In June I published an op-ed in the Detroit News describing my research on urban renewal in Detroit in the 1940s. I concluded with the observation: The voices of citizens affected by renewal must be heard. Dramatic, large-scale projects can have harmful and unexpected consequences. The history of urban planning has shown success occurs through […]
Which Crowdsourcing?
I wrote this article for the most recent APA Technology Division Newsletter, which we sent out this week. Other articles include city apps, water quality mapping, TOD database, a VMT estimation tool, and online participation. The expansion of the Internet has made possible amazing examples of the collaboration of large groups of people, a phenomenon […]
Engaging Community … Through Technology
This semester at MIT I am taking a class titled “Engaging Community: Models and Methods for Designers and Planners.” It is co-taught by Ceasar McDowell, and Anne Spirn. The course is organized around several “approaches” to working with communities: advocacy, participatory design, consensus building, community organizing, and capacity and knowledge building. Many of the class […]
What is Government 2.0?
With last year’s Gov 2.0 Summit and the explosion of social networking service GovLoop, “government 2.0” has become a buzzword in technology and government circles. What does government 2.0 refer to? And what exactly was the government 1.0 that we’re improving on? This article attempts to define the term and unearth some of the hidden […]
Virtual Reality for Stakeholder Engagement: A Conference in Second Life
The Alexandria, Virginia-based group Public Decisions offers a variety of training materials and events on how to involve the public in public policy and social issues. A longtime user of Internet conferencing technology for their training class, they have taken the leap and are sponsoring the online conference on “Using Virtual Reality for Stakeholder Engagement: […]
Vacant Property Website Wins Round 2 in ‘Apps for Democracy’ Contest
A website inspired by my idea for a vacant property database has won First Prize in Round 2 of the Apps for Democracy-Community Edition competition sponsored by D.C. government. The site’s creator, Shaun Farrell, will receive a $3,000 cash prize and now has a chance (along with other contest apps) at a $10,000 Final Round […]
White House Launches ‘Open Government Initiative’
On January 21st, President Barack Obama issued the first memorandum of his presidency on “Transparency and Open Government,” charging the Chief Technology Officer, Directory of the Office of Management and Budget, and Administrator of General Services to coordinate the creation of an Open Government Directive. The memo articulated a tripartite analysis of the topic, discussing […]