Sarah Kathleen Peck speaks with Amanda Walter and Holly Berkley about their new book, "Social Media in Action," the challenges different design professions have in communicating their work, and the ways in which new technologies are making it easier.
Walter and Berkley are bullish on the ways in which social media can support the design professions. According to the authors, "Today, telling and sharing stories couldn't be easier and digital
formats are great for visually rich topics like design. Social media
loves visual content. Videos are shared more frequently and posts
(whether on a blog, on Facebook or LinkedIn) with striking images
attract more readers. Once you start telling your stories in social
media, your readers will let you know (like, share, comment on, etc.)
the content they like the best – pay attention to what content engages
your audience and you'll hone your story telling skills."
Developed exclusively for architecture, engineering, planning and environmental consulting firms,"Social Media in Action" is intended to help firms explore why and how they can use social media to support their practice, and provides examples of real firms that are using technology to their advantage.
"Social media can help advance public acceptance and even drive demand
for high-quality design in our cities – and even the smallest firm can
affect these shifts. PlaceMakers is a 7-person urban planning and design firm that uses its PlaceShakers blog and Facebook
page to embrace the myriad of public stakeholder types through a dialog
about great communities. Theirs is an excellent example of how firms
can create a real following of clients and influencers by talking about
what the topics that they can relate to. These tools effectively promote
the firm even though PlaceMakers doesn't use them to promote themselves
directly."
FULL STORY: The Need for Communication

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning
SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

The Tiny, Adorable $7,000 Car Turning Japan Onto EVs
The single seat Mibot charges from a regular plug as quickly as an iPad, and is about half the price of an average EV.

Seattle's Plan for Adopting Driverless Cars
Equity, safety, accessibility and affordability are front of mind as the city prepares for robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles.

As Trump Phases Out FEMA, Is It Time to Flee the Floodplains?
With less federal funding available for disaster relief efforts, the need to relocate at-risk communities is more urgent than ever.

With Protected Lanes, 460% More People Commute by Bike
For those needing more ammo, more data proving what we already knew is here.
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.
Smith Gee Studio
City of Charlotte
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
US High Speed Rail Association
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
Municipality of Princeton (NJ)