Open
Vancouver

creating a
city
that thinks
like the web

david eaves
citizen
blogger
fellow

tim wilson
citizen
GIS guru
father

our point:
1. openess and
participation created
a better internet.

our point:
1. openess and
participation created
a better internet.
They can also create a
better city.

our point:
2. where did this come
from?

our point:
3. what the open city
motion could mean for
vancouver

our point:
4. what’s next

<1>
openess and participation
created a better internet
they can also create a
better city

1998

1998
philip owen is mayor
WTO protests in seattle
exxon buys mobil
microsoft goes to court
france wins the world cup

1998
philip owen is mayor
WTO protests in seattle
exxon buys mobil
microsoft goes to court
france wins the world cup
and
the web is in danger

1998
the web is in danger
the mozilla project
is born

1998
The Mozilla project is a global community
of people who believe that openness,
innovation, and opportunity are key to
the continued health of the Internet.
the web is in danger
the mozilla project
is born

public benefit
The Mozilla project is a global community
of people who believe that openness,
innovation, and opportunity are key to
the continued health of the Internet.

open source

together we
rebuilt the platform,
open source
rebuilt the browser,
improved the web,
got things moving

together we
rebuilt the platform,
open source
rebuilt the browser,
improved the web,
got things moving

together we
rebuilt the platform,
open source
rebuilt the browser,
improved the web,
got things moving

together we
rebuilt the platform,
open source
rebuilt the browser,
improved the web,
got things moving

together we
rebuilt the platform,
open source
rebuilt the browser,
improved the web,
got things moving
using
openness
and participation

Mike Beltzner, developer
1

Mike Beltzner, Developer
1
Firefox development team
120

Mike Beltzner, developer
firefox development team
120
daily contributors
100s

Mike Beltzner, developer
firefox development team
120
daily contributors
weekly contributors
100s
1000s

Mike Beltzner, Developer
firefox development team
daily contributors
100s
weekly contributors
1000s
beta testers
500,000

Mike Beltzner, Developer
firefox development team
daily contributors
weekly contributors
beta testers
500,000
daily users
120 million

mozilla encourages people to
participate

mozilla encourages people to
participate

mozilla encourages people to
participate

mozilla encourages people to
participate
$200,000

mozilla encourages people to
participate
this is the logic of the web

we encouraged people to
participate
this is how the web thinks

mozilla encourages people to
participate
this is how the web thinks
it makes the web better

can we ask people to
participate
online
… to create a better city?

yes!

the long tail
of public policy

city of vancouver’s
knowledge/capacity

everybody else

an academic
you
your your
me mom neighbour

city of vancouver
already does
open source
program delivery

911

police/ambulance/fire

police/ambulance/fire
citizens

<2>
where did this come
from?

Toronto
Washington, DC
Vancouver

<3>
what the open city
motion means for
vancouver

• Open and Accessible Data - the City of
Vancouver will freely share with citizens,
businesses and other jurisdictions the
greatest amount of data possible while
respecting privacy and security concerns;
• Open Standards - the City of Vancouver will
move as quickly as possible to adopt
prevailing open standards for data, documents,
maps, and other formats of media;
• Open Source Software - the City of Vancouver,
when replacing existing software or
considering new applications, will place open
source software on an equal footing with
commercial systems during procurement cycles;
and

• Open and Accessible Data - the City of
Vancouver will freely share with citizens,
businesses and other jurisdictions the
greatest amount of data possible while
respecting privacy and security concerns;
• Open Standards - the City of Vancouver will
move as quickly as possible to adopt
prevailing open standards for data, documents,
maps, and other formats of media;
• Open Source Software - the City of Vancouver,
when replacing existing software or
considering new applications, will place open
source software on an equal footing with
commercial systems during procurement cycles;
and

• Open and Accessible Data - the City of
Vancouver will freely share with citizens,
businesses and other jurisdictions the
greatest amount of data possible while
respecting privacy and security concerns;
• Open Standards - the City of Vancouver will
move as quickly as possible to adopt
prevailing open standards for data, documents,
maps, and other formats of media;
• Open Source Software - the City of Vancouver,
when replacing existing software or
considering new applications, will place open
source software on an equal footing with
commercial systems during procurement cycles;
and

• Open and Accessible Data - the City of
Vancouver will freely share with citizens,
businesses and other jurisdictions the
greatest amount of data possible while
respecting privacy and security concerns;
• Open Standards - the City of Vancouver will
move as quickly as possible to adopt
prevailing open standards for data, documents,
maps, and other formats of media;
• Open Source Software - the City of Vancouver,
when replacing existing software or
considering new applications, will place open
source software on an equal footing with
commercial systems during procurement cycles;
and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT in pursuit of open
data the City of Vancouver will:
Identify immediate opportunities to distribute
more of its data;
Index, publish and syndicate its data to the
internet using prevailing open standards,
interfaces and formats;
Develop a plan to digitize and freely distribute
suitable archival data to the public;
Ensure that data supplied to the City by third
parties (developers, contractors, consultants)
are unlicensed, in a prevailing open standard
format, and not copyrighted except if otherwise
prevented by legal considerations;
License any software applications developed by
the City of Vancouver such that they may be used
by other municipalities, businesses, and the
public without restriction.

<4>
what’s next

“Identify immediate
opportunities to distribute
more of its data”

Open Sourcing
the Open Motion

“Identify immediate
opportunities to distribute
more of its data”

catalogue data
open API (311!)
311 twitter integration (SF)
central index

example:

example:
www.seeclickfix.com

example:
www.fixmystreet.ca

www.fixmystreet.com

www.fixmystreet.ca

www.fixmystreet.ca
very low cost
citizen run
useful

www.fixmystreet.ca
very low cost
citizen run
useful
participatory and
open

example:

www.appsfordemocracy.org

dc.everyblock.com/

“The first edition of Apps for
democracy yielded 47 web, iPhone and
Facebook apps in 30 days - a
$2,300,000 value to the city at a
cost of $50,000”
- Apps for democracy homepage

you are not alone

Shari Wallace
1

Shari Wallace
1
City of Vancouver IT team
100

Shari Wallace
City of Vancouver IT team
100 data geeks
100s

Shari Wallace
City of Vancouver IT team
120
data geeks
app coders
100s
1000s

Mike Beltzner, Developer
firefox development team
data geeks
100s
app coders
1000s citizen users
700,000

Shari Wallace
City of Vancouver IT team
fata geeks
app developers
citizen
users
500,000
visitors,
businesses,
researchers
and others
10s million

the bargain

the city:
listen
engage
ask for help
Make data available as
quickly as possible

the community:
participate
be patient
help
make the data come alive
for you and citizens as
quickly as possible

open process

open process
blog what you are doing

open process
blog what you are doing
ask for help

open process
blog what you are doing
ask for help
get feedback before acting
leverage the community

if we keep the bargain

we can be heroes…

…if just for one day

thinkliketheweb.org
www.eaves.ca
Re-mixes & Attributions
Mark Surman – A City that
thinks like the web
This work is copyrighted using Creative Commons
Attribution 2.5
Please re-mix for your city