The unconference format is great for energy, conversations and new directions. After last Friday’s SpeakUpNY session I was thinking about group discussions, and ways to make them even more effective. Ever noticed how similar discussions are to roundabouts (a.k.a. rotaries)?
Why are roundabouts better than signaled intersections? Because they move a higher volume of traffic with less stopping, and with an even flow of vehicles from each entry point, everyone keeps moving. But roundabouts fail when one or two arms entering the intersection have an imbalance of traffic. The other entry points get stuck, or everyone gets caught in a jam.
What does this have to do with discussions at unconferences (or planning)? Well, if all the people at the table are on the same page - topically, or technically - the conversation zooms along. But when there’s an imbalance in skills or interests or experiences, the conversation stutters. Rather than being a discussion where we all move along equally, a few people end up doing the talking and carrying the group - often, not in a way that reflects the potential range of views. This isn’t always bad, but it’s worth thinking of ways to avoid the unbalance.
Maybe moderators are the traffic signals - stopping the heavier streams of traffic to allow others to get into the flow? Is it possible to work moderators into the unconference mix without losing the flexibility and energy? Can more public meetings be more like unconferences without getting less productive or inclusive?
(File under ‘constructive criticism’. First in a series of posts about SpeakUpNY - a really interesting event that got a reprise at Planning Corps too)
Posted in Enabling Technology & Tools.
Tagged with meetings, moderation, musings, planningtech, process, unconference, working sessions.
The state of computer mapping (aka GIS) in planning is like a microcosm of the need for open source approaches in planning more generally. You’ve got a small group of experts, with tangible skills and access to resources, and a larger group of people who could benefit from being in a network of skills exchanges. Could GIS in planning be the live action test bed for some of the open source planning principles we’ve discussed?
Luckily, the GIS community is already open, friendly and prone to collaborative approaches (see, for example, the active northeastern discussion lists). And since GIS involves very clearly defined skills, it is actually easier to head towards openness than ’softer’ skills - e.g. I have a specific tool that I can share, you need a specific dataset that I can explain or maybe pass on to you.
Continued…
Posted in OSP Examples.
Tagged with data sharing, gis, networks, open source approaches.
Planning Corps kicked off last week. Check out Shin-pei’s summary of the evening, and some info on the mixture of skills reported with sticky dots. Some additional thoughts below - wanted to get these down before exploring the feedback survey results.
Continued…
Posted in OSP Examples.
Tagged with action, meetings, musings, planning corps, thoughts.
Taking notes at a public meeting or workshop can be intensely frustrating. You stand, sharpie in hand, and attempt to capture a free flowing and fast moving discussion.
Why are you even standing there? The purpose of taking notes on a big sheet of butcher paper is to demonstrate that what is said actually matters - but if you write large enough for people to read, the letters are too big to fit anything approaching a complete summary. Writing small means that nobody around the table can see what you’re doing - so you might as well sit down and use a notebook. If the conversation is at all non-linear, you’re going to struggle to fit everything onto the pages. If you get involved in the discussion, it’s hard to take good notes. And sometimes, the best points get missed because you’re still writing down the previous contribution in giant caps.
Taking notes at meetings is essential - otherwise, why have the consultation at all- and yet… time for another meeting, time to get out the giant pads.
Maybe there are some better ways, high-tech or maybe low-tech but smarter… here are a few thoughts (spurred by one too many recent butcher paper experiences). Continued…
Posted in Enabling Technology & Tools.
Tagged with butcher paper, communication, meetings, planningtech, tools for meetings.
Noah Raford writes with details of his research project, Hopes and Dreams: The Future of Public Service. You write a narrative, and it gets data-mined for trends and themes, which then get re-packaged as scenarios:
We want your micro-narratives, your thoughts and feelings about the future, your ideas and concerns of what might become. Please tell us a story about the trends and signals which you think are important, your personal experiences, or what you think will be vital to public service in the future. It doesn’t have to be long, just a few lines, or it can be much longer if like.
After collecting your stories, we will be analysing emerging trends and themes as part of a semi-automated scenario creation process. In the future all of this will be online and community driven. At the moment this part is all done off-line, so you’ll have to wait a few weeks for the results.
Although this particular exercise relates to mass data capture using distributed, participatory sources, the exciting part of this research relates to the emergent scenario creation which will result.
The goal of the next step therefore is to explore new ways of working with this information to take advantage of the collective intelligence of the web, as opposed to simply recreating traditional face-to-face scenario processes online. Imagine something like Bruce Sterling’s Correlation Engine, using a million minds as the processor to generate surprising and useful alternative futures around a key topic.
I find completely unstructured survey responses quite hard, but I’m working away on my response to “How will governments and cities adapt to managing public resources under increasing constraints?”.
Another Noah project - Futurescaper - sounds super interesting and worthy of a longer write-up.
Posted in OSP Examples.
Tagged with crowd sourcing, enabling tools, open process, scenarios.
Lots of cool stuff coming out of CoLab at MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning - including a collaborative thesis group, working to create a thesis document that doesn’t just end up on the shelf:
The group aims to take the concept of a masters thesis, a document that requires a great deal of time to prepare but is often relegated to a university library shelf, and elevate it to a dynamic product that can be useful to the cities it examines. Each thesis writer will make a technical assistance document and media piece to supplement her research. These additional products are designed to reach practitioners and community members.
The cities they cover between them are: Oakland, California; Kansas City, Missouri; Lawrence and Lowell, Massachusetts; The Bronx Bronx, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Camden, New Jersey and Boston, Massachusetts.
The ‘technical assistance’ documents sound particularly promising.
Posted in OSP Examples.
Tagged with academia, colab, collaborative, dusp, school, thesis.
[UPDATED 3/19 with some more answers]
So how does TA’s exciting Planning Corps event help to transform how planners plan?
A few brief thoughts, in a mini-FAQ - please keep them coming and I’ll attempt answers… :
When? Where?
Wednesday, March 24, 6:30 in the TOPP Penthouse. RSVP + location details: http://bit.ly/ahZR2I
Why not start with an open call for potential projects?
Getting something like this started with minimal overhead is hard. As a kickstarter, TA are ideal - they bring a great track record and a wide variety of actual projects with needs, including mapping, street design, advocacy and new media - projects that can be worked on right away. Continued…
Posted in OSP Examples.
Tagged with faq, planning corps.
We’ve talked a lot about transformative technology in planning (a.k.a. #planningtech) on this blog. There’s a lot of potential for tech to re-shape how we plan - moving towards platforms and reuse, new models of collaboration, collective intelligence over silos.
One aspect that hasn’t got so much attention is planners themselves, and the needed transformation in how planners work - as Bomee wrote back in November 2008:
Planners should move away from the mode of “working for a client as an expert to deliver a solution to a problem” and toward a model in which:
* The planner acts as an enabler in a network of equally capable actors
* The planner builds frameworks instead of or in addition to plans
* The planner accepts a mandate to share data and methodology
Well, it’s time to test some of these ideas. Planners, form a Planning Corps.
The Planning Corps idea takes the planner-as-enabler concept and mixes in a bit of youthful idealism: NYC is home to many capable and generous planners (meant in the broadest sense, as always), equipped with diverse skills. Many ambitious organizations have great potential for positive change but lack resources to carry out their ideas. Not all planners are making full use of their skills in their day jobs (if they have one at all). What if planners could give some skilled time to make a meaningful contribution on specific projects?
Here’s a really fantastic starting point: next week, Transportation Alternatives holds a working session for planners and others to provide skills in support of TA’s projects. Check out Shin-Pei Tsai’s announcement and thoughts for the organizational perspective from the deputy director of TA.
If you’re interested in new ways of planning or just curious, be at the yet-to-be-announced venue on 3/24 at 6:30pm. RSVP here, and follow the latest on twitter - @planningcorps.
So - how does this tie back into open source planning? In the interests of space here, check out this mini-FAQ on Planning Corps.
Posted in OSP Examples.
Tagged with action, events, planning corps, projects.
More from December’s planningtech session - many thanks to Dawn Miller of Princeton and RPA for recording this discussion.
Issue: Public Participation in Planning and Its Representativeness of the Entire Community
We discussed the ways people currently participate or are recruited to participate in the planning process. Certain methods we currently use to get citizen or stakeholder participants do not necessarily get a representative group of citizens. Also, for those already motivated to participate, some of the existing means or participation lack transparency or ease of participation.
The hope is that technology could be used to cast a broader net of people to participate in planning processes, perhaps opening the door to participants who do not have the time/schedules to attend many meetings but who could participate remotely or not in “real time” via technological innovations. Continued…
Posted in Enabling Technology & Tools.
Tagged with discussions, Enabling Technology & Tools, gaps, needs, participation, planners, wants, workshop.
Planners need new tools - beyond using existing tools for communication and participation, some planning-specific projects might support more open planning efforts. What follows is a (lengthy) sketch for an open planning tool.
Introducing Good Plans
Good Plans is a casebook of planning excellence and innovation. Created by a collaboration of planning and advocacy organizations, it contains several hundred case studies and recommendations from projects carried out by the organization, its partners and other companies, with new additions and comments every week. Social media and collaborative software tools make it easy to contribute new projects and add more information to existing studies. The scope is national, encompassing all examples of physical planning from street diets to regional planning initiatives.
Who’s the audience?
- Planners
- Elected officials
- Researchers, academics and students
- Community activists and concerned citizens
- The development and real estate community
Continued…
Posted in Enabling Technology & Tools.
Tagged with OSP Examples, precedents, toolbox.
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