Techies take on City Hall. Unfortunately not ours.

Isn’t it ironic? With the alleged brainpower ensconced in the hallowed halls of the less-than-venerable local colleges and universities, not one has ever established a project that would nationally or even regionally profile our grubby College Town - showcasing a model of joint municipal and educational engagement, of ideas, of talents, and partnership that would put Wusta on the map.

And maybe attract business investment. It’s happening everywhere, but not here. Why?

The fact is the C’s & U’s prefer the status quo. Their students prefer less intellectually rigorous activities... drinking. The business community prefers whining about tax discrimination. The citizen bloggers prefer lip-serving each other or engaging in petty intrigues.

Where are the ideas, the engagement, the partnership? Can Wusta be something other than a 3rd rate municipality? Can it rise above its station?

Interesting article on FastCompany: How an Army of Techies Is Taking on City Hall: Still waiting for a full reboot in Washington, D.C., an army of citizen techies is redefining civic engagement on a hyperlocal level.

Ben Berkowitz had a problem. His block of State Street, an expanse of charming storefronts and wood-frame houses that stretches from the border of Yale's campus into New Haven's grittier East Rock neighborhood, kept getting hit with graffiti. The 31-year-old did everything a good citizen was supposed to do: He called the city. He left multiple voice mails. He urged his neighbor to speak up. Eventually, he founded the Upper State Street Association to foster neighborhood pride. But still, the spray paint lingered. "I was feeling that helplessness when you've left three messages, you don't know what the resolution is going to be, and you don't have a way to hold anyone accountable," he says.