For the last academic year, we worked with researchers from the University of Virginia to use the Internet of Things in examining air quality in the City of Charlottesville. We were honored to do this work as part of the capstone program at the UVA School of Data Science. The team, led by students James[…]
For many years, regional planners have aspired to reduce the number of people who commute to work by driving alone. That would reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, reduce parking demand and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Albemarle’s Comprehensive Plan says the county will “continue to implement travel demand management strategies” including “biking and walking, carpooling[…]
Last week, we sent out a newsletter to registrants of the Open Data Bootcamp. I included some great resources sent to us by ESRI that support the city’s new open data portal. I encouraged registrants to review the resources and start thinking about projects for the bootcamp. Since the bootcamp really only offers about 2.5[…]
No app development experience? No problem! Civic innovators Amy and Stuart Ferguson saw a local challenge: how can we make it easier for people, especially first time users, to navigate and enjoy the Rivanna Trail? Their answer: leverage technology to create an app … and despite having no app development experience … they did just[…]
For the past two years Smart Cville has collected and opened data from the city market composting program. Below, our friend Susan Elliott from from the City of Charlottesville’s Environmental Sustainability Division helps put this data into context and gives us an update on where the program is headed. You can also see the raw[…]
From April to October 2016 the City of Charlottesville is sponsoring year two of its City Market composting program. The program collects compostable material from anyone willing to drop off bags at the composting station. This is a free service for free and all participants get the bags necessary to collect the compost. If[…]
Shocking though it may seem… minor household leaks result in 1 trillion gallons of water being wasted each year. The insanity of this can be appreciated by citizens of all political stripes. With some basic awareness and programs, we can improve greatly on that number. The City of Charlottesville is a leader in the EPA[…]
Since the start of market season, Charlottesville has been a piloting an ad hoc composting program. The program collects compostable material from anyone attending the Farmers Market downtown. Anyone participating gets this service for free as well as the bags necessary to collect the compost. With help from the Department of Public Works, we’re pasting[…]