CTC is proud to announce that we'll be supporting Movesmart.org, a Chicago-based nonprofit startup, at this year's NetSquared Mashup Challenge in San Jose, CA. As a finalist, Movesmart.org will be competing for development funds against approximately twenty other mashup-type projects.

CTC has been working on community mapping efforts for quite some time. The ChicagoAncestors.org site we built for the Newberry Library last year has been a huge success and remains a great example of a sophisticated Drupal-based mashup. As noted in our Drupalcon Boston 2008 presentation, we've got ambitious plans for bringing an entirely open source GIS stack to Drupal, giving everyone the ability to easily create their own mashups.

More about Movesmart.org:

MoveSmart.org is a start-up non-profit organization that fosters vibrant and diverse neighborhoods by empowering housing seekers to move to opportunity. When launched, the site will layer information on neighborhood amenities, quality of life indicators, affordable housing opportunities, and the services and programs of community based organizations over an interactive map. These maps will be complimented by guides, tools, calculators, worksheets, and an innovative social network that will connect new residents with community-based organizations and new neighbors, making MoveSmart.org a one-stop resource for housing seekers looking for a better neighborhood. (from the Movesmart.org website)

More about the NetSquared Mashup Challenge:

This year’s NetSquared Conference, a Mashup Challenge, will bring together a unique mix of people from the public and private sectors to develop and release Mashups designed to provide deeper insight into the social issues affecting communities around the globe. (from the NetSquared website)

The NetSquared conference site has several blog posts by Movesmart.org ED Justin Massa. There is also a brief blog post by CTC member Jim Craner discussing "open source, open standards, and open data."

Congratulations to the Movesmart.org team for being selected as a Project Finalist, and best of luck during the Mashup Challenge!