Computer nerds hacked city hall last weekend… but in a good way.
The City of Atlanta hosted its first ever “Govathon” (also known as a “hackathon”), where it pitched various problems to a room full of computer nerds for them to come up with innovative solutions.
There were a couple dozen pitches from the city as well as independent developers that were in need of technological aid. Issues such as parking meter woes, transparency in government, and even potholes just to name a few.
In 15 hours, after working from 8 p.m. on Friday to 4 p.m. on Saturday, teams of programmers and designers came up with solutions in the form of web-based and phone-based applications, which were then presented to a panel of judges (among them was City Councilman Kwanza Hall).
My personal favorite (also the first place winner), was the team known as the “Crime Syndicate.” They developed an app that gives public access to a PDF of police incident reports by typing in the reference number in your phone. Among other features, it also had the ability to map crimes by area and type.
We all need more of this.
It was amazing the type of ingenuity and creativity that was put on display in less than a day’s time. However, while I applaud the efforts of the city reaching out to the community for unique solutions, I question whether or not any of the brilliant ideas will be implemented.
The bureaucratic process for approving these initiatives, such as the Crime Syndicate’s app, is unnecessarily time-consuming. First the proposal needs to go to the Police Chief, then to the Department of Information Technology, then to the a committee, then to the City Council for a vote… This is how good ideas die.
Another noteworthy app was “Curbb,” a pay-by-phone parking meters. City parking is a frustrating concept for anyone who’s ever been late to anything or even more so to anyone who’s ever received a parking ticket.
With this app, there’s no need to put change in the meter or wait on the parking box to process your debit card. All you need to do is tap your phone to a “smart meter” and add time via text while you’re on the way to that meeting you’re late for.
What’s more, you can also set up text message alerts to warn you of expiring time (no more parking tickets).
While I understand the need for democracy, there’s got to be a better way for streamlining new, and useful projects.
Is it really necessary for layer upon layer of legislative madness for every interaction involving the city government?
The law, as well as the democratic process, still hasn’t caught up with new technology. But given the genius that I witnessed this past weekend, I cannot see how an idea could be produced in 15 hours and take an additional six months to a year (or more) to actually implement.
