Articles

New York City’s Road Map for the Digital City

admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

New York City is now one year in with their Road Map for the Digital City, the city’s plan to make New York the world’s leading digital city. Are they on to something big? Were their first year ambitions realistic? The process is definitely underway, but more challenges exist.

Fish on 14th Street: Climate Change & Vulnerability in The Urban Environment

admin — Thu, 10 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

As New Yorkers, we seldom consider our physical vulnerability on the group of islands that we inhabit, a vulnerability that is increasing as a result of climate change. Nevertheless, weather everywhere, even in Manhattan, has grown more extreme and erratic over the past decade, something many attribute to global warming. In light of the recent evacuation of Lower Manhattan this past summer with the Hurricane that never happened, the work has particular resonance, serving as a wake-up call for urbanites who don’t think that climate change can affect them.

Neighborland Gives Residents of New Orleans a Voice Regarding Municpal Priorities

admin — Wed, 02 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

January 24th was an important day for residents in New Orleans. That Tuesday morning, the Regional Transit Authority commissioners agreed to release their transit data to the public. Software developers can now develop applications for residents based on schedule, route and real-time GPS data. With the right technology, riding public transit will be more predictable and less stressful for tens of thousands of people every day. New Orleans residents deserve credit for making it happen.

Delivering Denver’s Future - A Participatory Budgeting Process

admin — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Several weeks ago, the office of Denver’s Mayor Michael Hancock launched a two-part community engagement strategy to gather public input on important financial issues facing the City of Denver. A series of public forums put keypad polling devices in the hands of city employees and Denver residents to test the best ideas for how to address the City’s financial challenges. The Mayor also unveiled a new participatory budgeting tool encouraging public feedback on key topics relative to fixing Denver’s budget gap. The new interactive tool, Delivering Denver’s Future, gives residents a unique opportunity to weigh in on how to fix the city’s broken budget.

Collaborative Public Conversations Focused on Finding Common Ground Between Local Residents and Decision Makers

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

When it comes to politics we can often pinpoint precisely where two candidates clash with each other. As the arena grows more issue-centric, people may tend to tuck themselves inside information silos unknowingly, becoming inflexible or even unwilling to view other opinions or facts. The political current may be full of discontent and partisan division, but instead of focusing on this, why not concentrate on more meaningful public conversations that can move us forward? Is knowing where we agree a better place to start a conversation? Enter the Community Forums Network for Washington state, seeking out the prime spot for agreement.

City Planning LOLCATS

admin — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Last week students at Ohio State University sent a survey out asking students and professionals from across the country for their ideas for how they would like to engage with APA and other professional organizations through social media platforms. We received hundreds of really great ideas. Many of the responses focused on creating fun ways to engage around planning topics.

Morph My City Challenge Encourages Innovation in Sustainable Urban Planning

admin — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

The 2012 National Infrastructure Summit is coming up this September10-12 in Regina (SK), Canada and in conjuction with this event, an innovative challenge is being introduced as a form of social engineering. The event focuses on the creation and elaboration of the best and sustainable ideas related to the growth of the City of Regina. Architects, engineers, students, city planners and innovators from around the world are invited to enter the Morph My City Challenge (MMCC) - two innovative competitions aiming to encourage and reward radical new approaches to sustainable urban planning.

Introducing ICIC's "What Works: Solutions for Cities"

admin — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 08:00:00 +0000

What do baby boomers, families, young professionals and new U.S. immigrants all have in common? They’re driving the reurbanization of America. After decades of flight, cities are becoming the go-to choice of living. Access to amenities—including parks, transportation, restaurants, cultural facilities and sporting events—are making cities the preferred alternative to suburban living.

Technology And Participation Pay Dividends In Smaller Cities

admin — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Looking around on articles on the world’s smartest cities, we tend to celebrate the high-tech pioneers implementing large infrastructure or data projects. Smaller cities can play an important role in driving innovation in or near metropolitan areas of a major cities and creating new markets. Sant Cugat (population 80,000, near Barcelona) and Eindhoven (population 213,000, near Amsterdam) are good examples.

Philly’s Independents Hall: “Co-working” Inspires Creative Neighborhood Interaction

admin — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:00:00 +0000

I recently met with a local Philly organization that is doing something different that has sparked quite a bit of creativity and cohesion among local neighbors and business owners. Alex Hillman, of Philadelphia’s own Independents Hall (or Indy Hall for short), sat down with me and allowed me to pick his brain about an up-and-coming business movement called Coworking. The concept is surprisingly simple, and the idea is popping up in urban areas everywhere. The best part is, business leaders all over the world are coming to Philadelphia (and more specifically, to Alex at Indy Hall) to see how it’s done right.

Owensboro: A Small City’s Success Story Ignites a Sense of Civic Renewal

admin — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 08:00:00 +0000

A highly inclusive model for public engagement has spurred city revitalization and helped set a precedent for citizen participation in government in a small city on the Ohio River, its surrounding county, and beyond.

Feel-o-Meter or Public Face Displays The Mood of The City in Real Time

admin — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:00:00 +0000

What would it be like to measure and publicize the emotions of a city’s dwellers? Would we like what we saw? Would it benefit us? Or in an era of data deluge, are there some things that are simply better left unknown? Well, that really depends on whom you ask. This question was the philosophical heart of an art installation that made a splash a few years ago when it was first installed in Berlin, and later in Lindau, a small town in southern Germany.

The Power of Place and Data-Driven Storytelling

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 08:00:00 +0000

There is so much that can be accomplished today with one of the most fundamental tools for communities: the map. Data-driven storytelling with online maps provides a concrete and easily digestible tool to engage citizens in a manner they are familiar with. But what stories should your map tell? Which data should power it and which segment of the population will find value in your map?

The Creative Community: How Three Communities Used Art to Build a Future

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Richard Florida has written compellingly about the value of the creative class and the importance of attracting creative people to boost local economies. And many communities have embraced creative economic development or citizen engagement strategies, making arts part of the downtown landscape or highlighting arts-based non-profits.

Stockholm’s Visually Impaired: The Sunny Side of Open Innovation

admin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Stockholm’s City Council, a member of our Living Labs Global initiative, declared in 1999 its intention to be the most accessible capital city in the world by 2010. To achieve this goal the Easy Access programme was started through the Stockholm Real Estate and Traffic Administration implementing different measures. Initially, investments were made into physical adaptations of pedestrian crossings, bus stops, playgrounds, installing ramps or hearing devices in public buildings.

Community Led Revitalization And Place Making

admin — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

As demand for quality environments in our cities continues to increase, more attention is being paid to the opportunity presented by urban revitalisation as a sustainable alternative to broad scale urban renewal. Around the world urban revitalisation is being catalysed by housing, cultural, retail, infrastructure and city centre projects that spur on infill development, adaptive re-use and other local investment.

Hester Street Collaborative: Empowering Young Residents to Shape Their Own Environment

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:00:00 +0000

If you’re walking through New York City’s Chinatown and spot an out-of-the-ordinary cart, you’ll be looking at one of Hester Street Collaborative’s latest projects devoted to using design as a tool for social change.

Getting Technology into the Open: Local Challenges & Global Solutions

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

In 2009 we had an idea, to bring together a group of global cities to share their challenges with the international technology community. Our hypothesis was that a solution to any challenge is out there already, and that by finding it we can learn and avoid re-inventing the wheel. Since then, the Living Labs Global Award has become the world’s most significant call for solutions, in its current edition 21 global cities call for technologies to improve the lives of 110 Million citizens.

ECOSProject: A Sustainable Future for Chittenden County

admin — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Last year, the community of Chittenden County, Vermont embarked on an important project: ECOS Project is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to engage citizens, organizations and municipalities in a conversation about the future of each one of the communities within this Chittenden County region.

Harnessing the Power of Story to Shape a City's Future

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Every place tells a story. But, most don’t do it coherently or intentionally. The tricky thing about stories is that even if a city or a downtown doesn’t want to be telling one, it matters not, because they are telling a story anyway. So, how do you quantify a place’s story, and what can you do with it?

Outreach Mobility Network: Engaging The Local Community About Transportation Needs

admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

A need like transportation is everywhere, and it affects everyone. More and more of our community has reached a point of not being able to drive, not having the financial ability for transportation, or not having enough public transit available to them. Understanding that has lead us to meet with community leaders, senior centers and their participants, and people with disabilities to find out exactly what their needs are and how we, as a community, can address those needs.

Designing Geography Part III: The GeoDesign Framework

admin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Carl Steinitz, professor of landscape architecture at Harvard University, first described how the GeoDesign Framework worked by posing it as a series of six questions relevant to landscape change. The first three questions describe the world as it is and assess its condition (the assessment process). The last three questions describe the world as it could be, evaluating proposed design alternatives and their impacts (the intervention process).

Artists Reconsider Their Roles in Our Society Through Residency Program

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Making art in the public is no longer just placing an object in a public plaza, a monumental sculpture in a park or a memorial sculpture. Public art can be integrated into the landscape or digitally into the fabric of a building. Or, art in the public can be seventy artists doing performances on Main Street over a short span of time.

Working together to make our cities great

admin — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

In the lead up to Christmas, a time of giving and community spirit, it seems only fitting we look at one of the big urban trends of 2011, collaborative urbanism. Also known as ‘tactical urbanism’, ‘do it yourself’, and ‘lighter, quicker, cheaper’, collaborative urbanism describes community activated place making. Its about community led revitalization and the way in which it starts locally but has the potential to impact on a global audience.

On-Line Open Houses Inform and Engage Between Project Milestones

admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

The city of Eugene, Oregon, has been working its way through the process of planning for future growth over the past 20 months, using various public engagement tools. Early on, it became evident that we would need new and different media formats to inform and engage people at different points in the process. For major public conversations such as creating a community vision, we held large workshops with plenty of opportunities for small group discussion. For feedback on interim staff proposals, we have used surveys, on-line comment forms, and meetings with community groups. Throughout the process, staff has maintained a Facebook page and comprehensive website with current project videos, maps, and documents posted as they are developed.