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May 20, 2013
New Zealand Fast Tracks Citizen Engagement Reforms

“The aim of the funding is to increase the efficiencies of agencies working together to allow more New Zealanders to interact with the Government online...Our target is for 70 per cent of New Zealanders’ most common transactions with government to occur online by 2017.”

From http://www.futuregov.asia

New Zealand’s Minister for Internal Affairs Chris Tremain: 

May 16, 2013
3rd Future of Cities Forum

How can cities become future-just and regenerative? The Forum brings together mayors, urban planners, scientists and representatives of civil society and the private sector to discuss key challenges and solutions for future urban development. 

May 16, 2013
Public Engagement: Invite Us Early and Often

From mobilizestrategies.com

 

May 16, 2013
Saving the world takes more than open public data

From news.medill.northwestern.edu

May 15, 2013
Introducing Della, Managing Editor (and Very Slow Runner)

... I figured perhaps I'd better introduce myself.  I have had one of those career paths that looks like cooked spaghetti, and I think all of those experiences filter into my approach to public engagement and technology.  As I tell my kids, if you're going to have to listen to me, you might as well have some understanding of where I'm coming from. So here goes...

 

May 14, 2013
If we’re not building relationships, we’re doing it wrong... Hackers + Planners + Citizens

 

From OpenPlans.org

May 13, 2013
A New Site Puts The Hyper Into Hyperlocal

A startup based in downtown Boston, BlockAvenue has divided up the U.S. into a small pieces, and then aggregated as much data as it can find to start telling stories about them.

From FastCompany.com:

May 10, 2013
Event: Crowsourcing the New Digital Economy

More than 40 speakers at the conference will inspire and equip the audience of enterprise executives and business leaders with the tools and practices on how crowdsourcing can benefit their bottom line and effectiveness.

 

May 7, 2013
Civic Engagement in the Digital Age

Surprising new trends in civic engagement have been brought to light, thanks to the Pew Internet and American Life Project’s report, “Civic Engagement in the Digital Age.”

April 29, 2013
SEETY - A bottom-up approach to urban lighting in Milan

What, when and how are we going to illuminate the city of Milan? SEETY is a proposal for a bottom-up approach to lighting in Milan. It’s intended to provide a reflection on who urban lighting is made by and who is using it.

What, when and how are we going to illuminate the city of Milan? SEETY is a proposal for a bottom-up approach to lighting in Milan. It’s intended to provide a reflection on who urban lighting is made by and who is using it.

SEETY Milano is an app available  at http://www.seety.altervista.org and it is conceived as:

April 18, 2013
The Lens of Choice

Remember the 1% rule? In Internet culture, the 1% rule reflects a hypothesis that more people will lurk in a virtual community than will participate. Those looking to engage online communities will be happy to know that this rule is a thing of the past.

Remember the 1% rule? In Internet culture, the 1% rule reflects a hypothesis that more people will lurk in a virtual community than will participate. Those looking to engage online communities will be happy to know that this rule is a thing of the past.

April 9, 2013
The Open Office

A new project at London's Architecture Foundation, run by the architecture practice We Made That, aims to educate citizen planners by putting elements of localism on display for citizens to explore – and take part in.

In the UK, local planning is now in the hands of communities, following the passing of the Localism Act, which has the potential to give anyone a voice in neighborhood planning. The problem is that not many citizens are sure how the process should work.

April 3, 2013
Local Renewables Freiburg 2013 Conference

The Local Renewables Freiburg 2013 Conference, taking place in Freiburg, Germany from 24 - 25 October 2013, will focus on how to shape a solar city and optimise local renewable energy potentials.

Shaping your solar city – Practical solutions from planning to implementation 24-25 October 2013, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

March 27, 2013
Using the internet in 1995
March 25, 2013
Cities Pulse: Community development on the rise

For our fourth year now, we are running the LLGA | Cities Pilot the Future program, an initiative in which cities present their pressing short-term challenges to the global social and urban innovation community with a commitment to implement the most promising solutions.

For our fourth year now, we are running the LLGA | Cities Pilot the Future program, an initiative in which cities present their pressing short-term challenges to the global social and urban innovation community with a commitment to implement the most promising solutions.

March 21, 2013
Design Action Research for Government (DARG)

Have you ever felt like engagement strategies tend to involve a lot of bean counting, where the quantity of people participating is regarded as more important than the quality of participation created? Boston’s DARG projectis seeking to change this with the help of design-based research and a framework for conceptualizing and evaluating networked civic engagement.

March 11, 2013
Tactical Urbanism Here!

As more and more urbanites flock to Denver, they are beginning to demand more from their city. More bike lanes, more active public places, more creativity, more spaces designed for people. Rather than waiting for authorities to transform their streets and neighborhoods, they are taking action.  The new website TacticalUrbanismHere.com documents these urban interventions to show how small-scale change can have a big impact on Denver neighborhoods.

As more and more urbanites flock to Denver, they are beginning to demand more from their city. More bike lanes, more active public places, more creativity, more spaces designed for people. Rather than waiting for authorities to transform their streets and neighborhoods, they are taking action.  The new website TacticalUrbanismHere.com  documents these urban interventions to show how small-scale change can have a big impact on Denver neighborhoods.

March 7, 2013
Actions in Public Space: Framing Lafayette Park

On a Saturday morning in late October, a couple friends and I hung five picture frames from trees in Lafayette Park. The frames prompt passer-byers to take a closer look at the park and perhaps even take a photo – of friends or the framed view – of a place with few “photo opps.”

On a Saturday morning in late October, a couple friends and I hung five picture frames from trees in Lafayette Park. The bright, orange frames seemed to signal the high tourist season for Salem, with Halloween just days away.

Lafayette Park is not on the tourist circuit, however. The park and its dominating feature, a granite, obelisk-like monument, do not feature on Salem postcards. The frames prompt passer-byers to take a closer look at the park and perhaps even take a photo – of friends or the framed view – of a place with few “photo opps.”

March 4, 2013
The Story of a New Mogadishu

Somalia’s history has been long dominated by raging conflicts and aggressive, authoritarian governments. Today Somalia has yet to fully heal, but the nation’s capital of Mogadishu is quickly becoming the world’s greatest success story. 

February 25, 2013
Davis Wiki

When citizens have the opportunity to do a bit of storytelling about their community, they gain a sense of connection and pride, and may even feel motivated to become more involved and take ownership of its idiosyncrasies and challenges.

When citizens have the opportunity to do a bit of storytelling about their community, they gain a sense of connection and pride, and may even feel motivated to become more involved and take ownership of its idiosyncrasies and challenges. This is the impression that those involved with hyper-local wiki projects are noticing as their projects evolve.

February 20, 2013
Actions in Public Space: Share a Chair

How does a design professional engage people to participate in the development of neighborhood public spaces in such a way that they see those spaces as an integral and ongoing part of their daily lives? Last fall, I coordinated two projects, Framing Lafayette Park and Share A Chair, in two parks in Salem Massachusetts that begin to explore this question on site.

February 6, 2013
Urban Prototyping SF

Often, time-consuming obstacles can stifle great ideas for cities, even those that have the potential to innovate the global public realm. Permits, hearings, and fees are common hurdles that can affect the motivation of those who wish to re-imagine their cities.

Often, time-consuming obstacles can stifle great ideas for cities, even those that have the potential to innovate the global public realm. Permits, hearings, and fees are common hurdles that can affect the motivation of those who wish to re-imagine their cities.

That’s why the concept of urban prototyping has come to the fore as a way to promote alternative opportunities to the regular process -- by trialing ideas and solutions for city life through quick, inexpensive and temporary prototyping projects.

January 31, 2013
Talking In Townhill Park, Setting the Wheels in Motion

In a time of austerity and cutbacks we have certainly found it is increasingly difficult for Councils to know how to spend smaller pots of cash. Public Sector organisations seem almost afraid to suggest projects that might be perceived as unglamorous.

In a time of austerity and cutbacks we have certainly found it is increasingly difficult for Councils to know how to spend smaller pots of cash. Public Sector organisations seem almost afraid to suggest projects that might be perceived as unglamorous. Projects that can make a real difference to a place but might not be something that a project manager would want to list in their CV or folio.

January 18, 2013
From Social Networking to Social Service
January 14, 2013
New York's "Secret Avenue"

According to Open City Projects, Manhattan developed so quickly that there was little time or effort put toward adjusting the grid plan. One of the side effects of this was the fact that the main blocks were rendered impermeable, since the plan made no provision for subdivision by alleys or lanes. If you are familiar with Manhattan, you’ll know that this can make travel up the island difficult, since the rectangular blocks are oriented lengthwise between rivers, divided by just a few north-south avenues.

As cities evolve, we ponder if they must remain rigid, locked within the boundaries set by city planners who could never have fathomed how their cities would look in the 21st century. Our densely packed cities can be made more hospitable to those who live there with the addition of open spaces. We’d also prefer our cities to be walkable and as safe as possible for pedestrians.