PUBLIC INFORMATION RESPONSE TO HURRICANES KATRINA & RITA

Utilizing the social networking power of the internet, www.urbananswers.com was conceived as a portal for community based planning on line. The first demonstration included mashing up public data (flood and damage reports) within weeks of the storms to educate property and business owners if they had returned immediately or not. This ‘my space for your space’ concept allows for surveys and data to be processed in both directions so that community members contributing to the site gain power in numbers and decision makers can get a read on public opinion in real time.