Communications of the ACM
Beyond Software: Programmers Hope to Change Macon
Downtown Macon, Georgia, at night.
Credit: www.whaun.com
Three fellows with Code for America have spent nearly a year in Bibb County, Ga., writing software for various organizations.
Their aim was to facilitate people's access to government information, such as through the online mapping of code enforcement violations, according to Nick Doiron, a Code for America programmer. He says he had to test solutions before implementing them to ensure they would operate on the city's aging computers, which use older operating systems. The code enforcement database software, for example, had not been updated since 1997, Doiron notes.
Code for America also has updated Macon Transit's maps to display every bus route and expected arrival times. For Habitat for Humanity, Code for America developed an electronic map of every building's foundation through Bibb County's government, then created a way for Habitat to show houses that had been dismantled, rebuilt, or replaced. Another project is able to monitor houses with overgrown yards or other maintenance problems. Additionally, a new project is enabling the Macon-Bibb County Emergency Management Agency to map out damage from storms or other disasters, before which the agency relied on paper and colored pencils.
From Macon Telegraph
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