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.
It appears that new technologies are fueling a era of renewed citizen engagement. Companies such as CitySourced have taken the lead, providing multi platform applications that allow smartphone users to report problems like graffiti or uncollected trash as they come across them.
This increased investment in how the city operates is translating into a more evolved contribution to the decision making process. According to Michael Armstrong, CIO for Corpus Christi, Texas, "almost all politicians now have Facebook pages, and they're becoming very comfortable with connecting to people that way. We also have a group of young people coming up who communicate entirely differently than the past several generations. They are connected all the time, and they are social."
FULL STORY: Citizen Engagement With Mobile Technologies
Top 10 Free Web Applications for Planning
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.
Obama, Web 2.0 and Planning
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.
Shrinking Towns Seek the Right to Dissolve
Small jurisdictions in Pennsylvania are losing population and revenue, and some of them are ready to call it a day.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?
Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance
The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.
Spokane Mayor Introduces Housing Reforms Package
Mayor Lisa Brown’s proposals include deferring or waiving some development fees to encourage more affordable housing development.
Houston Mayor Kills Another Bike Lane
The mayor rejected a proposed bike lane in the Montrose district in keeping with his pledge to maintain car lanes.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont