Hackers and government may not seem a likely match, but the City of Houston's first annual Open Innovation Hackathon over the weekend drew more than 280 civic-minded computer nerds to the Houston Technology Center to help address community needs.
Software developers, designers and data analysts collaborated to churn out dozens of bright ideas and provide solutions to more than 25 problems ranging from recycling outlet finders to special event road closure notifications.
Winning the highest approval from a panel of judges were:
- A Citywide Fee Schedule search interface;
- Alert to Change Houston, which sends custom emails to stakeholders about proposed changes in their area;
- GreenSpaceCity, a map that highlights potential and existing green spaces; and
- Pedal Houston, a location-aware mobile map for viewing bicycle amenities in the city.
The hackathon kicked off the city's Open Data Initiative, a program that puts non-sensitive data in the public sphere. A spokesperson for Mayor Annise Parker said that this will be the first in a string of future events.
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More than 280 civic-minded computer nerds convened for the first ever City of Houston Hackathon.
