I just got the new Wired magazine in the mail (March 2012), and it has an interesting article called “Cultivating Genius” by Jonah Lehrer. (Sorry, no online link yet.) The article starts by essentially making the same point that Edward Glaeser makes in Triumph of the City about how innovators and creators tend to congregate, …
As a follow up to yesterday’s book review, I’d like to discuss whether a certain theory of federalism—that is, the interaction of state and federal government—applies with equal force to city and state interactions. That theory is “polyphonic federalism.” Let me explain. “Polyphony”—a musical term describing independent voices singing together—was applied to federalism by Emory …
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Wanted to highlight an app from last year’s Apps for Metro Chicago competition called OkCopay. The app compares the cash price of medical services. It’s primary for people to shop around for those services not covered by insurance. It also compares other variables, such as years of experience and distance from your geographic area, though, …
The Cook County jail is currently the largest single-site jail in the nation. (Jails, as opposed to prisons, house inmates sentenced to less than a year imprisonment or who are awaiting trial, which can last for multiple years.) The Cook County jail can house nearly 10,000 inmates at a time and holds about 100,000 annually. …
Continue reading ‘Reducing inmates, saving money – plans for America’s largest jail’ »
Chicago requires lobbyists to register and then lists them (and their clients) on the city’s data portal. I went through and tried to figure out who had the most lobbyists registered in Chicago in 2011. I combined subsidiaries whenever possible. Here’s the list, by my count: JP Morgan Chase (19)— the largest U.S. bank by assets. …
Continue reading ‘Who has the most lobbyists in Chicago? The city’s top 13 lobbyist clients’ »
Here is Rachel Sterne, NYC’s Chief Digital Officer, discussing a four-point plan for advancing technology in NYC. The four points—which are useful for any city government—are as follows: Access to technology, e.g., expanding the access to wireless Internet Open government, e.g., sharing more information with developers Engagement, e.g., using more social media, specifically Twitter, Youtube, and …
Continue reading ‘Chief Digital Officer for NYC – Roadmap to a Digital City – Video Wednesday’ »
I recently used open data from HUD about public-housing inventory and Census population data to examine which states had the most Section 8 housing units per person in 2010. (Section 8 is a federally subsidized program for low-income renters.) Here’s the top 6 and bottom 6: I’m not surprised that DC is number one, since it …
Continue reading ‘Which states have the most Section 8 housing per person – Census Tuesday’ »