On Monday, we presented a workshop at GeoWeb in Vancouver, BC, on installing, configuring and using a full open source geospatial stack (database, application server, web ui, desktop) and except for the desktop (QGIS) all the components are part of the OpenGeo Suite.
The workshop is now online, at http://workshops.opengeo.org/stack-intro/, try it out and get a feel for what open source can do. Big shout-out to my co-presenter, Steven Citron-Pousty, who provided the QGIS section and lots of presentation energy.
Greater Newark Conservancy's Newark Youth Leadership Project is giving youth the tools and support to transform their streets for the better. Livable Streets Education was on the scene, giving Community Organizing 101 talk, highlighted the ways that citizens can get involved in creating safer, more sustainable streets and neighborhoods.
The presentation program has been selected for FOSS4G 2009, and OpenGeo will be easy to find. We will be talking about the philosophy of open source, about the practicalities of using GeoServer, OpenLayers, PostGIS, and GeoWebCache, and we’ll be on the exhibition floor as a Gold Sponsor.
Here are talks from our team that have been selected:
Over July 4th weekend, our big purple friend Zozo stopped in at Celebrate Brooklyn to enjoy the car-free atmosphere. He caught a concert by They Might Be Giants and talked to a few thousand new friends about making New York City a friendlier place for Zozos.
Washington D.C. has continued to improve it’s 311 service by releasing a draft for the second version of it’s Open 311 API. Last week also brought to a close the Apps for Democracy contest that was put on to develop apps for this API. An announcement of the final round winner will be made public the week of July 13th.
Boston has just announced the creation of a free iPhone app called Citizen Connect that will let iPhone users in Boston submit municipal complaints. Here we finally have a city responding the need for hand-held 311 service requests.
These are all encouraging developments which represent different possibilities for improving 311 services. The effort with Open311 continues with looking at these different approaches and specific API’s to see how a standard can be coalesced.
Meet Gabe Klein who was appointed new director of Washington D.C.'s Department of Transportation (DDOT) in December 2008. With an interesting background which includes four years working for Zipcar, Mr. Klein was brought in with the idea of looking at the job from a fresh perspective (check out: Potholepalooza!) and innovating solutions to many mobility problems D.C. faces. Right off the bat, you'll love a lot of what he has to say:
"Cars are a part of our daily life here in D.C. ...but what we want to do is try to equalize the playing field. Encourage people to walk, to bike, to bike share; or instead of owning a car - car share."
Washington D.C. already has one of the lowest household car-ownership percentages of any major U.S. city, so actively promoting these modes is essential to helping its citizens move about with - as Mr Klein points out - "freedom".
