Civic Tech

A Pittsburgh city staffer took it upon himself and his dog, Porter, to map the city’s recreation areas on their daily walks. With a GPS unit in tow, the pair created an open data portal residents can use to find trails.

While Zencity has traditionally given local governments a way to listen to constituents, Civil Space offers tools to open a two-way dialogue between them — pushing Zencity down the continuum of engagement.

The early stages of a new pilot program are forming and could incorporate blockchain into the city's government. Officials have asked technologists to show how the tech might improve service delivery and solve challenges.

Plus, Rhode Island is investing $1.7 million worth of grants into Internet expansion efforts for that state, and the USDA has started to accept applications for its own grants to overcome rural broadband challenges.

A new technology platform launched by the Madison, Wis., Police Department on Wednesday will send automated text messages to people who call 911 or are victims of crimes, department officials said.

The New York police department is aiming to improve public safety and communications with an integrated technology ecosystem that includes a real-time crime center, cloud-based software and more.

The city of Gainesville, Fla., has selected a platform to manage the progress of its strategic vision. The new tool will help the city make informed decisions and increase transparency, officials say.

Plus, GAO discusses value of a federal academy for developing a pipeline of new tech talent, and the Federal Communications Commission seeks comments on its new affordable connectivity program.

The startup’s new tool gives people the ability to search for specific properties or browse and filter by attribute. It also seeks to tell users not just what a property is now, but what it could be in the future.

How virtual will courts be after COVID-19? In Oregon, Multnomah County Circuit Court is the only court with a fully virtual jury selection process. Stakeholders continue to examine the merit of other virtual court ideas.

This week, the city of Philadelphia released its Open Data Dashboard, a platform that displays recently published data sets to increase transparency and to serve as a resource for other organizations.

Benton County, Wash., residents can now go to a new $14 million, 23-acre building for a variety of services, including marriage license applications and property tax payments. The building opened yesterday.

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.