I had the opportuntity, at the 2009 national planning conference in Minneapolis, to present (together with my colleague Christian Peralta Madera) ten free web applications that can be used to support planning.
Approximately 350 participants attended the session. Since the presentation, I've received over 100 emails congratulating us on the practical nature of the presentation, and requesting links to the websites we presented. Since our presentation was a hands-on demonstration, this blog entry outlines the ten technologies, and provides links to examples of the technology in practice and resources so you can experiment with the technologies.
Social networking
New Study Finds Twitter Reinforces Place-Based Networks
A new study that explores the geography of twitter networks finds that rather than making place obsolete, their intensity can be predicted by location and proximity, suggesting they enhance location based relationships.
The Atlantic
California Govt. Leaping into 21st Century Technology
Ariel Schwartz writes that California is poised to make a significant leap into Gov 2.0, with Apps for reporting graffiti and potholes, crowdsourcing solutions to local issues, and more.
Fast Company
New Technologies Increase Citizen Investment In Cities
A recent Pew Research study revealed that 58% of 25-34 year old Americans own smartphones, and communicate with each other, and their city governments in new ways.
American City and Country
The Internet vs. the City
Will digital communications make cities obsolete, or can online connections actually complement the face-to-face interactions and the cities that support them?
New York Times
Inchvesting in Detroit
$1 will buy you one square inch of a vacant lot in Detroit, and membership in Jerry Paffendorf's club of "inchvestors." It may sound like a scheme, but Paffendorf calls it a way to network, invest in Detroit, and attract entrepreneurs.
NPR
Top 10 Free Web Applications for Planning
Wed, 05/27/2009 - 11:00
Obama, Web 2.0 and Planning
Mon, 01/19/2009 - 12:02
What can we as planners learn from president-elect Barak Obama's use of technology?
President-elect Obama has been an early adopter of Web 2.0 technologies both in his campaign and the transition to the White House. It is likely that the Obama administration will continue to use Web 2.0 technologies to both engage the public in determining policies and to make government operations more transparent.
As planners, there are a lot of great tools and techniques that we can use in the planning processes. Here are some of the tools that the Obama team have used that could be used in planning.
