Articles

The Past & Future of Tactical Urbanism: A Conversation With Mike Lydon

admin — Wed, 16 May 2012 07:00:00 +0000

The 20th annual Congress for the New Urbanism was held this week in West Palm Beach, Fla. Such anniversaries are an occasion for reflection on past accomplishments, and also for looking ahead. One of the most exciting topics on the docket was “tactical urbanism,” the movement of incremental, small-scale – usually temporary, sometimes unsanctioned – improvements to the built landscape. One session featured Ralph Rosado, of C3TS, who presented on a project that turned a parking lot along Miami’s Biscayne Boulevard into a park for a week. Russ Preston, Design Director of the Principle Group, described how informal outdoor movie projections activated a neighborhood (and eventually became sanctioned by Paramount Pictures). Ellen Dunham-Jones, of Georgia Tech, described how her students installed temporary bike signage, historical markers, and storytelling benches to downtown Lithonia, Ga., to help catalyze long-term change there. The session was emceed by Mike Lydon, principle of Street Plans Collaborative, and lead editor of the Tactical Urbanism manual, volume 2 of which was just released. Following the session, Lydon stepped aside with EngagiesCities to discuss the past and future of tactical urbanism.

Visualization Through Data-Driven Storytelling or Geospatial Animation

admin — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

The concept of data-driven storytelling is now “on the map.” Geospatial data, or simply data concerning a place, is now collected in real time. When geospatial data is animated, we get an interactive visualization that is impressive and can be even more powerful than static data. Andy Kirk, a UK-based data visualization expert, emphasizes that when you plot data onto “the scenery of a map and then create a shifting window into the scene through the sequence of time, you create a data-driven story.”

Municipal Data Integration: Breaking Down the Silos and Sharing Information

admin — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

Recently, I posted an article on the Living Labs Global blog, Report on Mobility, which prompted someone to comment on the distinction between open data and actual information. Raw data are valuable, but the information synthesized from the data is golden. My experiences this summer continue to highlight the need not only for better data, but also for better information.

From GIS to Place-Based Stories [Cartography]

admin — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I was able to attend the 2012 Where Conference, held in San Fransisco, California, and I am pleased to say that this year’s event surpassed all of my expectations. For those of you not familiar with this conference, the annual event features the latest and greatest in location-based social applications, mapping technology, and innovative GIS related public engagement best practices. While many of the presentations at this year’s Where Conference focused on leveraging location-based social media apps installed on our smart phones and tablets, it was the presentations about creating compelling stories about place and space that caught my attention as they relate specifically to public involvement, which can provide planners with some very useful resources in citizen engagement. Overall, I would say that “doing GIS” is getting easier.

DistrictBuilder Software Offers Public Participation Power Shift in Redistricting Process

admin — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 07:00:00 +0000

When you approach the polls this November to choose the members of Congress you’d like to see elected or re-elected, you will likely have put in some time prior to the election studying up on how your candidates compare to your views. It’s worth noting that there are now websites created just for that reason, such as VoteSmart.org’s “VoteEasy” platform. But it may not have crossed your mind that elected representatives and their political allies in the state legislatures will have pre-selected their voters by creating partisan electoral districts through the manipulation of maps.

Avoiding Road Blocks On The Way To Building a Smarter City

admin — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 08:00:00 +0000

From the point of view of city planners, ICT leaders, city engineers and analysts today, Smart City initiatives can hit roadblocks and come up against obstacles to their realization. It is especially obvious that technology alone cannot adequately fix our urban problems. In short, it might be said that the one thing missing from “intelligent city” projects is the people who reside there.

The Democratization of Mapmaking: The Result of a Potent Digital Revolution

admin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:12:40 +0000

We see them every day, popping up on our Twitter feeds, filtered through blogs, or even scattered throughout the New York Times: maps portraying not the usual locations or destinations, but data. From people’s kisses in Toronto, to the concentration of pizza joints in New York, to the number of women who ride bikes, to the likelihood of being killed by a car in any given American city, the list of lenses through which we can now view our cities and neighborhoods goes on, thanks to data-mapping geeks.

Shifting Roles for Public Libraries: From Supporting Player to Community Engagement Leader

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:35:43 +0000

When you think of the most democratic place in your neighborhood where resources are universally available, does one government entity immediately come to mind?

2012 Ted Prize Awarded to “The City 2.0”

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

For the first time the Ted Prize has been awarded to an idea rather than a person. The 2012 Ted Prize has been awarded to “The City 2.0.” The Ted Prize winner receives $100,000 and also "One Wish to Change the World." The prize ties in with the TED community's assembly of expertise and resources, and works towards collaborative initiatives that will influence millions.

White House Soliciting Input on Public Participation Best Practices

admin — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Last week, the White House announced that they are actively seeking input from citizens to help identify best practices for public participation in government and suggest metrics that will allow agencies to assess progress toward the goal of becoming more participatory. The solicitation for input is directly related to the U.S. Open Government National Action Plan which was announced earlier this Fall as a government-wide effort to reform and modernize records management policies and practices.

It’s a 3D Model, what’s the difference?

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

Land planning and design is highly driven by the need for schematic designs, but understanding the best methods and tools to reflect these schemes can be daunting. Technology continues to advance at an accelerated rate and we must stay up to speed on these changes in order to most appropriately accomplish the task at hand. 3D technologies have emerged over the past two decades increasing our ability to create stunning images of our visions, but are we using the tools correctly?

Social Cities: How to Engage Citizens With Digital Media

admin — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

The increasing growth and complexity of cities raises the question how we can use digital media technologies and principles from online culture to design livable and lively cities. How can digital media aid citizens to engage with their environment, with fellow urbanites, and with issues at stake in their cities? Most mobile and location-based apps are about personalized consumption and sharing preferences with an in-group of like-minded people. Can we use digital technologies to help solve collective problems in the city too?

Road Rules: Finding Balance For All

admin — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 08:00:00 +0000

As cities across the country add more bike lanes and introduce mentoring programs to easing congestion on the streets, and bike-sharing programs are popping up and becoming even more trendy in big cities like Austin, Miami, Philadelphia, Denver, Des Moines, and Washington, D.C., the debate over traffic laws and general etiquette heats up. The overall support of cycling programs in our country is strong, as many Americans understand the positive impacts to air quality, traffic congestion, etc. However, there is also somewhat of an unexpected ‘bikelash’ among some aggravated citizens when it comes to traditional ‘road rules’ vs. bicyclist courtesy and a cohesive safety standard for all commuters. Should all states operate as Oregon does, with its dedicated biker's section in the driver's manual, or Washington, with its statewide bike-route network? Should there be stricter laws enforcing bikers to stop at traffic lights just as drivers are required to?

User Experience Experts Have Much to Offer Gov2.0

admin — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:30:55 +0000

Government does not have to be inefficient and unpleasant to deal with - especially in a democracy where we are seeing a more concerted effort to help define best practices in user experience for government agencies. So what is the ideal design to offer citizens a touch point with government agencies which builds trust, transparency and loyalty? In a recent article published by UX Magazine, these complex questions were explored - in search of techniques that might be employed by Gov2.0 supporters, to inspire positive alternatives in typically change-resistant environments.

Strong Towns: Shedding “Dead Ideas” from Suburban Era

admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 07:00:00 +0000

This morning, in response to America’s current economic conditions, Strong Towns released a new report calling for a dramatic change in America’s approach to growth and development. Curbside Chat; A candid talk about the future of America’s cities, towns and neighborhoods, suggests an entirely new approach to growth. In the report, Strong Towns calls on local officials to change course and shed the “dead ideas” of the suburban era and to take control of their own financial futures.

Can Collaborative Computer Programming Produce Sustainable Software for Planners?

admin — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 07:00:00 +0000

In recent years, government sponsored hack-a-thons have become a highly utilized form of software development for a diverse number of industries - the field of urban planning is no exception to this ‘peer production’ type of approach. These contests and challenges are popping up everywhere. One such example of this is Oregon’s City Council Agenda App, designed to to encourage dialog between local City government and residents. While applications produced by government challenges such as these are some of the most innovative and creative online engagement tools available to city planners, unfortunately many are quickly abandoned.

Closing the gap between online and offline public engagement

admin — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Traditional engagement has advantages that will never grow obsolete. Even for tech-savvy citizens, real live public meetings, events, and workshops hold the value of the human touch. Face-to-face interactions provide a deeper sense of community and inspire residents to “own” the places where they live. Furthermore, offline engagement can be applied to groups of people that don’t have the ability or desire to interact online.

CityFabric Kickstarts their new Civic Minded Project with Crowd Sourcing Tool

admin — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 20:33:37 +0000

We recently discovered a fun civic enterprise: CityFabric focuses on initiating conversations about the place where people live, by printing products with figureground maps on them. They have been gaining traction since early July with the help of their recent Kickstarter campaign.

Outreach Opportunites for Engaging Urbanite Population of CITYSUMERS

admin — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:42:50 +0000

Recently, we came across a Trend Briefing for brand marketers focused on “the rise of the CITYSUMERS.” What is a CITYSUMER, you ask? Trendwatching.com defines this group of urbanites as “the hundreds of millions of experienced and sophisticated city dwellers, from San Francisco to Shanghai to São Paulo, who are ever more demanding and more open-minded, but also more proud, more connected, more spontaneous and more try-out-prone, consuming new urban goods, services, experiences, campaigns and conversations.” While the report is very marketing oriented, we think some of it’s findings are related to our focus on EngagingCities.

Simply The Best: Why Bicycle Planning Makes More Sense Than Ever

admin — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:18:46 +0000

The simplest solution is often correct. The famous phrase which many use to sum up the principle of Occam’s Razor is not often evidenced in city planning today. Why does getting into or out of town seem to be such a complex or expensive process? Why does making a journey involving different transport modes require an IQ like Einstein? Why do we so often sit in traffic jams caused by one-man metal islands?

Study Indicates Recent Increase in Mobile App Usage

admin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Since emerging into the mainstream as a dominant communication source a mere 15 years ago, there is no doubt that the Internet has continued to rapidly evolve. From early online online directories and search engines to the now popular array of social media venues (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc), the web’s popularity has increased significantly.

More recently, however, a new platform shift is taking place. A recent study conducted by Flurry, indicates that a new generation of consumers now expect their smartphones and tablets to come with instant broadband connectivity so they, too, can tap into the Internet and communicate via social media platforms while they are on the go. Hence, the recent increase of mobile apps being developed.

Gaming For Better Communities

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:54:01 +0000

"Gamification” has become a full-fledged movement. It started with social media, then spread across industries as marketers discovered the allure of points, badges, challenges, and rewards as mediums to making almost anything seem like more fun. These efforts to attract users met with varying degrees of success, but critics worried that such “funware” was just glorified “bling” that delivered little in terms of value. Then Jane McGonigal gave her much-circulated TED talk on how “Gaming Can Make A Better World”, and the concept of gamification began to enjoy new-found respect as a driver for community-building and a motivator for real-life change.

An Experiment in Theoretical Urbanism

admin — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:58:37 +0000

Imagine a full functional city of optimal population density (roughly six million residents) - one that operates on subway alone, has zero congestion, and absolutely no water pollution all developed in a matter of 4 years. Impossible, you say?

Hyper-Local News: What’s in it for planners?

admin — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 20:27:21 +0000

There’s recently been discussion and debate surrounding the attempts of neighborhood news aggregates to build out automated collections of local news, events, blog trends, and discussions -- sites like Fwix, EveryBlock, and Outside.in being the most prominent examples. But in order to remain vibrant, the sites must achieve the right mix of publicity, monetization, good content, and attractive presentation -- and unfortunately, it seems that none of the hyper-local news providers are hitting that magic mix.