Category: Smart Chicago
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Chicago Health Atlas Data in the New York Times
I was responsible for the development of the Chicago Health Atlas while I led the Smart Chicago Collaborative. Looking at these maps, showing data pulled from the Health Atlas, I am reminded that in Chicago, geography is often destiny.
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Paper: “Big Data and Smart (Equitable) Cities”
Some of the work I helped fund and guide was covered in a paper published this month by Mai Thi Nguyen and Emma Boundy: “Big Data and Smart (Equitable) Cities“ Here’s a snip: “The main commonality between most cities was the development of public computing centers to improve access. Dan O’Neil, Executive Director of the…
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New story: Chicago seeking ‘smart-city’ tech solutions to improve city life
Today I was quoted in an article on smart cities: “Chicago seeking ‘smart-city’ tech solutions to improve city life“. (Here’s the complete text). I am currently a skeptic when it comes to believing that smart cities is a path to freedom: “How do we connect these abstract, big-picture, big-data initiatives to the needs of the…
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On The Table Event: Surveillance in Chicago, at the Burger King on South Pulaski Road
Today I hosted an event. Here’s how I described it on the Smart Chicago website: I have been a member of the On The Table Steering Committee since its inception. I am very proud of my connection to this central community engagement model for The Chicago Community Trust, my employer and the place where Smart…
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Participant: The State of Impact in Civic Tech
I took part in some research put created by Omidyar Foundation called, “The State of Impact in Civic Tech“. Here’s a bit of my contribution:
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Launch: Connect Chicago Initiative by Mayor Emanuel
Today Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel launched an initiative around the Smart Chicago program called Connect Chicago. Here’s more on the Smart Chicago website. Here’s some news coverage:
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CUTGroup Book
Civic User Testing Group as a New Model for UX Testing, Digital Skills Development, and Community Engagement in Civic Tech documents a methodology I invented while I was Executive Director of the Smart Chicago Collaborative. The model has been implemented in about a dozen cities across the United States.
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Documenters for the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force meetings
This month I conceived, led, and participated in the documentation of the four community forums hosted by the Chicago Police Accountability Task Force. The work, centered at Smart Chicago, is a part of the Documenters program. Here’s a snip from a blog post I wrote, kicking off this particular work with the CPATF: We care about…
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The Essential Civic Whitaker
I edited and published “The @CivicWhitaker Anthology: three years of organizing, writing, and documenting in Chicago civic tech at the Smart Chicago Collaborative”. Here’s my introduction: Hiring Christopher Whitaker to work as a consultant for Smart Chicago was one of the best decisions I made here. Together, we created a new job type— part documenter, part…
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Experimental Modes of Civic Engagement in Civic Tech
I edited, published, and wrote the preface for this book, subtitled “Meeting people where they are” while I was Executive Director at the Smart Chicago Collaborative.