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City Profile

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Anita Cafiero edited this page Aug 7, 2015 · 1 revision

City Profile: Greensboro, NC

Government

Jurisdictions & Agencies

  • City of Greensboro
  • Guilford County
  • City of High Point
  • City of Winston-Salem

People

  • Justin Outling - Greensboro City Councilman
  • Jeff Thigpen - Guilford County, Registrar of Deeds

Potential Partners

  • Jane Nickles - City of Greensboro, CIO (Current Brigade Municipal Partner)
  • Steve Averett - City of Greensboro, GIS Manager
  • Stephen Dew - Guilford County, GIS Manager
  • Scott Redmon - Guilford County, Web Applications Manager

Notable Legislation or History

Even before its 1808 founding as the county seat of Guilford County, Greensboro has been closely associated with innovation and an aspiration towards the progressive. During the American Revolution in 1781, General Greene's army met Lord Cornwallis here. Though Greene was unable to stop the British, he delivered them only a symbolic victory; the battle set the stage for American victories at Yorktown and other places.

Notable citizens include Edward R. Murrow, champion of the fourth estate, and O. Henry, short story author and druggist's assistant to his uncle here on Elm Street. Greensboro was also home to one of the largest training and supply depots in the US during World War II, and the space it occupied later became one of the first industrial parks in the state. During the textile and industrial boom of the 1940's and 50's, millions of pounds of textiles and other goods flowed through the railhead at Greensboro—and hundreds of patents kept those industries rolling.

In that same era Greensboro acted as the birthplace of the sit-in movement, when four A&T university students refused to yield their Woolworth lunch counter seats to white patrons on February 1st, 1960. The long march to Washington, DC began here, and Greensboro has had a close if troubled association with civil rights ever since.

Our opportunities to enact lasting change in Greensboro essentially begin there. We live in a more enlightened and equitable Greensboro in so many ways; in other aspects, we keenly feel the need to use our gifts as technologists, writers, designers and progressive-minded citizens to continue the work started by those whose shoulders we stand on. Caring for the underserved is a lofty goal, and a worthy one that we've taken up gladly. But the legacy of Greensboro is also in all the data it has collected in two hundred years of being open for business. The simple act of opening that data to new forms of innovation—a small act, maybe not even revolutionary—has the power to change the lives of every citizen that calls this place home.

For more on Greensboro's history:
http://www.greensboro-nc.gov/index.aspx?page=142
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensboro,_North_Carolina

Existing open data portals

Guilford County Geoportal
NC OneMap

Community

Brigade Name:
Code for Greensboro

Community Leaders:

Universities in Greensboro:

Foundations and Organizations:

  • The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro
    http://cfgg.org
    Organization dedicated to strengthening the community for present and future generations.
  • Weaver Foundation
    http://weaverfoundation.org
    Organization dedicated to helping the Greater Greensboro area community enhance and improve the quality of life and the economic environment of its citizens.
  • Cemala Foundation
    http://cemala.org
    Community foundation focused on enhancing Greensboro through major initiatives ranging from public education, parks development. Founding partner of Action Greensboro.
  • Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation
    http://tsfoundation.com
    Community-focused foundation funding initiatives that make a difference in the lives of Greensboro citizens, generally within education, cultural arts, human relations, health, human resources, community development, and historic preservation
  • Cone Health Foundation
    http://www.conehealthfoundation.com/foundation/
    Cone Health funds intiatives focused on improving access to health care, adolescent pregnancy prevention, HIV/AIDS services, substance abuse & mental health care programs.
  • Greensboro Partnership
    http://greensboropartnership.com
    Principle economic and community development organization in Greensboro. Aims are to strategically develop a vibrant community that creates, expands and attracts business and people while advancing the quality of life for all who live, work and visit Greensboro. There are several business units within the Partnership: Action Greensboro, Chamber of Commerce, Greensboro Partnership Economic Development and Entrepreneur Connection.
  • UNCG Entrepreneurship Center
    http://startup.uncg.edu
    To help students, faculty, staff and community members start and grow their own successful businesses.

Adjacent Networks:
Technology:

Entrepreneurship Connection:

Public Forums / Good Government Organizations / Initiatives:

Facilities
Co Working Spaces:

  • Co//ab
  • The Forge
  • Revolution Mill
  • Flywheel (Winston-Salem)

Meeting Spaces:

  • Co//ab
  • HQ Greensboro
  • The Forge
  • Revolution Mill
  • The Empire Room
  • Carolina Theatre

Event Spaces:

  • Co//ab
  • Revolution Mill
  • Nussbaum Center
  • Khoury Convention Center
  • Flywheel
  • Greensboro Coliseum

Library Branches:

  • Benjamin
  • Central Library
  • Glenn McNairy
  • Glenwood
  • Hemphill Branch
  • Kathleen Clay Edwards Family
  • McGirt-Horton
  • Vance Chavis

Potential Brigade Focus & Projects

There are several problems facing Greensboro that our brigade hopes to be instrumental in solving. Guilford County ranks among the worst food deserts in the nation, with traditionally low wages. Greensboro, the county seat, is also home to six universities—yet it exports many of those graduates to employment opportunities elsewhere in the US. Among our goals are to use technology to alleviate or draw attention to the food desert problem, and to create a community of entrepreneurship and technology that may ease brain drain.

We are also assisting local organizations who are working with the homeless or soon-to-be homeless population, to augment their efforts with technology or civic engagement where possible. In some cases, our brigade is also prepared to pursue non-technical solutions to these problems. Fostering civic engagement—to surface issues, even without technology—will always be on the table.

Additional opportunities Code for Greensboro is pursuing revolve around utilizing technology to provide additional platforms for citizen engagement and input with our local government. Focus areas include, economic development, public safety, and health.

While working towards these goals, we hope to create an innovative and inclusive environment that fosters participation, and that will contribute to enticing local university and college graduates to remain in the Greater Greensboro area. Our hope is that this will accelerate Greensboro's current innovation movement and assist with the area's economic development efforts.

Document prepared by the Captains and Leaders of Code for Greensboro

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