Today I talked on WBEZ’s Afternoon Shift about the need for people-focused, not data-focused civic tech. Here’s a description:
If you go to the city’s data portal, you’ll find a database of more than 5 million crimes reported in the city since 2001. It’s one of the largest sets of its kind in the country, and a major success in the history of open data. But recently the Chicago Police Department has received more attention for the information they aren’t releasing. Allegations of off-the-books activity at CPD’s Homan Square facility have called into question just how open the city has been. Dan O’Neil has been a key part of the city’s open data community for years, including helping to found EveryBlock and now as Executive Director of the Smart Chicago Collaborative. He joins us in studio.
Here’s a downloaded copy of the audio:
Lastly, here’s a blog post I wrote on the subject.