The Iron Yard is one of more than 30 organizations nationwide partnering with the White House to use open data from federal and local government agencies to improve economic mobility for Americans.
The project is meant to help citizens have better access to housing, jobs, transportation, education opportunities and other aspects of communities.
The Iron Yard will incorporate Opportunity Project data as part of special prize challenges. Students will be encouraged to use their final project to build apps and other tools that can help the community, according to a release by the White House.
The project is part of the proposal by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address to expand technology to address challenges.
At launch event at the White House this week, Aden Van Noppen, an advisor at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said, “We need to recognize that when we’re engaging people at the neighborhood level, if we don’t engage with what people actually want, then we need to be aware of what’s missing in our perspectives and the assumptions that we’re making when we use our data.”
Some of the tools already created with open data can be used to find affordable housing near good schools, show how safe a neighborhood is or demonstrate growth potential of neighborhoods.
