EngagingCities

This week is National Gardening Week, and at first glance, you might think gardening has little to do with local government. There are initiatives like community gardens. However, that can serve an important culture and economic role for local governments. 

Technological literacy is key to turn a city into a smart city which is well connected, sustainable and resilient.

Free instructional videos for you to use with your group, team or organisation.  Great for preparing a group for a facilitated process (Such as a community engagement workshop or activity), for training purposes or to enhance your internal presentation to your team.

Editorial by Prof Ares Kalandides In the history of urban planning, we have seen regular paradigm shifts that often reflect broader societal developments as much as disciplinary trends and fashions. Few feuds in the discipline have reached the emblematic status that had the one between Robert Moses

The role of the chief data officer continues to expand and become more entrenched in local and state government, prompting CDOs to share their experiences and expertise with one another.

A philosophy regarding the creation of websites, forms and services seeks to simplify and improve constituent interactions with government.

Public parks share dynamic relationships with the communities they serve. The way we design parks can either promote or hinder their diversity of use, exclude or empower neighborhoods, resemble anywhere or reflect the history and collective values of the place. To create parks that enable residents to feel more connected to place, community development project leaders are choosing to partner with artists, designers, and cultural organizations.

Urban residents have long practiced a form of tactical urbanism: repurposing underutilized places using temporary materials and transforming them into more dynamic public spaces. But in the past several years, tactical urbanism has become a movement. 

When designing engagement, we often turn to gamification. We asked people to build their own city as part of on food security for the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), and to make finance decisions to ensure their water supply to support Bristol Water in their business planning process. We use arts and crafts, …

Public space both shapes and is shaped by improvisation—whether we notice it or not.

Well-planned public spaces help promote physical and mental well-being.

An inside look at the job that puts data and analytics to use in key decision-making.

The long, grueling and combative 2016 election had at least one silver lining. According to the website VolunteerMatch, its highest-ever traffic numbers happened four days after Trump’s inauguration an

Whether collecting data by mail, phone or web, encouraging these residents to respond to a survey from the City can be resource intensive, and without a robust effort, ineffective. Local government leaders of diverse communities should especially consider ways to get more participation from hard-to-reach residents.

In the Local Government Challenge, University of Texas-Arlington students will focus on developing effective approaches to community engagement. We’ll hear from practitioners over the next co…

Useful tips for those who want to work with university leaders to institutionalize the dialogue to change program.

Here’s how you can make a difference in your neighborhood, your community, and the greater city.

Some months ago I was asked by Matt from @commsgodigital to write a blog post about the basics of community engagement with top tips on making it successful. Easy I thought, with almost 13 years’…

We asked “what are specific actions for increasing your influence on the local level?” ELGL has responded swiftly and specifically.  Podcast: Reason for Running We talk running for City…

A time-compressed design process that gathers all of the stakeholders and practitioners together has great potential for creating more holistic communities, experts say.

Resolve to be a more active citizen with these four tips.

There's a lot at risk when people in government use their private accounts for public business.

Leaders from Houston and Miami weigh in on the power of data in emergency management—and the need to do more.

This case study introduces students to the field of civic technology and the possibility that it could help to amplify citizen engagement.