What we do

We support aspirational citizen engagement with urban planning. We develop open source software tools, we catalyze and support communities of interest, and we build capacity and new connections between different groups.

What we’re working on

We’re working towards better planning and civic engagement in several ways.

Building tools for citizens-led planning
What if planning was more citizen-centric? Could progressive planning ideas get more support if communities had tools to start, track and report on local changes to streets and neighborhoods? We’re building simple tools for demand driven planning — from block parties to bike racks, and beyond.

Creating capacity for better planning processes
Community groups know their patch better than anyone. But the best tools for the job might not be in their hands. In line with our mission as a non-profit, we provide capacity building and guidance on online tools, outreach, and data analysis for non-profits and community planning processes. We work with groups in NYC and nationally, on a funded and voluntary basis.

Helping city governments engage online
We help city governments, agencies and non-profits use the web for effective online planning engagement. We understand the dynamics of projects and public consultations, so we build software that strengthens and supports existing public outreach processes. With an open source foundation, our tools are flexible and extensible to suit local needs without requiring complex custom development. See our work with the NYC DOT, NACTO and PlanningPress.

Getting data moving between government, citizens, and media
What does an ecosystem of urban information look like? What tools are needed to power it? Through work on OpenBlock, we’re exploring the world of hyperlocal, and its implications for civic data and local news.

Convening people who make change
Sometimes, ideas and people just need a catalyst to get them going. We’ve brought civic-minded software developers together with city staff, transportation experts, community planners, and more. From a long track record of community building around open source and cities, we know the right ways to get people talking, in person and online, and ways to sustain involvement and support for groups of interest in the civic hacking, open gov, transportation and related fields. See TransportationCamp, the Urban Systems Collaborative, and our work helping the MTA open up transit data.

Work with us

Partnerships are important to Civic Works. We’re students of the past experience and institutional memories of neighbors, planners, activists, engineers, elected officials and others who define our communities.

We provide our software tools to progressive cities and government agencies. We partner with community groups and individuals, to equip them with new tools and skills, and in turn to learn from them. Through our work on open source software, we adopt working practices that demonstrate these principles.

And we hire great people: we’re always interested in meeting talented software engineers, planners and civic hackers. Talk to us.