City data is now available literally at the public’s fingertips, no data analytics skills required.

Washington, D.C. recently launched a generative AI tool trained on 2,000 open data sets, reports Jonathan Andrews for Cities Today. The beta version of DC Compass, a chatbot similar to ChatGPT, is now accessible to city staff and residents to ask data-oriented civic questions and generate maps at a keystroke.
The city worked with Esri, a giant in the geographic information systems space, on a private beta for six months to improve the software, which is powered by Esri’s cloud-based mapping and analysis platform ArcGIS Online.
“You no longer need to be a data scientist or a spreadsheet wizard to analyse DC’s vast open data catalogue,” DC’s Interim Chief Technology Officer Stephen Miller said in a press release.
The move is part of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Artificial Intelligence Values Statement and Strategic Plan, which lays out a framework for using AI to improve the functionality, efficiency, and effectiveness of the local government
FULL STORY: Washington DC opens data to public through AI platform

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees
More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving
Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan
Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding
The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.
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