Passport’s Post

Smart cities community conversation with Hon. Rene Plasencia. Smart cities improve the quality of life for its citizens and have a profound impact on economic development, transportation, utilities, infrastructure, and public safety.

‘Come to the launch of a toolbox’ they said… This time last week I was making my way to Oslo for the closing and celebratory days of the CONTRA programme, and the launch of ‘Toolbox for Conducting Drama Labs in Urban Development. I had no idea then that the coming days were going to be such a profound gamechanger for me and place practice. More on that to come, but for now… CONTRA (CONflict in TRAnsformations is an international research project that focuses on four cases of climate transitions. Its methodology was that of a DramaLab; and that itself formed of a number of processes and practices. Drama Labs play on the word ‘drama’ to denote both theatre and conflict. They put theatre process of gathering, talking and questioning in the development setting in tangible and playful ways. They bring all stakeholders in a place together to explore different views on what should happen in that place, and welcome and give room for agreement and disagreement. Together in our room at Oslo Litteraturhuset over two days we took the toolbox apart, got underneath its lid to explore what it could mean for us, and put it back together again in a way bespoke to our own practices and settings. The ‘we’ here were the cross-sector teams from each of the host Drama Labs – Oslo, Gdynia, Tilberg and Genk, and an assembled cohort of sector experts, Iva Čukić, Tikli Loivaranta, William Hilliard, Hannah Saldert, Bettina Schwalm and Aleksandra Zemke (and me.) The CONTRA team have created a practice that is truly novel and that has something genuinely new to offer the world of place-based working. The project Toolbox and the country Toolboxes can be found via the link below. And it did something I haven’t seen before – the Toolbox was launched to the world in a processional ceremony. It gave it the launch and status it deserves. This is something I think should be mandatory for toolboxes, workbooks and toolkits in the future – we don’t give them the stage to then take form in the world. A huge thank you to Cecilie Sachs Olsen and her team at OsloMet for both the invite and the hospitality; and to all that convened for their candour, generosity and inspiration. #place #placemaking #creativeplacemaking #urban #urbandevelopment #CONTRA https://lnkd.in/eDwsyXiY

UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements Programme) to draft people-centred smart city regulations - The forthcoming guidelines aim to inform the development of national and local #smartcity regulations, plans, and strategies and fill global “normative gaps” #governance #regulation #policymaking https://ow.ly/fAKt50RltWx

Key sessions that we're spotlighting today are 'UK Cities - challenge to opportunity' and 'Citizens as stakeholders in a circular city.' View our full programme here 👇 https://lnkd.in/evTsM5B7 #LREF23

Folks, my #tedxtalk is finally OUT on YouTube! This is the culmination of a couple years of thinking about WHY and HOW #municipalities should integrate #socialvalues in #infrastructureplanning. Description w/ timestamps 0:55 How your municipal government impacts your quality of life. 2:15 Your personal experience of the city is predictable. 3:04 Income and environmentally-triggered health conditions. 4:00 Income and road safety. 5:23 How relying on citizen requests can perpetuate inequalities in cities. 7:14 Empirical evidence about the 311 service. 8:36 Thoughts about public consultations. 10:56 My credentials. 11:16 Making public participation more inclusive. 13:05 Monitoring the distribution of benefits and burdens across neighborhoods. 14:51 Integrating community needs and equity values in the prioritization of infrastructure projects. 16:35 Call to action! Watch the full thing here: https://lnkd.in/g4pzT-CP. Please feel free to share with your favorite city official 😇 #environmentaljustice #assetmanagement #socialchange #cityplanning

Is public engagement in cities broken? inCitu was featured in a recent report from Engagement Lab at Emerson College and Knight Foundation on how cities are using new tools and technologies to listen better and solve a global crisis of trust in public institutions. Watch the webinar to learn how we're helping cities move beyond status quo public engagement and bringing important conversations about urban change from city halls to the street. Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/eGBR5K4m

The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Recommend you listen to this TedX talk about inequality in #cityinfrastructureplanning. From higher rates of asthma to traffic accidents, Kamille talks us through how lower income neighbourhoods are just less safe in how they are built. Having met Kamille in Toronto this week, her passion is real! The 3 recommendations she gives: - fix the mechanisms of participation - monitor differences between neighbourhoods - consider needs when allocating resources Shruti Malik, TE, PMP, ENV SP Alana Paul Mike Roberts, PE Glenn Lyons Molly Hoggard James Beard Roxanna Thomas

Our cities are arenas where future strategies are determined.The main goal is to engage local authorities and other stakeholders to deliver over 100 climate-neutral and smart cities by 2030. The first conference towards transformational urban transitions i n Brussels driven by Driving Urban Transitions Partnership and EU comission. The DUT Partnership steps up the game to tackle urban challenges. 'Through research and innovation and capacity building, we enable local authorities and municipalities, service and infrastructure providers, and citizens to translate global strategies into local action'.

When it comes to innovation, communities, public leaders, and organizations trust @urbaninstitute as their go-to source for solutions. As a trusted advisor and convener, Urban has made a significant impact across the nation. Our 2023 Impact Report showcases the difference we've made, from helping families put food on the table to ensuring safety from train derailments and promoting access to college for students of color in a post-affirmative action world. Join us in making a difference. Read our 2023 Impact Report and share. urbn.is/2023ImpactReport