A publication about transforming government with digital tools & design thinking.
“Digital natives” want change. What’s the best way to bridge the gap between the present we have and the future we want?
Unless designers learn how to speak with—and write for—their users, our best projects may fail. Whitney Quesenbery shares lessons learned from a project that sought to recommend ways to improve official voter information guides.
It’s the 21st Century. It shouldn’t be that difficult for citizens to access the law. Leili Slutz shares what her organization’s learned from their work making the law itself (and the process of lawmaking) more efficient, accessible and inclusive.
The OpenTrails data standard provides locals and visitors alike with better access to park- and trail-related data. Ryan Branciforte shares how the standard came about and what his organization is doing to help ensure it’s adopted.
Designers has always concerned ourselves with both possibility and compromise. How can we create spaces that allow others to do the same?
When politically sensitive topics present themselves, people are often quick to choose sides. But how can we pick if we haven’t considered the entire spectrum of possibilities? Jazmyn Latimer shows how questions help us better create solutions that work for everyone involved.
Bruno Latour’s seminal theory suggests that “publics” are not only comprised of people, but also things. Mariam Asad, Chris Le Dantec, and Carl DiSalvo share three stories that help us see technology’s ability to shape the nature of civic participation.
It’s easy for technologists to focus on incrementaly improving that which has come before. But what possibilities might this perspective preclude? Andrew Maier explores how civic tech might afford new definitions of progress.
Feeling overwhelmed? The editors at Civic Quarterly invite you to take our best advice for improving your life, civic or otherwise.
It’s easy for technologists to focus on incremental progress, on improving that which has come before. But what possibilities might this perspective preclude? The articles comprising issue #3 seek a qualitative change: sketching answers that are as unique as the questions from which they originate.
Read the letter from the editor
Carl DiSalvo
Georgia Institute of Technology
Christopher Le Dantec
Georgia Institute of Technology
Jazmyn Latimer
Code for America
Leili Slutz
OpenGov Foundation
Mariam Asad
Georgia Institute of Technology
Ryan Branciforte
Trailhead Labs
Whitney Quesenbery
Center for Civic Design
Arthur Johnstone
Illustrator
Chappell Ellison
Editor
Julia Wang
Illustrator
Travis Gertz
Graphic designer
Ryan Raphael
Illustrator