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Cities Pulse: Community development on the rise

Sascha Haselmayer

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.

Google+ Communities Guide

Chris Haller

Launched in December, Google+ Communities are a place where users can share ideas and content relating to a particular topic with others who are just as interested in striking up a conversation. Already, the types of Communities available to the Google+ audience seem endless — ranging from science, animals, and even groups devoted to cities such as Detroit and Kansas City.

Embracing Social Media Engagement: Tips for Public Outreach

Nicole Davis

Most of us grasp the concept by now that social media has the potential to create a powerful a two-way dialog between government and constituents. So, why aren’t more municipalities embracing this form of public outreach? Cutting through the clutter of social media can be quite intimidating for the novice, we agree; however, platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google Plus and even Pinterest can and should be viewed as a communications asset. Recently, technology and communications experts from three U.S. cities were asked for their recommendations regarding social media strategies for engagement. 

Best Practices in Creating Viral Infographics

Nicole Davis

Infographics have become a useful and entertaining way to present facts and share ideas. Of course, not all infographics can engage an audience or make learning enjoyable.

Connect With Your Neighbors: Nine Creative Community Building Ideas

Nicole Davis

What would happen in your neighborhood if you started eating dinner with your family out on your front patio instead or inside or out back? My own back patio opens up to grass commons area, where my family can watch our neighbors and catch up with them over our low fence, as they pass by with their kids and dogs on a nightly stroll. This is one of the most attractive qualities about the community I live in.

What to Look for When Hiring a Quality Community Manager

Chris Haller

As we work everyday to find high-impact strategies for community involvement, it is natural to wonder if there’s another step we can take to ensure our social media initiatives are successful. One job role that has been emerging lately is that of the Community Manager. Do you currently have a community manager for your agency or project? Now may be the time.

Maximizing Direct Connections With Citizens and Stakeholders

Chris Haller

With all the options for social media today, it is a common concern we’re faced with: what is the best way to engage citizens and stakeholders cost effectively? We all want to get information out quickly to relevant audiences whose expectations for information access have grown so fast. So which outreach channel should we be focused on? According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 92 percent of adults use email which can be thought of as “the central hub of all online communication.”

Carl Steinitz Discusses Six Fundamental Questions of GeoDesign Framework

Carla Wheeler

Creating a good design takes organization. That's why Harvard University professor Carl Steinitz developed a robust conceptual framework or workflow for regional land-use design projects.
Steinitz spent more than 30 years teaching these design methods and strategies to his students at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. A much wider audience now has access to his methodology with the publication of his new book, A Framework for Geodesign: Changing Geography by Design. Nine case studies are included in the book, each focusing on a different design method. I sat down with Steinitz at the recent GeoDesign Summit to discuss the six fundamental questions required for working through GeoDesign Framework. 

Creating a Structure For Meaningful Public Input

Evan Carver

At the recent Congress for the New Urbanism, Ian Wolfe Ross, of City Design Collective, delivered a presentation called “Code for the People.”  The talk was a rallying cry for the younger generation of New Urbanists, and a reminder that to achieve goals like restructuring corridors and revitalizing districts, planners need to focus on the design of the public realm – and involve the community in the visioning process.  As Ross put, “Developers are not your clients, nor are council members or any other interest group.  Your clients are the people, period.”  After the talk, I sat down with him during the conference to talk more about the most important issues facing young planners today.

How to use Facebook’s Timeline Feature to Engage Citizens

Nicole Davis

Now that the Facebook Timeline is in place you may be wondering just how organizations, non-profits and local entities can engage with citizens through this new layout.  We’ve put together a few helpful hints for maneuvering in this new landscape.