Chicago Shovels!

Photo: Paul Davidy

This past February, the City of Chicago got a black eye when it was hit with a blizzard and it quickly lost situational awareness on clean up efforts.  On top of the public relations nightmare that came from claims of clean city streets, that were not, a handful of volunteers launched a social media mapping web site in less than a day that became the de facto understanding of the snow emergency.  Recently, the New York Times provided an update on what's happened in Chicago since those events played out in February 2011.  Click on the link below to read, or click here to go directly to the ChicagoShovels web site (look for "Plow Tracker").

U.S. | January 03, 2012 Snow Site Lets Chicago See if Plows Are Really in a Rut
By MONICA DAVEY
ChicagoShovels.org will track the clearing of streets and encourage residents to pitch in after storms.


Comment: Apparently unbeknownst to the New York Times staff, New York City has decided to copy the effort in Chicago.  A decision which comes as the result of another unit of government not keeping up with Geospatial Revolution - New York City suffered under circumstances similar to Chicago's on December 26, 201o.