The Open Planning Project has the right people, strategy, and technology to catalyze large scale social transformation.

Our talented team offers expertise in the following fields:

Open Source Software Development

TOPP is one of the world's largest organizations dedicated to producing open source software. Our extraordinary technical team is widely respected in the open source world, and our experience ranges from Python web frameworks to mapping platforms to video archiving tools.

Founder Mark Gorton has spent the past decade building The Lime Group, a series of innovative financial and technology companies. Mark's has a proven track record of growing and managing software teams.

Our team includes:

  • Ian Bicking is a core contributor to the One Laptop Per Child operating system, and the author of many open source packages. Ian is also a member of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility and a co-administrator of several dozen Indymedia sites. He has presented at dozens of conferences on open source software, and he writes a widely-read blog on web technologies.
  • Rob Miller is a core developer for Plone, a powerful open source content management system. He spent five years directing technology for Black Rock City, LLC, producer of the annual Burning Man Festival, overseeing infrastructure and teams as attendance grew to nearly 40,000 participants. Since 2000, Rob has provided critical web and systems services for the Tibetan government-in-exile.
  • Whit Morriss is a contributor to a number of Python-based open source projects. He has worked for The Long Now Foundation, leading software development for the Rosetta Project, an archive of all documented human languages. He has also worked for The Burning Man Project and The Webbies.


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GeoSpatial Technology

Our OpenGeo division is leading the way toward more open, interoperable geospatial data. OpenGeo builds software and crafts custom solutions, providing flexible, reliable, and secure geospatial applications. The OpenGeo team includes:

  • Chris Holmes has led GeoServer development since 2002. He used a Fulbright in Zambia to assess the potential for Open Source Software to construct Spatial Data Infrastructures, then
    returned to lead TOPP's expanding OpenGeo initiatives. Chris is a board member of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation and a member of the Project Management Committee of GeoTools.
  • Tim Schaub - In his work on the OpenGeo stack, Tim draws on a decade of web development experience and a deep background in geospatial technology. He is a steering committee member and core contributor to the OpenLayers project. Before joining TOPP, Tim spent a number of years developing mapping solutions for conservation organizations in the Northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest.


Video Production

Streetfilms has exploded as the world-wide media hub for Livable Streets advocates.

In under two years, Streetfilms have been watched nearly a million times online. Advocates around the world use Streetfilms video shorts to win support for smart transportation projects in their communities.

Clarence Eckerson and Elizabeth Press are the team behind the camera:

  • Clarence has been called “the hardest working man in transportation showbiz.” In the last three years, he has produced over 100 short films on sustainable transport and livable streets issues, almost all entirely one-person productions. His work has appeared in dozens of film festivals and conferences. Previous to Streetfilms, Clarence founded and ran the popular cable access show BikeTV.
  • Elizabeth has traveled the globe while shooting, editing, and producing community media. Her most recent documentary, Still We Ride, received wide acclaim. A former producer at the daily TV/radio program Democracy Now!, Elizabeth is an experienced video journalist. She holds an MFA in Electronic Arts from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Streetfilms is known for high quality production, professional camerawork, quick coverage of emerging stories, and a unique brand of edu-tainment. Past videos have featured such notables as Jan Gehl, New York Times ‘Ethicist’ Randy Cohen, and Enrique Peñalosa. The films also highlight strategic partnerships, such as our Summer Streets PSA, produced for the NYC Department of Transportation.

In addition to Streetfilms, TOPP produced the full-length feature Contested Streets, which has appeared on the Sundance Channel.

Web and Visual Design

TOPP's strong portfolio of visual and web design contributes to the success of software products, advocacy campaigns, and partner organizations. Our interdisciplinary Design Team produces high-quality work, including:
  • Interaction and Visual Design for open source software projects, as with Livable Streets Groups
  • Web Design. TOPP builds focused, engaging websites for community projects like Park(ing) Day NYC, Block Party NYC, and the Grand Army Plaza Coalition.
  • Photo Simulations are a powerful tool for visualizing great public spaces. Our before-and-after simulations of places like Grand Street and the Upper West Side help communities garner support for cityscape improvements.
  • Print Materials. We have produced collateral for exhibitions, conferences, and community events.

Advocacy Journalism 

A focused news outlet spreads news quickly, wins traction with public officials, and inspires citizen action. TOPP deploys talented journalists to cover beats - such as transportation policy and urban education issues - that the mainstream media either ignores or mangles. gapco_aaron.jpgThis model has been incredibly successful in New York City.

TOPP produces Streetsblog, a critical news source and community hub for mainstream journalists, policy makers, and the public. With 125,000 unique monthly readers, Streetsblog taps the power of New Yorkers to reimagine their streets. Livable Streets Executive Produer Aaron Naparstek is an experienced journalist, interactive media producer, and community organizer.

Streetsblog has helped redirect millions of city planning dollars and shifted NYC transportation policy and culture. Our work has built critical support for initiatives ranging from congestion pricing to the redesign of Grand Army Plaza. City officials tell us that Streetsblog has a 'disproportionate' effect on city transportation priorities.

TOPP is building on our local success with The Livable Streets Network, a national platform for online organizing on transporation policy. Streetsblog Los Angeles began in the spring of 2008, and TOPP has plans to produce Streetsblogs in a number of other US cities.

Our newest project, GothamSchools, uses the Streetsblog model to help New Yorkers create better schools.

 

gap_existing_1.jpgTransportation Policy

Creating successful transportation systems is a major challenge of our era. Through advocacy and technology, TOPP is helping build the transportation systems of tomorrow.

The Livable Streets campaign has re-directed transportation policy New York City. The campaign's success is a result of strategic partnerships, political mobilizers like Streetsblog and Streetfilms, and smart use of the Web. The Livable Streets Network, the campaign's online hub, is empowering advocates around the world to transform their communities.

Meanwhile, our OpenGeo division builds software for world-class transportation systems. Our work includes mapping solutions for Portland TriMet and route planning software for the San Francisco Department of Transportation. These cities can leverage great software to better meet citizen needs both now and in the future.

We have a team of experts, and an amazing network of collaborators:

  • With Aaron Naparstek at the helm, Streetsblog has become a pivotal force in New York's transportation policy.
  • Clarence Eckerson is a widely-regarded expert on urban cycling. Under his direction, Streetfilms has exploded as the world-wide media hub for the Livable Streets movement.
  • Streetsblog Los Angeles, a new Streetsblog affiliate, is helmed by Damien Newton, formerly of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.
  • TOPP has strong partnerships with NYC's forward-thinking Department of Transportation, as well as with organizations like Transportation Alternatives, The Project for Public Spaces, and the Grand Army Plaza Coalition. TOPP collaborates on a variety of projects, producing community forums, focused sites like Park(ing) Day NYC, and informative video vignettes.
  • The Livable Streets Blog Network connects dozens of successful, high-quality transportation blogs, creating a powerful distribution channel for national policy news, campaign updates, and action alerts. Individual blogs can leverage the network to gain traction on local issues, and the Network can share information with nearly every Livable Streets advocate in the country.