The group Code for Miami aims to develop data- and technology-based solutions to local quality-of-life challenges. On Saturday, as part of a "National Day of Civic Hacking," they're inviting other local programmers and civic-minded volunteers to help them tackle some of South Florida's pressing issues.
Susan Jacobson, a journalism professor at Florida International University and a longtime Code for Miami participant, says this weekend’s event will include coding projects on transit and ocean pollution as well as sea-level rise.
The list of Code Miami's previous projects includes an app called "Will It Flood?" To create it, programmers combined maps with tidal data from NOAA to provide users with a calendar that can help them avoid saltwater damage to their cars and the inevitable traffic headaches that come from inches or feet of water in the streets.
"It gives you a heads up as to when the highest high tides are going to be in your neighborhood," Jacobson said.
If You Go
When: The Code For Miami "National Day of Civic Hacking" event takes place this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Where: 6th Floor Cafe at the Cambridge Innovation Center, 1951 NW 7th Ave., Miami, FL 33136.
It's free, but to participate you have to register here.