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NYC BigApps is an annual competition sponsored by the New York City Economic Development Corporation. It provides programmers, developers, designers, and entrepreneurs with access to municipal data sets to build technological products that address civic issues affecting New York City. Through the NYC Open Data portal and other private and non-profit data sources, contestants have access to more than 1,000 data sets and APIs. Examples of available data include weekly traffic updates, schedules of citywide events, property sales records, catalogs of restaurant inspections, and geographic data about the location of school and voting districts. The contest is part of a broader New York City effort to increase government transparency and encourage entrepreneurship.^[1]

Results & challenges

Year	Produced By	Number of Applicants	Winners
2009	ChallengePost	85	WayFinderNYC, Taxihack, Big Apple Ed, Trees Near You, NYC Way, PushPinWeb, UpNext 3D NYC, Actuatr, New York City Parks and Recreation Online, Bookzee
2010	ChallengePost	57	Roadify, Sportaneous, Parking Finder, Appetition, cultureNOW, Weels, NextStop, DontEat.at, NYC Data Web, NYCPlanIt
2011	ChallengePost	96	NYCFacets, Work+, The Funday Genie, Embark NYC, 596 Acres, Sage, TestFlip, ParkAlly, Uhpartments, New York Trip Builder, Scene Near Me
2013	CollabFinder	118	HealthyOut, Poncho, Hopscotch, SolarList, Hired in NY, Helping Hands, Child Care Desk
2014	HR&A Advisors	N/A
2019	SecondMuse	N/A

Some contest winners have gone on to become viable companies. For example, MyCityWay, was a contest winner in 2010.^{[citation needed]} MyCityWay subsequently raised venture capital funding from FirstMark Capital and IA Ventures, as well as a strategic investment from BMW.^[2] Embark NYC, the mass transit application which won Best Mobility App in the NYC BigApps 3.0 competition, received investment from BMW i Ventures in 2012 and was acquired by Apple in 2013.^[3]

Yet like many app competitions driven by government data, many of the winning apps have not developed into viable companies. One challenge that civic hacking competitions face is that “they rely on programmers to define problems, instead of citizens or even government itself.” ^[4] Hana Schank wrote of the 2011 contest that “the problem with the [2011] BigApps contest is that it leaves both user needs and likely user behavior out of the equation, instead beginning with an enormous data dump and asking developers to make something cool out of it”.^[5]

Recognizing these challenges, the 2013 BigApps competition introduced specific problem briefs organized around five “BigIssues” related to issues affecting New York City: Jobs and Economic Mobility, Cleanweb: Energy, Environment, and Resilience, Healthy Living, and Lifelong Learning. The competition also included events where organizations and City agencies versed in a “BigIssue” presented data sets and ideas to competitors.

Contest judges

Judges for the contest have included: Dawn Barber, Co-founder, New York Tech Meetup; John Borthwick, CEO, Betaworks; Chris Dixon, CEO & Co-founder, Hunch; Jack Dorsey, CEO, Square, and Co-founder, Twitter; Esther Dyson, Chairman, EDventure; Lawrence Lenihan, Founder, CEO and Managing Director of FirstMark Capital; Naveen Selvadurai, Co-founder, Foursquare; Steven Strauss, Managing Director, NYCEDC; Kara Swisher, Co-Executive Director, All Things Digital; Fred Wilson, Managing Partner, Union Square Ventures.^[6]

References

^ WORTHAM, JENNA (6 October 2009). "New York City Wants You to Create an App For That". The New York Times. 6 Oct 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
^ Wauters, Robin (25 February 2011). "BMW Teams Up With, Invests $5 Million In MyCityWay". TechCrunch. 25 Feb 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
^ http://letsembark.com/. March 24, 2014.
^ Anthony M. Townsend, Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia, 2013
^ Hana Schank, "New York City’s Digital Deficiency ". Fast Company. December 14, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
^ "MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF NYC BIGAPPS 2.0 COMPETITION". NYC.gov. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2013.

External links

Official website

[Foot_1-1] WORTHAM, JENNA (6 October 2009). "New York City Wants You to Create an App For That". The New York Times. 6 Oct 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2013.

[Foot_3-2] Wauters, Robin (25 February 2011). "BMW Teams Up With, Invests $5 Million In MyCityWay". TechCrunch. 25 Feb 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2013.

[3] ttp://letsembark.com/. March 24, 2014.

[4] Anthony M. Townsend, Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia, 2013

[5] Hana Schank, "New York City’s Digital Deficiency ". Fast Company. December 14, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2014.

[Foot_4-6] "MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF NYC BIGAPPS 2.0 COMPETITION". NYC.gov. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 5 June 2013.

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+{{Short description|Annual software development competition}}
+{{Multiple issues|
+{{External links|date=March 2024}}
+{{Update|part=Results & challenges|reason=No inforation on newer editions|date=March 2024}}
+{{More footnotes needed|date=March 2024}}
+{{More footnotes|date=March 2024}}
+}}
+'''NYC BigApps''' is an annual competition sponsored by the [[New York City Economic Development Corporation]]. It provides programmers, developers, designers, and entrepreneurs with access to municipal data sets to build technological products that address civic issues affecting New York City. Through the NYC Open Data portal and other private and non-profit data sources, contestants have access to more than 1,000 data sets and APIs. Examples of available data include weekly traffic updates, schedules of citywide events, property sales records, catalogs of restaurant inspections, and geographic data about the location of school and voting districts. The contest is part of a broader [[New York City]] effort to increase government transparency and encourage [[entrepreneurship]].<ref name="Foot 1">{{cite web|last=WORTHAM|first=JENNA|title=New York City Wants You to Create an App For That|date=6 October 2009 |url=https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/new-york-city-wants-you-to-create-an-app-for-that/|publisher=The New York Times. 6 Oct 2009|accessdate=5 June 2013}}</ref>
+== Results & challenges ==
+{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
+|-
+! Year !! Produced By !! Number of Applicants !! Winners
+|-
+| 2009 || ChallengePost || 85 || WayFinderNYC, Taxihack, Big Apple Ed, Trees Near You, NYC Way, PushPinWeb, UpNext 3D NYC, Actuatr, New York City Parks and Recreation Online, Bookzee
+|-
+| 2010|| ChallengePost || 57 || Roadify, Sportaneous, Parking Finder, Appetition, cultureNOW, Weels, NextStop, DontEat.at, NYC Data Web, NYCPlanIt
+|-
+| 2011|| ChallengePost || 96 || NYCFacets, Work+, The Funday Genie, Embark NYC, 596 Acres, Sage, TestFlip, ParkAlly, Uhpartments, New York Trip Builder, Scene Near Me
+|-
+| 2013|| CollabFinder || 118 || HealthyOut, Poncho, Hopscotch, SolarList, Hired in NY, Helping Hands, Child Care Desk
+|-
+| 2014|| HR&A Advisors || N/A ||
+|-
+|2019
+|SecondMuse
+|N/A
+|
+|-
+|}
+Some contest winners have gone on to become viable companies.  For example, MyCityWay, was a contest winner in 2010.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} MyCityWay subsequently raised venture capital funding from FirstMark Capital and IA Ventures, as well as a strategic investment from BMW.<ref name="Foot 3">{{cite web|last=Wauters|first=Robin|title=BMW Teams Up With, Invests $5 Million In MyCityWay|date=25 February 2011 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/02/25/bmw-teams-up-with-invests-5-million-in-mycityway/|publisher=TechCrunch. 25 Feb 2011|accessdate=5 June 2013}}</ref> [http://letsembark.com/ Embark NYC], the mass transit application which won Best Mobility App in the NYC BigApps 3.0 competition, received investment from BMW i Ventures in 2012 and was acquired by Apple in 2013.<ref>http://letsembark.com/.  March 24, 2014.</ref>
-NYC BigApps is an annual competition sponsored by the government of NYC.  It provides local programmers, developers and entrepreneurs with access to municipal data sets to build applications for the Web, tablets and mobile phones.  Contestants have access to more than 170 data sets supplied by over 30 city agencies, including weekly traffic updates, schedules of citywide events, property sales, restaurant inspections and mappable data around school and voting districts.  The contest does not include information such as subway schedules from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, because the city doesn’t have control over that data.  However, the organizers include data from the NYC Department of Transportation.  The contest is part of a larger NYC effort to increase government transparency and encourage entrepreneurship.<ref name="Foot 1">{{cite web|last=WORTHAM|first=JENNA|title=New York City Wants You to Create an App For That|url=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/new-york-city-wants-you-to-create-an-app-for-that/|publisher=The New York Times. 6 Oct 2009|accessdate=5 June 2013}}</ref>
+Yet like many app competitions driven by government data, many of the winning apps have not developed into viable companies. One challenge that civic hacking competitions face is that “they rely on programmers to define problems, instead of citizens or even government itself.” <ref>Anthony M. Townsend, Smart Cities: Big Data, Civic Hackers, and the Quest for a New Utopia, 2013</ref> Hana Schank wrote of the 2011 contest that “the problem with the [2011] BigApps contest is that it leaves both user needs and likely user behavior out of the equation, instead beginning with an enormous data dump and asking developers to make something cool out of it”.<ref>Hana Schank, "New York City’s Digital Deficiency ". Fast Company. December 14, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2014.</ref>
-__TOC__
+Recognizing these challenges, the 2013 BigApps competition introduced specific problem briefs organized around five “BigIssues” related to issues affecting New York City: Jobs and Economic Mobility, Cleanweb: Energy, Environment, and Resilience, Healthy Living, and Lifelong Learning. The competition also included events where organizations and City agencies versed in a “BigIssue” presented data sets and ideas to competitors.
-== Contest Has Mixed Results ==
-Some contest winners have gone on to become viable companies.  For example, MyCityWay, was a contest winner in 2010.<ref name="Foot 2">{{cite web|title=MyCityWay|url=http://www.crunchbase.com/company/my-city-way|publisher=CrunchBase. 11 April 2013|accessdate=5 June 2013}}</ref>  MyCityWay subsequently raised venture capital funding from FirstMark Capital and IA Ventures, as well as a strategic investment from BMW. <ref name="Foot 3">{{cite web|last=Wauters|first=Robin|title=BMW Teams Up With, Invests $5 Million In MyCityWay|url=http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/25/bmw-teams-up-with-invests-5-million-in-mycityway/|publisher=TechCrunch. 25 Feb 2011|accessdate=5 June 2013}}</ref>
+== Contest judges ==
-On the other hand concerns have been expressed that many contest winners fail to become viable companies.  For example, the grand-prize winner for 2011 was an app that let people swap information about how subway trains were running.  A year later, it seemed to have attracted very few users. Sportaneous, a 2011 pickup-sports app that won second place and the Popular Choice Award, is no longer available in Apple’s App Store, and is back in testing.<ref>{{cite news|title=Contest Whose Winners May Not Succeed|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/nyregion/new-yorks-bigapps-contest-has-mixed-results.html|newspaper=NY Times|date=March 2, 2012}}</ref>
+Judges for the contest have included:
+Dawn Barber, Co-founder, New York Tech Meetup; John Borthwick, CEO, Betaworks; [[Chris Dixon]], CEO & Co-founder, Hunch; [[Jack Dorsey]], CEO, Square, and Co-founder, Twitter; [[Esther Dyson]], Chairman, EDventure; Lawrence Lenihan, Founder, CEO and Managing Director of FirstMark Capital; [[Naveen Selvadurai]], Co-founder, Foursquare; Steven Strauss, Managing Director, NYCEDC; [[Kara Swisher]], Co-Executive Director, All Things Digital; [[Fred Wilson (financier)|Fred Wilson]], Managing Partner, [[Union Square Ventures]].<ref name="Foot 4">{{cite web|title=MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF NYC BIGAPPS 2.0 COMPETITION|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/2011a/pr104-11.html|publisher=NYC.gov. 31 March 2011|accessdate=5 June 2013}}</ref>
-== Contest Judges ==
-Judges for the contest have included:
-Dawn Barber, Co-founder, New York Tech Meetup; John Borthwick, CEO, Betaworks; Chris Dixon, CEO & Co-founder, Hunch; Jack Dorsey, CEO, Square, and Co-founder, Twitter; Esther Dyson, Chairman, EDventure; Lawrence Lenihan, Founder, CEO and Managing Director of FirstMark Capital; Naveen Selvadurai, Co-founder, Foursquare; Steven Strauss, Managing Director, NYCEDC; Kara Swisher, Co-Executive Director, All Things Digital; Fred Wilson, Managing Partner, Union Square Ventures.<ref name="Foot 4">{{cite web|title=MAYOR BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF NYC BIGAPPS 2.0 COMPETITION|url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/2011a/pr104-11.html|publisher=NYC.gov. 31 March 2011|accessdate=5 June 2013}}</ref>
 == References ==
 {{reflist|colwidth=40em}}
-== External Sources ==
+== Further reading ==
+* Alan Fever, [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/nyregion/mayor-bloombergs-geek-squad.html?pagewanted=all The Mayor's Geek Squad], NY Times, March 23, 2013
+* Erin Durkin, [http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bloomy-offers-big-sandy-money-best-ideas-article-1.1260504 Mayor Michael Bloomberg employs innovative contest style to bring bright, new ideas to meet city challenges], NYDailyNews, February 10, 2013
-[http://nycbigapps.com/ NYC Big Apps Official Website]
+* [[John Leland (journalist)|John Leland]], [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E5DE1F38F93AA15757C0A9649D8B63 Turning Unused Acres Green, NY Times], April 29, 2012
+* Phyllis Furman, [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/money/mayor-hands-prizes-local-software-developers-turn-nyc-data-easy-to-use-apps-article-1.1063467 Mayor hands out prizes to local software developers who turn NYC data into easy-to-use apps], NYDailyNews, April 18, 2012
-• Alan Fever, [http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/24/nyregion/mayor-bloombergs-geek-squad.html?pagewanted=all The Mayor's Geek Squad], NY Times, March 23, 2013
+* Joshua Brustein, [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/nyregion/new-yorks-bigapps-contest-has-mixed-results.html?_r=0 Contest Whose Winners May Not Succeed], NY Times, March 2, 2012
+* Joshua Brustein, [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/nyregion/in-mta-app-contest-many-buttons-worth-pushing.html?gwh=3695245AA089C7BD7D48DE1649998631 In M.T.A. App Contest, Many Buttons Worth Pushing], NY Times, January 6, 2012
-• Erin Durkin, [http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bloomy-offers-big-sandy-money-best-ideas-article-1.1260504 Mayor Michael Bloomberg employs innovative contest style to bring bright, new ideas to meet city challenges], NYDailyNews, February 10, 2013
+* Brad Stenger, [https://open.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/scene-near-me-hackers-from-bigapps-to-timesopen/ "Scene Near Me" Hackers: From BigApps to TimesOpen], NY Times, November 21, 2011
+* Brad Stenger, [https://open.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/timesopen-social-media-on-nov-14/?gwh=27829BE18AE418752CEF07F066871ADB TimesOpen: Social Media on Nov 14], NY Times, November 4, 2011
-• John Leland,[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04E5DE1F38F93AA15757C0A9649D8B63  Turning Unused Acres Green, NY Times], April 29, 2012
+* Joshua Brustein, [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/nyregion/for-the-sportaneous-app-an-uneven-success.html?_r=0 Want to Join Me for a Game? Anyone?] NY Times, September 30, 2011
+* Joshua Brustein, [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/nyregion/roadify-turns-to-commuters-for-news-on-the-commute.html Commuter Reports From, Well, Commuters], NY Times, April 29, 2011
-• Phyllis Furman, [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/money/mayor-hands-prizes-local-software-developers-turn-nyc-data-easy-to-use-apps-article-1.1063467 Mayor hands out prizes to local software developers who turn NYC data into easy-to-use apps], NYDailyNews, April 18, 2012
+* Patrick McGeehan, [https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/bloomberg-announces-investment-in-tech-start-up/ Bloomberg Announces Investment in Tech Start-Up], NY Times, May 25, 2010
+* Associated Press,[http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/subway_finder_wins_bigapps_competition_gQiLIHBSHF8N64Esq8q3MJ Subway finder wins BigApps competition], NY Post, February 8, 2010
-• Joshua Brustein, [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/04/nyregion/new-yorks-bigapps-contest-has-mixed-results.html?_r=0 Contest Whose Winners May Not Succeed], NY Times, March 2, 2012
+* Adam Lisberg, [http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new-award-winning-phone-app-wayfinder-nyc-points-article-1.195519 New award-winning phone app, Wayfinder NYC, points the (sub)way], NYDailyNews, February 5, 2010
-• Joshua Brustein, [http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/nyregion/in-mta-app-contest-many-buttons-worth-pushing.html?gwh=3695245AA089C7BD7D48DE1649998631 In M.T.A. App Contest, Many Buttons Worth Pushing], NY Times, January 6, 2012
+* Jenna Wortham, [https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/nyc-announces-winners-of-local-apps-contest/ New York City Names Winners of Apps Contest], NY Times, February 4, 2010
+* Robert Johnson, [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/techies-show-big-app-etites-city-info-article-1.437526 Techies show off big app-etites for city info], NYDailyNews, December 28, 2009
-• Brad Stenger, [http://open.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/scene-near-me-hackers-from-bigapps-to-timesopen/ "Scene Near Me" Hackers: From BigApps to TimesOpen], NY Times, November 21, 2011
+* Sewell Chan, [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/nyregion/08apps.html City Errantly Releases Private Data Gathered in 'Apps' Contest], NY Times, October 7, 2009
+* Sewell Chan, [https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/city-apologies-for-accidental-data-breach/ City Admits Lapse in Data Release], NY Times, October 7, 2009
-• Brad Stenger, [http://open.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/timesopen-social-media-on-nov-14/?gwh=27829BE18AE418752CEF07F066871ADB TimesOpen: Social Media on Nov 14], NY Times, November 4, 2011
+* Emily S. Rueb, [https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/when-road-rage-turns-into-a-brawl/?gwh=AE883F522D0D9A0C8EEFDBFFC75D83D1 When Road Rage Turns Into a Brawl], NY Times, October 6, 2009
+* Jenna Wortham, [https://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/new-york-city-wants-you-to-create-an-app-for-that/?gwh=AE816654D6D5622E65DB1F65BBDBA746 New York City Wants You to Create an App For That], NY Times, October 6, 2009
-• Joshua Brustein, [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/02/nyregion/for-the-sportaneous-app-an-uneven-success.html?_r=0 Want to Join Me for a Game? Anyone?] NY Times, September 30, 2011
+* Sewell Chan and Patrick MCgeehan, [https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/city-invites-software-developers-to-crunch-big-data-sets/ City Invites Software Developers to Crunch Big Data Sets], NY Times, June 29, 2009
-• Joshua Brustein, [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/nyregion/roadify-turns-to-commuters-for-news-on-the-commute.html Commuter Reports From, Well, Commuters], NY Times, April 29, 2011
-• Patrick McGeehan, [http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/bloomberg-announces-investment-in-tech-start-up/ Bloomberg Announces Investment in Tech Start-Up], NY Times, May 25, 2010
-• Associated Press,[http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/subway_finder_wins_bigapps_competition_gQiLIHBSHF8N64Esq8q3MJ   Subway finder wins BigApps competition], NY Post, February 8, 2010
-• Adam Lisberg , [http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new-award-winning-phone-app-wayfinder-nyc-points-article-1.195519 New award-winning phone app, Wayfinder NYC, points the (sub)way], NYDailyNews, February 5, 2010
-• Jenna Wortham, [http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/nyc-announces-winners-of-local-apps-contest/ New York City Names Winners of Apps Contest], NY Times, February 4, 2010
-• Robert Johnson, [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/techies-show-big-app-etites-city-info-article-1.437526 Techies show off big app-etites for city info], NYDailyNews, December 28, 2009
-• Sewell Chan, [http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/nyregion/08apps.html City Errantly Releases Private Data Gathered in 'Apps' Contest], NY Times, October 7, 2009
-• Sewell Chan, [http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/city-apologies-for-accidental-data-breach/ City Admits Lapse in Data Release], NY Times, October 7, 2009
-• Emily S. Rueb, [http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/when-road-rage-turns-into-a-brawl/?gwh=AE883F522D0D9A0C8EEFDBFFC75D83D1 When Road Rage Turns Into a Brawl], NY Times, October 6, 2009
+== External links ==
-• Jenna Wortham, [http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/new-york-city-wants-you-to-create-an-app-for-that/?gwh=AE816654D6D5622E65DB1F65BBDBA746 New York City Wants You to Create an App For That], NY Times, October 6, 2009
+* [http://nycbigapps.com/ Official website]
+[[Category:Competitions in New York City]]
-• Sewell Chan and Patrick MCgeehan, [http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/city-invites-software-developers-to-crunch-big-data-sets/ City Invites Software Developers to Crunch Big Data Sets], NY Times, June 29, 2009