The first eight winning cities have been announced for a $42 million, 100-city data-use program.
The competition, called "What Works Cities" and is sponsored by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's foundation, promotes innovation in city government by making the massive amounts of city operations data more publicly accessible to better improve issues like job creation, public health, and blight.
The cities will receive "expert support and peer-to-peer learning opportunities to make government more effective," according to a press release.
The AP reports that the eight cities—Seattle; New Orleans; Louisville, Ky.; Jackson, Miss.; Mesa, Ariz.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Kansas City, Mo.; and Tulsa, Okla.—will each receive portion of the $42 million.
The press release provided examples of how cities are relying on data and evidence to deliver better results for city residents:
• New Orleans used data to reduce blighted residences by 10,000 and increased the number of homes brought into compliance by 62% in two years. The city’s “BlightStat” program has put New Orleans, once behind in efforts to revitalize abandoned and decaying properties, at the forefront of national efforts.
• New York City focused efforts to reduce air pollution and improved the health of residents after the local government studied and publicly released data showing which areas of the city were most polluted, and which local sources were contributing the most harmful air pollutants.
• Louisville is using data from volunteers who attached GPS trackers to their asthma inhalers to better identify and target the sources of air pollution.
• Kansas City, Mo., achieved a 20% increase in overall satisfaction with the city’s image since 2010, after using data from their annual citizen survey and 311 services to drive decision-making for city departments.
The What Works Cities program is open for cities between 100,000 and one million people, and 110 cities have already applied. More winners will be chosen through 2017.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
BIM adoption tops 80% among the nation's largest AEC firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 survey
The nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction companies are on the BIM bandwagon in a big way, according to Building Design+Construction's premier Top 50 BIM Adopters ranking, published as part of the 2009 Giants 300 survey. Of the 320 AEC firms that participated in Giants survey, 83% report having at least one BIM seat license in house, half have more than 30 seats, and near...
| Aug 11, 2010
Thrown For a Loop in China
While the Bird's Nest and Water Cube captured all the TV coverage during the Beijing Olympics in August, the Rem Koolhaas-designed CCTV Headquarters in Beijing—known as the “Drunken Towers” or “Big Shorts,” for its unusual shape—is certain to steal the show when it opens next year.
| Aug 11, 2010
Great Solutions: BIM/Information Technology
4. Architectural Visualization through Gaming Technology Before 3D walkthroughs for client presentations were popular, HKS manager of Advanced Technologies Pat Carmichael and his team were working to marry gaming engines with 3D building models. "What's being tasked to us more and more is not just to show design, but to show function," Carmichael said.
| Aug 11, 2010
Great Solutions: Collaboration
9. HOK Takes Videoconferencing to A New Level with its Advanced Collaboration Rooms To help foster collaboration among its 2,212 employees while cutting travel time, expenses, and carbon emissions traveling between its 24 office locations, HOK is fitting out its major offices with prototype videoconferencing rooms that are like no other in the U.
| Aug 11, 2010
BIM school, green school: California's newest high-performance school
Nestled deep in the Napa Valley, the city of American Canyon is one of a number of new communities in Northern California that have experienced tremendous growth in the last five years. Located 42 miles northeast of San Francisco, American Canyon had a population of just over 9,000 in 2000; by 2008, that figure stood at 15,276, with 28% of the population under age 18.
