Tech has developed a forecast of urban technology trends over the coming decade, predicting movements in machine learning, life sciences, infrastructure and other fields.

Plus, the Federal Communications Commission has committed an additional $1 billion to the Emergency Connectivity Fund program, California looks to improve its procurement processes for tech services, and more.