How a fiddler and an astrophysicist introduced predictive analytics to Cincinnati

Backchannel, a tech-focused subsite at Medium.com, is back at it, heaping praise on the city of Cincinnati's efforts to lead the charge toward the future of local government by integrating data into its daily operations. The praise is centered on Ed Cunningham, head of the city's building code enforcement operations who also happens to be front man and fiddle player for Comet Bluegrass All-Stars.

Back in April, Backchannel writer Susan Crawford used glowing terms to describe how City Manager Harry Black and Chief Performance Officer Chad Kenney built the city's Office of Performance and Data Analytics. With this new story she revisits Cincinnati's newfound fascination with data, focusing on Cunningham's experiments with Predictive Blight Prevention.

"Even if you aren’t immediately eager to read another column about Cincinnati, keep going," Crawford writes. "Like other good stories, this one has drama, memorable characters, sudden bursts of insight, and a cliffhanger ending that hints at future episodes. It also has a soundtrack."

Read the full Backchannel article here.