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ATX Hackathon for Change

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Date: Sat, 1 Jun 2013 through Sun, 2 Jun 2013
Location: St. Edward’s University, 3001 S Congress Avenue, Austin, TX
Event Page: ATX Hackathon for Change

Open Austin is pleased to be one of the supporting co-sponsors of this event.

Join the City of Austin and Hack for Change in the ATX Hackathon for Change 2013, a National Day of Civic Hacking event deep in the heart of Texas. Let’s get Austin’s finest data junkies, coders, developers, designers, and general hack-enthusiasts together on the St. Edward’s University campus June 1 & 2 to discuss and develop civic solutions.

We’ll be working with City of Austin data sets to address the Austin-area issues you’re most passionate about. Come prepared to hack your way through a project addressing anything from mass transit scheduling and communication to matching up entrepreneurs and skilled resources in the area. Take advantage of this chance to put your priorities in action and connect with like-minded local hackers to make something uniquely ATX.

Featured post

ATX Civic Tech Expo

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Date: Thu, 23 May 2013
Time: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM (link)
Location: Austin City Hall, Lobby, 301 W 2nd St, Austin, TX 78701 (link)

May 17 update: Our media advisory is here.

The ATX Civic Tech Expo is an opportunity for the public to discover what civic technology is and how the community benefits from open data and civic hacking.

We will be in the City Hall lobby all day, with demonstrations of civic apps and open data, including apps developed by the local community. Also, there will be a mini civic hackathon in the media room “fishbowl”, so the public can observe the civic hacking process.

We need volunteers to help with the exhibits and to participate in the hackathon. If you are interested in helping, contact info [at] open-austin [dot] org.

And please come join us during the day, to experience the ATX Civic Tech Expo.

The event is being organized by Open Austin, the City of Austin, Socrata, St. Edwards University Office of Information Technology, and Austin Free-Net.

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City of Austin

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Media advisory: Local hackers to bring civic technology to City Hall

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For immediate release
May 17, 2013

Local hackers to bring civic technology to City Hall

The City of Austin and its community partners will host the first ATX Civic Tech Expo May 23 to demonstrate websites and apps that have been developed by this civic collaboration.

The free public event will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the City Hall Atrium, 301 W. Second St. The expo will provide hands-on exhibits of innovative civic tools and services. Members from the community and City departments will be on hand to answer questions about the showcased technologies.

These innovative tools range from a means to help new bicycle commuters find a supporting buddy (bike-buddy.open-austin.org) to real-time indication of flood conditions and road closures (www.atxfloods.com).

Some of these civic tools emerge from “hackathons,” events where technology-savvy people gather to brainstorm or “hack out” new ideas. Hackathons throughout the country have focused on issues ranging from civic needs to commercial start-ups to fashion. Austin has seen an increasing number of civic hackathons such as the ATX Civic Hackathon III last February.

“Civic hacking is the new civic engagement,” said Chip Rosenthal of Open Austin, a local volunteer group that advocates for open government, open data and civic technology. “Many people in Austin are both technically skilled and active in the community. Civic hacking allows their local government work better for them.”

The May 23 expo will include a one-day hackathon where local volunteers will develop new tools for civic benefit. This will give Expo visitors a first-hand view of the civic hacking process.

The expo and hackathon are sponsored by Open Austin, the City of Austin, St. Edward’s University’s Office of Information Technology and Austin Free-Net. Representatives of each will be available to discuss their civic technology efforts.

Open Austin (www.open-austin.org), founded in 2009, is affiliated with Code for America, a national non-profit that uses technology to help governments work better, as the local “civic brigade.”

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White House Announces new Open Data Policy

Yesterday, President Obama visited Austin. Coincident with that visit, the White House issued an executive order creating a new open data policy for the Federal government.

The Federal government already had an open data policy in place. It encouraged all agencies to make their data availaable to the public, in readily consumable formats.

The significant change under this new policy is that now all newly generated government data will be open to the public by default.

An announcement from the White House said:

Under the terms of the Executive Order and a new Open Data Policy released today by the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Office of Management and Budget, all newly generated government data will be required to be made available in open, machine-readable formats, greatly enhancing their accessibility and usefulness, while ensuring privacy and security.

More information here: Landmark Steps to Liberate Open Data

KXAN: Bike Buddy website helps new bike commuters

This morning, KXAN ran a story about Bike Buddy, a new website we created as part of May Bike Month. The site helps new bike commuters find an experienced buddy to help them.

Austin city leaders and bike advocacy groups have come up with a way to help timid cyclists gain confidence to ride to work.

“So you can meet your perfect match. Somebody who’s going the same route that you are can help advise you on what route works the best, what equipment to use and how to follow the rules of the road,” said Councilman Chris Riley.

The video is embedded below.

The full story is here: KXAN: Website helps pair up cyclists who want to ride to work

Here is another video, with Tom Wald of Bike Austin talking about the Bike Buddy app:

Here are some additional media mentions:

News Release: Bike Buddy Website Launched as a May Bike Month Initiative

(Download formatted media advisory in PDF here.)

Letterhead: City of Austin, Chris Riley, Council Member, Place 1
May 3, 2013
For immediate release

Bike Buddy Website Launched as a May Bike Month Initiative

Austin, TX – As the 2013 Bike Month gets underway, a new website will connect anyone interested in biking to work with experienced bicycle commuters in Austin. This website provides an opportunity to encourage new people to explore bicycle commuting as a viable transportation option. The most recent data indicates that approximately two percent of Austinites commute by bicycle, and in some central city areas over twelve percent of the population is riding to work on a bicycle.

The website (http://bike-buddy.open-austin.org/) is easy to use, allowing anyone to sign up as a new or experienced bicycle commuter in just a couple of minutes. With an interactive map, users will be able to visually see where other cyclists are starting and ending their trips. The website also makes it easy to connect with other registered users in order to coordinate a ride together.

“Many Austin commuters are interested in cycling, but concerned about the safety of riding to work,” Council Member Riley said. “We also have many experienced bike commuters who are ready to help others discover how safe and enjoyable riding to work can be. This website offers a bridge between those two groups, enabling anyone to feel more comfortable by riding in with an experienced commuter who can suggest good routes, address questions about equipment and clothing needed, and provide guidance about the rules of the road.”

Open Austin provided the technical expertise to develop the website based on collaboration with the Office of Council Member Riley. A number of local organizations will be helping the City of Austin promote the website, including the Austin Cycling Association, Bike Austin, BikeTexas, and Movability Austin.

“Open Austin was asked to lend its development skills to the project,” Open Austin member Chip Rosenthal stated. “Austin Bike Buddy is a great idea and directly fits our mission to support local civic technology, apps, and websites. This project resulted from a partnership between our volunteers, the City, and the local biking community,” he added.

The website will be live for the month of May. Organizers hope that the project will provide valuable information for continued efforts to connect and encourage new and experienced bicycle commuters.

Open Austin (www.open-austin.org), founded in 2009, is a local citizen volunteer group that advocates for open government, open data, and civic technology. Open Austin is affiliated with Code for America, a national non-profit that uses technology to help governments work better, as the local civic brigade.

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Presentation to City Council Emerging Tech

This week, we were invited to give a presentation to the Austin City Council Emerging Technology and Telecommunications Committee. Open Austin members Chip Rosenthal and Herb Watkins presented.

Herb reported on our success in initiating regular Open Government Hack Nights, and the happy achievement that a core group has emerged that is making constant progress on hack projects. He also summarized the three current projects, being worked on actively.

Chip reported on upcoming events: the upcoming May 23 Civic Tech Expo and the June 1-2 National Day of Civic Hacking hackathon. Switching gears from hacking to government issues, Chip also reviewed the status with the Office of Civic Technology Innovation proposal. He discussed the need for more public engagement in the process, and impacts of the delays.

The slides are here: 20130430-Open-Austin-Update (670KB PDF)

The meeting video is embedded below and can be streamed here.

Gov Tech: Wired and Weird

“Government Technology” just published an article about advances in civic technology in Austin. They cite Open Austin as one of the forces that’s propelling the city to provide more civic data and apps.

“For us, having that community involvement and interest has been the jet fuel that has helped us move forward,” said Matthew Esquibel, IT division manager over Internet services and applications for Austin. Several projects now exist, providing evidence of this forward motion.

Read the full article here: Wired and Weird in Austin

Mayor Leffingwell Announces Google Fiber

Google Fiber comes to Austin, Texas

Today Google Fiber announced that Austin would be the second region to receive its gigabit Internet service. With speeds up to 100 times faster than the average home connection, Google Fiber is big news for our city.

Open Austin Steering Committee members Chip Rosenthal and Kye Hittle were on hand for the announcement at Brazos Hall in downtown Austin today.

Open Austin expresses deep gratitude to everyone from city/state government, local business and non-profit organizations who worked to bring Google Fiber to Austin. Along with many others, we can’t wait to see what our community does with broadband Internet access available in every home.

To find out more, visit the Google Fiber Austin page.

Local Civic Apps Submitted for Challenge Grants

Last week, two locally-supported civic applications were submitted to the Knight News Challenge.

The Knight News Challenge accelerates media innovation by funding breakthrough ideas in news and information. The challenge topic is, “How might we improve the way citizens and governments interact.?” Winners receive a share of $5 million in funding and support from Knight’s network of influential peers and advisors to help advance their ideas.

Our members submitted two proposals, for applications that were conceived at local civic hackathons, and continue to be developed by the community at our bi-weekly hack nights. They are:

These projects are among 837 entries from around the globe, collected during the “Submission” phase of the program. We currently are in a “Feedback” phase, which runs through March 29. After that, semi-finalists will be designated, who will have a chance to refine their proposals for final selection.

The Knight Foundation invites the public to participate. You can give “applause” to projects you like. Also, you can make comments or ask questions about the projects. (Registration required.)

You can help support our local civic apps. Between now and March 29, visit the project pages, give applause,and leave feedback.