Urban Design, Context, Online Tools - My upcoming presentation

I am happy to announce that on May 20th I will be giving a presentation here in Collingwood titled "An Exploration of Context".

This presentation is sponsored by the Town of Collingwood Heritage Advisory Committee and Architectural Conservancy of Ontario - Collingwood. I will be talking about the importance of contextual understanding as it relates to the Urban Design Standards Project I am managing for the Town of Collingwood.

Not only will I be exploring our local sense of place and the physical environment, but the inherent tools we all have to develop a better appreciation of urban design in our daily lives. I will also be discussing the various analysis methods I am using for the Urban Design Standards Project, including online tools (see the project blog site at www.yourcodes.blogspot.com - another of the project specific municipal blogs I have developed).

My discussion will begin at 7:00 pm in Town Council chambers, Town Hall and admission is free. I look forward to people coming out and getting engaged in the discussion and hopefully deciding to participate in the project to develop Collingwood's Urban Design Standards.

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The Water’s Fine Here in the Deep End: Web 2.0 strategic planning

Leaping into the web 2.0 pool of blogging and social media MAY BE frightening, CAN BE exciting, and IS an effective way of building success for your organization. Careful planning and skills combined with creativity, can take your online efforts well beyond publishing and blogs full of editorials; building your organizational assets, improving management, increasing project success, and making your organization more exciting and FUN!

Learning to swim in this pool takes some work. The good news is that you already have done the land training and know the strokes, it’s not much different (except for the breathing thing). If you use emails, surf the web, write copy, develop work & strategic plans, and work with diverse partners, you have the basics to dog paddle to the deep end. Once there, try some blogging, join a social network, share some pics, follow a Twitter. Just remember to relax, have fun and breath.

Once you have learned a bit about how all this web 2.0 stuff works, dream about the what-ifs. Identify those things that would perfectly fit your organization’s needs. With a carefully developed strategic plan and policies you’ll be able to use, or adapt 2.0 resources to built assets in numerous areas, such as:

Organizational Development:

• Convenient project monitoring
  
• Action research
  
• Staff and volunteer training
  
• Team collaboration
  
• Multiply effectiveness of work
  
• Archive support for new staff
  

Promotion:

• Increase scope of branding efforts
  
• Improved access and connectivity
  
• Cost effective & diverse publication
  
• Direct to client information
  
• Opt-in access to market and clients
  
• Access persons usually out of reach  
  

Design:

• Outreach and engagement
  
• Building community interest groups
  
• Asset building for practical & effective partnerships
  
• Facilitating involvement in political processes
  

Economic Restructuring:

• Cost effective business resources
  
• Training
  
• Build community partnerships
  
• Asset mapping & strategic planning
  

Even though these tools are generally easily accessible, remember that you may not be able to do it all yourself. Social networks, as with all relationships, need nurturing and time commitments; blog posts and discussions need responses to keep the voice of the organization or blogger heard. 

The time and expertise needed to have all your 2.0 dreams come true may mean that new partnerships become necessary, new faces join your organization and various experts become part of your team. So find the right people and invite them into the pool with you to splash around and have fun. The water’s fine here in the deep end.

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Community Engagement: It's all fun and games, if done right!

It may be the graphics that remind me of happy youthful hours spent watching the Electric Company, and School House Rock, or the interface that mimics that of Sim City (reminding me of many other hours spent playing Sim City in University, the first and only video game for Planners). But I’m sure it is far more than the nostalgia trip that makes me recommend YourPlayground.org, as amongst the best executed community engagement approaches I have seen, off or on-line. Let me explain, as I do not make this statement lightly.

Having used numerous participation/engagement approaches in my practice, such as charrettes, visual preference surveys, open space, and all forms of meetings; I am always interested in methods that can engage people, empower them by building upon their assets, and are fun and inspiring. Your Playground is an excellent online tool to develop the design of a new community park developed, in support of the Allstate and the U.S. Olympic Committee's joint effort to create an Olympic bid for the city of Chicago (where this year's National Main Street Conference is being held - check out the Conference Live Blog). Take a close look at what is being accomplished here, this site is more than just catchy web design.

In addition to all the benefits inherent in on-line tools such as few time restrictions and freedom from location, the reason this site stands alone are multiple, including:

• the presentation of the requested information and directions are clear and to the point (excellent information design);
  
• given the stakeholder audience who may be particularly interested in the project, kids, and parents, the playful game-like format is ideal (empowering, awareness of stakeholders);
  
• the approach to sharing ideas, a contest, is perfect, adding the kind of energy you often get with team workshops, open space, or design charettes (engaging); 
  
• the scope of the project is well defined by the features that may be included (practicality); and, 
• it sure is fun (the key to community engagement success most often missed).

What can YOU learn from this site?
First, that building parks on-line is more fun than YOU likely thought.
Secondly, with a well defined strategy coupled with creativity YOU can develop highly specialized on-line engagement tools for YOUR organization to boost YOUR assets and success.

Conducting this kind of work on-line does not relieve YOU of the need to carefully design YOUR stakeholder engagement process. Don't let YOUR inner magpie get caught up with the shiny newness of web 2.0 and lose sight of YOUR purpose, scarfing effectiveness for flashiness (careful with using Flash). Remember that engagement strategies need to be well thought out, managed with an eye to detail, and creatively framed within the scope of the entire project.

Now go build YOURSELF a park!

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National Main Street Conference Blog

It is official, the proposal I put forward to develop a site and live blog the National Main Street Conference in Chicago (March 1-4, 2009) has been accepted. The theme of the Conference is Becoming Main Street 2.0.

I have built and launched www.mainstreetlive09.blogspot.com as of yesterday. Over the next few weeks Cac and I will be providing content and blogging on the Conference preparation. We will also have some assistance from the wonderful people working on planning and managing the Conference.

The live blogging of the Conference will include: video reports, post presentation interviews, event photographs, google maps of walking tours, and a variety of other fun and informational elements.  

In addition to blogging the Conference, I will be presenting on Monday afternoon and conducting a technology tutorial on online videos.  If you have a chance to attend the conference, please stop by and say hi.

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