Archive for December, 2009

Social Networking Lessons for Building Local Communities

A city's sustainability and stability relies on an active, engaged, and innovative population. But local government was never structured to address this social aspect of community even though many expect it to do so. Instead, as Tim O'Reilly said in this video, government is like a vending machine,

12.28.2009 | Government in the Metaverse, Public Works, Public Works in Second Life, Public Works in the Metaverse | admin

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Virtual Cemeteries

Managing a public cemetery is just one of the many tasks handled by a public works department. Typically we take care of cutting grass, repairing monuments, paving/plowing roads, removing leaves, burying people, selling lots, and handling the documentation and requests for grave locations. Little ha

12.27.2009 | Public Works, Public Works in Second Life, Public Works in the Metaverse | admin

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Open Government: A New Type of Reality Show?

There's been a lot of talk lately about open and transparent government, public data collection and distribution, and freedom of information. People are excited about online tools that allow for sharing of data. And politicians are eagerly answering the cries for open government by passing new FOIA

12.22.2009 | Government in the Metaverse | admin

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A GPS Twist on Overweight/Oversize Permits

Each city seems to have set up some form or policy for issuing overweight/oversize permits. But other than filling out the form and securing necessary certificates of insurance, what else should be done to perform a proper review? And how can GPS eventually help improve this process? My thoughts

12.4.2009 | Public Works | admin

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