Today I attended the MassDOT Developers Conference on transportation apps and data. The conference was organized by Chris Dempsey and Josh Robin, two Massachusetts state employees who have been spearheading work to publish transportation data and encourage third party developers to create apps in the state. The big news at the conference was their announcement […]
Planetizen Post: American ‘High Speed’ Rail Will Be Regional and Slow
See my latest Planetizen article: “The Future of American High Speed Rail: Regional and Slow“
Simulating Our Petroleum-Dependent Future
Computer modeling is a powerful tool for analyzing complex urban systems. Indeed, for decades metropolitan-scale transportation planning has been informed by increasingly sophisticated computer models. In addition, models are commonly used to study all types of infrastructure systems, the urban environment, even possible location of future of urban growth. In fact, I’m building an attractiveness […]
New Database of Tools for Participation and Collaboration in Urban Planning
Over at my MIT webspace I just launched a database of web tools for participation and collaboration in planning. I created it mostly to help myself keep track of all the technology and consultants in this area, and also because of my dissatisfaction with existing databases. It’s not meant to be all-encompassing, just cover the […]
Does Data Matter in Urban Policy?
Last week’s Open Cities conference, sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation and Next American City, brought together a diverse group to discuss the role of new media in shaping urban policy. One of the major topics discussed was the emerging trend of cities establishing data catalogs where a wide range of datasets and feeds are made […]
What Government Web Feeds Are Needed?
More and more governments are publishing data feeds, whether of news, alerts regarding public services, or even exposing administrative data. In the UK, the “Mash the State” project has the goal of encouraging every local unit of government publish a news RSS feed. Inspired by the project, Steve Clift asked “what web feeds should government […]
Planetizen Post: An iPhone in the City
See my latest post on Planetizen, on iPhone apps and urban life.