Content about Social psychology

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?

As mutual advocates of issues central to the future of cities, Next American City is just one of the resources that EngagingCities staff refers to from time to time in search of the top trends and tools related to socially and environmentally sustainable economic growth in America’s cities. Recently, Next American City Magazine published a comprehensive list of best apps, websites and software for enhancing and improving urban life. The list included tools affiliated with everything from city governance,  mapping and transportation, to “living well”.  Our favorites are...

As planners, architects, and passionate urbanists, we regularly ponder new ways to engage the public and get them motivated to be involved in planning projects. Besides the new tools for public engagement available today, we believe it is important to keep hands-on approaches to public engagement as part of the mix. Similarly, we are passionate about sharing with our readers success stories and insights from thought leaders within the planning industry, such as that of the legendary grassroots urbanist Jane Jacobs, which might inspire them to make their communities more livable, or shall we say, “walkable”.

Our friend Tim Bonnemann recently wrote a commentary on the evolving uses of crowdsourcing technology over at Federal Computer Week.  Namely, the coupling of crowdsourcing with government decision-making and policy creation.  Bonnemann suggests that successful case studies using this technique, may not be applicable in many contexts of Government2.0.  He references an article by Jeff Howe in Wired magazine that originally coined and defined the term crowdsourcing.

Studio Wikitecture has created by far the most advanced collaborative design process in a virtual world that we have witnessed.