We’re back. We lost power and internet in our office after the hurricane for a week but everyone made it back ok. We reconvened in a conference room in downtown Brooklyn. Here’s some of the top best stories we caught and chatted about during the cleanup after Hurricane Sandy:
+ Natural disasters have shown that open data policies are critical infrastructure. Theodora Middleton argues that yes, when a disaster strikes the wheels of information are powered forth with open data implementation – the more open data feeds available, the better we’re all informed. via Open Knowledge Foundation Blog
+ Fast, brisk mapmaking in the face of danger part 1: Curbed NY’s Buildings Declared ‘Unsafe’ or ‘Restricted Use’ by the DOB via curbed ny
+ Fast, brisk mapmaking in the face of danger, part 2: GasBuddy- one of the many maps showing gas availability in NYC. Imagine the possibilities of this data overlaid with train service as it came back online. via gasbuddy
+ Fast, brisk mapmaking in the face of danger, part 3: A list of evacuation zones with geo-located video and picture accounts overlaid. via arcgis
+ Fast, brisk mapmaking in the face of danger, the compendium: A big list of Hurricane Sandy maps
+ Hurricane Sandy vs NYC Cyclists. A report on cycling in the days following Sandy. via core77
+ A nice and easy volunteer sign-up site called Volunteer Sign-up. via Volunteer Sign-up
+ An account of the storm from the elected leaders who pulled us through. via NY Observer
+ How NY MTA brought back the subway line by line, on paper.
Sandy prompted some thoughtful discussions about our work and the potential for our tools to help out in a crisis. Look out for more on the blog here soon.