Databite No. 87 | The future of municipal open data, smart cities, and civic technology

In this Databite, Mr. Hidalgo journeys through two fellowships — his Data & Society Fellowship and construction of a new fellowship for 21st century civic hackers.

The first half of the discussion focuses on detailed lessons learned from working within the City’s civic technology community, collaborating with CUNY’s Service Corps students, building a municipal open data curriculum, and developing partnerships with the Mayor’s Office, Manhattan Borough President, and various City agencies. The second half of the discussion outlines designing 21st century systems — political and technological, that are rooted in reason and aspire to build the vaulted cathedral of idealism outlined in foundation the 20th century’s vision of progressivism.

Recommended reading:

• People’s Roadmap to a Digital New York City
• NYC Civic Innovation Fellows Introduction
• NYC Digital Playbook
• NYC Open Data for All (2015 report y 2016 report)
• Event Summary – School of Data
• Event Summary – TreesCount Data Jam Event
• Article – Star Spangled Geeks
• Article – USDS Values

Noel A. Hidalgo, Executive Director of BetaNYC (@betanyc), is a 2015-2016 fellow at Data & Society. His work focuses on empowering community-based organizations, NYC’s Community Boards, and government employees to understand how data, tools, and culture are unified in today’s civic hacking ethos.

About Databites
Data & Society’s “Databites” speaker series presents timely conversations about the purpose and power of technology, bridging our interdisciplinary research with broader public conversations about the societal implications of data and automation.