Open Data Is On The Rise

With the influx of technology and subsequent data, more and more cities are leaning towards opening all that data to the public. The City of Chicago opened its data in 2011 to further engage with citizens on a more even level. As a result, the outcome for Chicago has been extremely positive. Chicago Mayor Emmanuel even stated that the open data policy has added a new sense of passion and enthusiasm among city staff and the community. 

On the heels of cities like Chicago, New York City has now decided to join the ranks of the open data movement.  On February 29th, 2012 the City Council approved legislation that effectively mandates their departments to publicly publish their data online. Over the next 6 years, the city will be phasing all of their agencies to add information to the city's OpenData site. The site is meant to be easily accessible by the public with the ability to download the information. The goal is to increase transparency, knowledge and community engagement between the city and its residents.
The open data movement shows no signs of slowing down and here at PublicStuff, we're here to help! Our system helps to store and organize massive amounts of data into a streamlined, organized suite. The addition of our recent ESRI integration, helps to further enhance the amount of data your city has access to. If you want to hear more about how you can access even more data with ESRI, or if you have questions regarding the data we're able to collect and how it can best work for your needs, feel free to contact us at team@publicstuff.com.   

New York City's OpenData Site

PublicStuff Donates Service Request Tools to Tornado Affected Communities

Photo Credit Reuters / Eric Thayer

PublicStuff, the innovative web and mobile based public service request management system, is donating its services for free to the towns and counties affected by the recent tornado outbreaks throughout the country. Through the web and mobile platforms, residents are able to report nonemergency service requests like down trees, flipped cars, broken street lights and more, and have those requests sent directly to the appropriate city department and staff member.

Local governments in these affected tornado zones will also be granted access to the backend workflow suite in order to manage and process these requests in an efficient, organized manner. These agencies may also embed the web portal on their website so residents can submit online requests directly through their respective town/county’s website. For residents without internet access, they may use their mobile phones to report issues, regardless of their wireless provider. If using a smart-phone, users can snap a photo of the issue and submit it with one click. All requests will get sent directly to the managing staff person. Mobile phone options are available for residents to submit service requests via the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Blackberry and Android PublicStuff applications. For residents without smart phones, they can still submit requests via text messaging to 1-617-500-3111and through land-line calls toll free to 1-888-491-3119. Once a request is submitted, residents can easily track their requests, support other requests and receive status updates from their local government. City staff will also be able to utilize PublicStuff's professional software system to manage and improve the efficiency with which they respond to the needs of the public and even send out reverse 311 alerts.

Photo Credit: Reuters/Kentucky National Guard/Capt. Stephen Martin

“At PublicStuff, we are committed to improving communities and enhancing the quality of life for every citizen. As such, we want to help communities that have been affected by natural disasters. We understand this is an overwhelming and devastating time for many people. We hope that enabling an easy way for citizens to report the nonemergency damage around them and giving city staff access to a simplified workflow suite, will help them in their efforts to rebuild their community and spirits during this trying time.” stated Lily Liu, CEO and Founder of PublicStuff.

Government agencies that would like access to the complimentary backend workflow suite can sign-up by emailing team@publicstuff.com. To access any of the public services, please visit the following links:

Online Portal: www.publicstuff.com
iPhone App: www.publicstuff.com/iphone/
Android App: www.publicstuff.com/android/

Our Future Prosperity Hinges On The Health Of Our Cities

By: Morena Vattuone

As just another regular person trying to find a way to make ends meet, I’m often disillusioned by what seems like diluted policy “solutions” that really won’t be effective in solving any of our problems. More and more, I’m starting to realize that to wait for government to solve 100% of our problems, is to agree to wait, well, forever. And perhaps the whole notion of government solving everything on its own, is, well, a bit unfair.

The bottom-line is that we have to get involved. It’s not a matter of pulling ourselves up by our proverbial bootstraps, it’s more a matter of coordinating with our neighbors, schools, friends, and family to create a network of people that are looking out for the personal and collective interest—hmmmmm, some may actually call it, the community interest.

Last year the President said to the nation’s mayors at their annual conference, “We need to promote strong cities as the backbone of regional growth….we also need to stop seeing our cities as the problem and start seeing them as the solution…strong cities are the building blocks of strong regions, and strong regions are essential for a strong America…”

And on February 19, 2009, Obama signed an executive order establishing the Office of Urban Affairs. This demonstrated that the current administration recognizes cities and metropolitan areas as dynamic engines for our economy.

For the first time in history, the majority of the world’s population lives in cities. By the middle of this century, this figure will likely grow by 37 percent. In the United States, 83 percent of people and 85 percent of jobs are located in the nation’s 363 metro areas. Beyond the numbers, the overwhelming majority of the nation’s assets — airports, hospitals, universities, financial institutions, infrastructure, manufacturing plants — are concentrated in metropolitan regions and generate almost 90 percent of the nation’s economic production.

The President recognizes that the true experts of how to plan for the future prosperity of our cities and metro areas are the people in communities who have figured out how to rebuild neighborhoods, build businesses, educate their kids, make their communities safe, clean up the environment, or come up with the latest technological or scientific innovation, in spite of government.

The President says that “Washington can’t solve all our problems…change in this country comes not from the top-down, but from the bottom up.” President Obama believes that government should serve to support American ingenuity and creativity.

I don’t want this to be a list of Obama quotes. What I do want is for us to acknowledge that although government plays a crucial role in the health of our cities, the onus equally falls on us to do some of the heavy-lifting as well, to help us move past the current economic and social hardships.

Washington certainly can be a partner and catalyst for community-based solutions, instead of a bureaucratic obstacle. Our cities and neighborhoods are places of opportunity, we just need to partner with our local leaders, and one another, to make the changes we want to see.