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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.

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.

April 4, 2012
The City of Flows -Interdisciplinary Perspectives On The Digital City and Analog Spaces

The future development of urban environments is the subject of controversial discussion and action all over the world. Programmes range from technologicallydriven Smart City concepts to local grassroots democracy initiatives. The one thing that these otherwise highly diverse movements have in common is that changes in the city climate mean they will and must fundamentally alter our city lives.

International conference organised by the “City- Climate Potsdam” Innovation Institute at Fachhochschule Potsdam (University of Applied Science) in cooperation with Potsdam city council.

January 30, 2012
Getting Technology into the Open: Local Challenges & Global Solutions

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.

EngagingCities is supported by Living Labs Global and CityMart.com, which helps cities to articulate challenges, and matching those with technologies and solutions around the world that can rapidly improve lives of millions of citizens.
January 27, 2012
Call for Submissions- Living Labs Global Award

DEADLINE : February 17 . Cities require new solutions as they face major challenges in areas such as mobility, health, safety, urban management, carbon emissions, education and tourism. In turn, solutions providers are often struggling to navigate a complex market of 557,000 local governments in the world.

Deadline for submissions: 17th February 2012.

Cities require new solutions as they face major challenges in areas such as mobility, health, safety, urban management, carbon emissions, education and tourism. In turn, solutions providers are often struggling to navigate a complex market of 557,000 local governments in the world.

January 16, 2012
Civic Commons Marketplace Offers New Perspective on Which Engagement Software Really Works

New apps are coming out every day, but how does a local government find out about the latest technology?  How do they gain access to the newest, most innovative ways to improve the lives of their citizens? Civic Commons has recently launched the Civic Commons Marketplace. The marketplace is a database of civic software brought together to help government personnel find the online engagement tech tools to best fit their city’s needs. 

New apps are coming out every day, but how does a local government find out about the latest technology?  How do they gain access to the newest, most innovative ways to improve the lives of their citizens? Civic Commons has recently launched the Civic Commons Marketplace. The marketplace is a database of civic software brought together to help government personnel find the online engagement tech tools to best fit their city’s needs.  

December 22, 2011
Working together to make our cities great

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.

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.

September 8, 2011
Reset San Francisco and the Universal Internet Access Petition

Reset San Francisco is an online news source and both online and offline community that strives to bring San Franciscans together around important city issues. With the opening line, “If you could Reset San Francisco, where would you start?” the site frames San Franciscans’ thinking around ways that the city can be improved. Whether it is MUNI’s almost periodic meltdowns or the Board of Supervisors’ push to disintegrate successful social programs such as Care Not Cash, Reset San Francisco wants to know what citizens care about.

Reset San Francisco is an online news source and both online and offline community that strives to bring San Franciscans together around important city issues. With the opening line, “If you could Reset San Francisco, where would you start?” the site frames San Franciscans’ thinking around ways that the city can be improved. Whether it is MUNI’s almost periodic meltdowns or the Board of Supervisors’ push to disintegrate successful social programs such as Care Not Cash, Reset San Francisco wants to know what citizens care about.

September 8, 2011
Reset San Francisco and the Universal Internet Access Petition

Reset San Francisco is an online news source and both online and offline community that strives to bring San Franciscans together around important city issues. With the opening line, “If you could Reset San Francisco, where would you start?” the site frames San Franciscans’ thinking around ways that the city can be improved. Whether it is MUNI’s almost periodic meltdowns or the Board of Supervisors’ push to disintegrate successful social programs such as Care Not Cash, Reset San Francisco wants to know what citizens care about.

Reset San Francisco is an online news source and both online and offline community that strives to bring San Franciscans together around important city issues. With the opening line, “If you could Reset San Francisco, where would you start?” the site frames San Franciscans’ thinking around ways that the city can be improved. Whether it is MUNI’s almost periodic meltdowns or the Board of Supervisors’ push to disintegrate successful social programs such as Care Not Cash, Reset San Francisco wants to know what citizens care about.

August 8, 2011
Outreach Opportunites for Engaging Urbanite Population of CITYSUMERS

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.

August 4, 2011
The Revival of Mental Maps

Recently, a team of students from the School of Information at University of California in Berkley, working on their final master project, enlisted the help of San Fransisco residents to find out how people see vs. imagine their city. The purpose of this research? To discover whether an age old process in planning, such as Mental Mapping can be combined with today’s digital mapping tools tools (ie: GIS ) to create a balance of accuracy and precision, truth and objectivity using unconventional combinations of techniques and imagination that comes from access to “local' knowledge of any respective place.

July 20, 2011
Investigating Wireless Technology and Urban Design

At EngagingCities, we are always interested in sharing industry findings that document how new technologies are continuously changing the social life of urban public spaces. So, when we stumbled upon this photo essay and research study, we just had to share it with our readers. The study focuses on the relationship between the use of wireless technologies and the tendency for people to minimize exposure to diversity.

At EngagingCities, we are always interested in sharing industry findings that document how new technologies are continuously changing the social life of urban public spaces. So, when we stumbled upon the photo essay and research study, The Social Life of Wireless Urban Spaces, we just had to share it with our readers.

May 17, 2011
Craigslist Foundation Recently Launched Likeminded.org

Inspired by local community success stories that had yet to be shared beyond the community itself, the Craigslist Foundation, well known as a catalyst for individual and collective action for the public good across America, set out a little over a year ago to develop an online platform which would help spread these powerful stories to a broader audience. The concept behind this public engagement tool was to create a new type of forum especially for people who wanted to change something in their community but were unsure of where to start.

April 2, 2011
ImproveSF.org - Collecting ideas from city employees

When you think about government, you think about a lot of things. Taxes, parking tickets, police. Government touches each of our lives in ways we may not even notice.  But if there’s one thing government isn’t known for it is openness, engagement, and efficiency. A one way dialogue has kept the public voice muted and progressive technologies that can deliver much needed change at bay.

March 29, 2011
Community Storytelling in Urban Planning

Learning about urban planning policies can be as exciting as learning the tax code. All too often, community members are left scratching their heads about policy issues that seem esoteric and disconnected from their daily experiences.

 

Learning about urban planning policies can be as exciting as learning the tax code. All too often, community members are left scratching their heads about policy issues that seem esoteric and disconnected from their daily experiences.

Civic Eye Collaborative uses film as a medium for community storytelling that can engage communities about urban planning issues, building on a long tradition of urban documentary filmmaking.

December 1, 2010
Citytracking - Aiming to Present Urban Data in a Simple and Accessible Yet Beautiful Format

Since 2005 the Knight News Challenge has been awarding money for innovative ideas in their search for “bold community news and social media experiments”.  The challenge, part of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, has invested  millions of dollars into ideas that “develop platforms, tools and services to inform and transform”.  One of this year’s winners, Citytracking, aims to present city data in a simple and accessible yet beautiful format.  

November 8, 2010
NCDD’s Resource Guide on Public Engagement

In a nod to the uncertain economy, the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) is taking their annual conference on the road this year by hosting budget-friendly one-day events in five different cities.  Trekking from Denver to San Francisco, Boston, Austin and Portland, they hope to engage each region in a conversation focusing on quality public engagement, online engagement, and collaborations that work.  

In a nod to the uncertain economy, the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) is taking their annual conference on the road this year by hosting budget-friendly one-day events in five different cities.  Trekking from Denver to San Francisco, Boston, Austin and Portland, they hope to engage each region in a conversation focusing on quality public engagement, online engagement, and collaborations that work.   

October 31, 2010
The future of Connected and Sustainable Cities

The future of Connected and Sustainable Cities. A short video highlighting how ICT can deliver the Smart and Green environmental agenda, and meet stakeholder objectives for economic growth whilst delivering a sustainable urban future.

May 20, 2010
Location-aware consumer technology: ready - today - to make the practice of planning a little easier and a little cheaper

In his article “iPads for Planning” (posted on Planetizen, April 2, 2010), Robert Goodspeed states that the iPad and iPhone are excellent tools for planning because they are highly mobile, location aware, and can be connected to a 3G network.

We would like to thank Jeremy Nemeth PhD., Director of the Master’s in Urban Design program at the University of Colorado Denver, for his contribution to this post.