This is exactly the kind of thing that could have been inspired by Cognitive Surplus. These kinds of projects are simple, easy to implement, have a gamification element to them, become viral and, most important, THEY WORK. I wish that book weren’t so painful to read and written backwards. It could have had a major impact on us.
Any way, check out the TED talk after the link. Let me know what you think. Could it work where you live? What can you do to get it rolling? Do you have the technological background to initiate the creation of an app? Do you think you could rally the troops and gather the resources to get a project started in your community? Think about what needs to be done in your neighborhood. What could you do about it with a little bit of technology?
Jennifer Pahlka: Coding a better government
Here are some ideas – some with similar/example aps:
Getting government the information they need, because some things shouldbe left to govt.
- Alert your town to existing pot-holes: Example
- Alert your town to just about ANY needed city service: My Council Services
- Alert your police department of non-emergency things like abandoned cars.
Getting your neighbors involved:
An app…
- …for block watch organizations to log suspicious activity.
- …that allows you to earn points for picking up litter in your neighborhood.
- …that encourages people to adopt a vacant building’s yard maintenance.
It’s funny you mention the block watch. Our neighborhood is VERY active on a Facebook group and the Old Orchard block watch is working with their councilman or some other position to roll out text-alerts for when a crime is reported in the neighborhood. The basis and interest is already there.
Just yesterday during a run I noticed a lot of litter in the local park and was going to go clean it up before the rain came and washed that plan away. The adopt-a-hydrant app would be easily modified to adopt-a-park. Clean the litter and maybe even mow the lawn. I know it would feel really cool to be responsible for maintaining a park and having a direct impact on the enjoyment of people in your community.