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."
Read the 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.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Chicago breaks ground on $3 billion megadevelopment
The new neighborhood, titled Foundry Park, will one day host 3,700 residences.
Want to study the Missouri River? Soon, you may need unanimous approval from 10 states
Legislation would require 10 governors’ permission to study or build projects moving water outside the basin.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
This road in NYC is infamously dangerous — and Mamdani can't fix it
New York City's Ocean Parkway is known for reckless driving, but the power to implement safety measures lies with the state rather than the city.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority