2000115-Strengthening-Communities-with-Neighborhood-Data

40 Strengthening Communities with Neighborhood Data
Technology has greatly changed how local governments collect and
maintain data. In the span of less than three decades, offices have moved
from working with mainframe computers and electric typewriters
to laptops, tablets, and smartphones. As old paper records have been
scanned and converted to digital form, local governments have been able
to manipulate and analyze data in a variety of new ways. More powerful
and affordable computer systems have made it possible to work with
increasingly large amounts of data. The need to hire staff to collect and
process data is being replaced by the need to hire data analysts to probe
available data and answer policy questions. 1
A renaissance is taking place. Web and mobile applications, sometimes
referred to as Web 2.0, permit ever larger amounts of data to be
collected, shared, and analyzed, pushing community leaders to rethink
how business should be done. As a result, communities are changing
in the way they develop and even what it means to be a community.
For community leaders—and local governments more specifically—the
ability to connect with citizens increased remarkably with the introduction
of websites and e-mail. Communications and interactions with the
public have become more immediate and interactive as a result, making
it easier for leaders to better understand what issues are of greatest
importance to citizens.
Currently citizens can access nonconfidential municipal documents
almost any time they want via government websites. In the not too distant
future, smartphone users will be able to hear and see the public discussions
relating to their property or proposal, as well as view all related
regulations, plans, and documents. The need to attend a public hearing
in person will be replaced by virtual meetings using video-conferencing
technology. Data centers with in-house servers are being reconfigured
with virtual servers (more popularly known as the cloud). The future
will bring greater integration of all data, including video and voice. By
virtue of their historic role as keeper of a multitude of administrative
records, local governments need to be at the forefront of this effort.
Indeed, the data and information systems used for maintaining and
updating these records are considered essential infrastructure for the
community.
Local governments are also demonstrating that the analysis of data
can be used to realize significant return on investment, cost savings, and
better decisions. With the ability to better gauge the potential results of
policy decisions, local governments are embracing new innovations for