EngagingCities

Could the rise of the smart city be only the beginning of a dystopian future where we are ruled by corporations? Or could people become the smart citizens needed to use technology for the people and by the people? And if so, how can new digital tools be used to create smart citizens? 

A global govtech sector is emerging to make government more efficient. But is that always the best thing for democracy?

Urban Footprint makes it easy to run simulations to see how a new plan might change traffic and commute times, the ability of kids to walk to school, access to jobs, energy use, the local economy, health, and carbon emissions. 

PROSPECT HEIGHTS - Participatory Budgeting has officially begun! Residents of Brooklyn, ages 11 and up, have until April 15 to vote for their favorite projects they want to see completed in their districts. 

During Sunshine Week, three scholars of government transparency look at a potential collision between the old freedom of information movement and the new open government movement. Is there room for both?

Transforming your city on a budget can foster a bottom-up approach to public policy and urban transformation. It can manifest a sort of direct democracy that empowers citizens, community groups, and local businesses to be change agents in their cities – and to work in collaboration with city officials to foster a vibrant city life. There are many ways citizens and governments can collaborate. Below are only a few modest, yet transformative, approaches for revolutionizing cities.

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.

Founding director of UBC’s Learning Exchange looks at lessons learned from reaching out to Canada’s poorest urban neighbourhood.

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

As anyone who has spent time working in or around civic technology knows, certain healthy debates tend to come up time and again, get batted around for a bit, and then fall away unresolved.

Who uses the street, in what way, and why? These are common questions that planning agencies consider every day when trying to build better cities. The answers can help them see how well transit is…

Civic Tech and digital democracy have the potential to make dreams of engaged citizens and responsive governments working together a reality. Rebecca Rumbul, Head of Research at mySociety, reflects on the risks of rushing into digital and how we can approach it for the benefit of all.

The Office of Innovation and Technology rose to prominence under Adel Ebeid, the city's first Chief Innovation Officer. Now, with a new CIO, where will it go next?

At first glance, Oakland may be seen as a city with a thriving Spanish-language media scene. There are as many as four bilingual newspapers distributed in certain parts of town. Turn the radio dial and you will hear Spanish on several AM and FM stations, and there is nightly news on both Univisión and Telemundo. As one San Francisco-based ethnic media specialist told me, “when I think of news deserts, I don’t think of Oakland.”
But speak with the audiences of those outlets and you find much to be desired.

The number of cities who publish large volumes of open data on their municipal websites has grown drastically in recent years, and as it has increased, so too has discussion about how best to get communities to engage with it.

To help cities boost citizen engagement with open data, nonprofit advocacy group the Sunlight Foundation is holding an online discussion billed as “a community workshop and interactive conversation about how to help more residents understand and use” open data. The event will take place on Wednesday, April 18, and organizers invite city open data staff to attend.

Last week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the nation’s most populous city will be rolling out, NYC Secure, a new free cybersecurity app for residents meant to keep hackers off their mobile devices that “when installed, will issue warnings to users when suspicious activity is detected on their mobile devices,” according to the city’s announcement.

5 takeaways from the Innovations in Participatory Democracy Conference

How a radical experiment in participatory democracy came to Bowling Green, Kentucky.

What do biological ecosystems have to do with promoting social change? In our work, using the metaphor of ecosystems has been a powerful tool for taking on complex and evolving problems.

Autonomous vehicles will transform urban life by 2020, if Waymo’s time line is correct.

New technology and real-time analytics are helping cities use energy more wisely, while galvanizing support throughout the community.

From Bristol to Barcelona, cities around the globe are leading a revolution in the creation of complementary “civic currencies” — some digital, some physical — designed to promote local economic development, foster active citizenship, and invest in sustainability while building a sense of community cohesion.

Curbed visits four cities to uncover why the next big thing in American homes is small