Cities around the world are scaling up their use of surveillance cameras and facial recognition systems – but which ones are watching their citizens most closely?

Learn how to host events to engage non-technical audiences on open data

As 2020 is quickly approaching, we can’t help but reflect on the incredible year we have seen for our clients and Bang the Table family in the digital engagement and consultation world. 

How could technology be in service of society and how can the problem definition and problem solving be led by those living it or working in it.

New polling data published today shows that people are not getting key information on activities and decisions made in their local area, despite accessing local news.

BudgIT is a civic organization that applies technology to intersect citizen engagement with institutional improvement, to facilitate societal change. We do this by way of simplifying and making the…

Weeks after releasing a report and interactive map tracking the proliferation of innovation methods in city halls around the world, Bloomberg Philanthropies and the OECD are urging more cities to…

Color matters. When Alison Beason was creating the color scheme for the City of Tacoma’s Equity Index, she thought deeply about what it would mean for folks in her city to see yet another map of their communities overlaid with some form of data.

The film, which is titled Code & Response, is part of a larger effort by IBM to help foster and support projects aimed at helping communities prepare for and recover from a global spike in natural disasters.

There’s a reason government sites don’t have a reputation for great user experiences. They rarely have the budget or staffing even for digital updates, much less innovation. But the state of Georgia wanted to change that.

With the unpredictable acceleration of climate chaos, increased community engagement kick-starts urgently needed steps to climate action.

Plus, Sidewalk Labs shares its Digital Innovation Appendix; Minnesota rolls out a plan to reduce bench warrants via text; Miami shows off new website upgrades; Pittsburgh uses innovation to support the Census; and more!

Anyone who spends 10 minutes watching a Democratic presidential debate knows that we are living through a period of grand re-questioning. None of this should be surprising to urbanists, since cities are at the vanguard of solving the world’s toughest challenges (e.g., growing climate challenges, rising income, wealth, health and spatial disparities) from the bottom up.

Digital solutions for public services represent a $400bn market worldwide. Some French entrepreneurs are innovating to put public entities more in line with citizens.

Cities are full of challenges. Startups are about creative solutions. Founders who understand this dynamic have a home at URBAN-X, the accelerator for startups focusing on city life built by MINI and Urban Us

One day back in March 2016, a Barcelona resident went online and — using the anonymous handle “Eiyeitis” — voiced an opinion about the city’s 010 telephone information service. In Spain, dialing 010…

“I always knew I would run for elected office. I just didn’t know it would be this soon.”

Rebecca Winthrop and Meg Huebeck outline a “Democracy 76” list to provide specific and practical actions that we all can take to be an involved citizen.

Sharing ideas — openly, freely, and without suspicion. It’s the lifeblood of government innovation. And it’s a core quality that distinguishes the public sector from private. In business, a great…

A whole range of social and technological changes could revolutionise how we travel in the coming decades.

Standing in the middle of a usually busy central London street during Extinction Rebellion’s protests, the air noticeably cleaner, the area quieter, I was struck by the enormity of the challenge ahead of us

Big data comes with the promise of new sustainability and mobility standards in the urban sphere but there is a risk of it deploying subtle persuasion and governance technologies.

Many U.S. cities today promote biking and walking, but streets have actually become more dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians. Here’s what needs to change.

More and more we hear about how Americans have become so divided that we cannot possibly understand one another, let alone find common ground or work together toward common ends. Based on our 40 years of public opinion research and hands-on community engagement experience we beg to differ.

Do you remember the last time you completed a survey? I do. I wanted to express myself and give my opinion, plus I was able to complete it quickly. Unfortunately, I never received an update, nor could I find more information about the survey results or its impact.