Versión en español de este artículo
After two decades leading open and libre software initiatives, 2024 has been a year of applying that experience at the local level. I have created three community projects that demonstrate how open innovation and citizen collaboration can transform essential services in our cities.
VallaBus: Open data to transform public transport
VallaBus was born to democratize access to public transport information in Valladolid (Spain) in the absence of modern official solutions. Applying principles of open data and collaborative development, I designed an application that goes beyond just showing schedules: it facilitates informed decision-making about urban mobility.
The application allows you to check real-time schedules, visualizing possible delays or advances, plan multimodal routes integrating buses and shared bicycles, and view the location of vehicles in real-time. Through participatory consultations with users and neighborhood associations, it has been possible to create an app that in just a few months has become the best-rated urban transport app in Spain.
The most recent impact has been facilitating dialogue between multiple stakeholders through the publication of our independent report on the quality of the AUVASA service. This analysis, based on more than 6 million open data points, has served as a catalyst to align the needs of neighborhood associations and citizen groups around concrete improvements to public transport and demand accountability from the administration.
Basura Cero: Citizen empowerment through data
Basura Cero (Zero Waste) exemplifies how an open source platform can catalyze citizen action. After observing a real need of the residents of Valladolid, I created this project to allow residents to document on a collaborative map and monitor unresolved issues in public spaces (garbage, damage, vegetation, etc).
In less than two months, the community has reported 300 incidents, achieving the resolution of more than 100 thanks to the visibility provided by the platform and the integration to register official complaints with the city council in a simple way.
The key to success has been to create a modern app with a user-friendly interface for all audiences that makes it easy to report an incident and register it in the city council’s official system in just a few seconds.
Through conversations with neighborhood associations and a constant cycle of user consultations, Basura Cero has become a tool that tangibly improves the quality of life in Valladolid allowing residents and associations to demand improvements in the quality of life in their neighborhoods.
Alerta DANA: Community response to emergencies
When DANA hit Spain in November of this year, I applied my experience in disaster management using cartography and team coordination to quickly adapt the Basura Cero platform to coordinate the citizen response.
Although Alerta DANA started as a tool to document damage on a collaborative map, it evolved thanks to community feedback into a comprehensive system that maps critical resources: from open pharmacies to donation centers.
The decision to publish the platform as open source software and release the data under open licenses allowed its integration with communities like OpenStreetMap, which already uses the data to update maps, multiplying its usefulness for the management of future emergencies.
Reflection: The transformative power of open data and libre software
These projects demonstrate that the combination of open technology, citizen participation, and a clear strategic vision can transform complex problems into practical solutions. Effective management of multiple stakeholder groups and the creation of spaces for dialogue have been as important as the technical aspects.
For me, the most valuable thing has been to build these solutions listening to those who need them the most, confirming that the best answers to urban challenges arise from open collaboration and community work.
All projects are available under the AGPL v3 license and the data is released under Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0, which allows other communities anywhere in the world to adapt and improve these tools to their needs.
If you are interested in delving deeper into open innovation strategies or exploring collaborations, contact me on LinkedIn, Twitter or by email.