the city of New York launched “A software application competition to make New York City more transparent and accountable, and an easier place to live, work and play.” (That mission makes me positively giddy.) It’s called NYC BigApps, and the city plans to open up dozens of public databases—including traffic data, restaurant health inspections, and property sales—with the hope that some clever programmer will create a useful web or mobile application based on what they find therein.

via good