Nate Berg, over at the Atlantic Cities wrote a great piece detailing the growth in usage of social media in the public sector.  I highly recommend it

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/politics/2011/12/social-media-avalanche-mayors-office/780/

Interesting enough though this article ties into yesterday’s post regarding the City of LA’s new shoddy website.

The biggest problem cities have regarding real engagement and social platforms, is that people can turn negative really quickly.  Rather than address the negative criticism with vigor and tact like any other brand (See Apple iPhone 4 AntennaGate, the Jawbone UP, etc.) cities think they can just shut down the account and all the problems will go away.  Fact is, they can’t. Cities need to understand they are a BRAND and Social Media works only when its an input and output.  Hate to break it to Stu Loeser, but twitter and Facebook aren’t just another version of a 311 line.

In New York, the city’s 311 information hotline receives 30,000 to 60,000 calls a day, according to Stu Loeser, press secretary for Mayor Michael Bloomberg. By analyzing these calls, Loeser and the mayor’s staff of about 50 are able to identify the biggest issues and focus on addressing them. A huge screen in city hall keeps real-time information on the calls coming in, and ranks the top complaints. Bloomberg also receives some of these sorts of complaints and service requests on his Twitter account (201,000 followers) and an official Mayor’s Office account (58,000 followers). Loeser says that legitimate requests or complaints through these media are given the same attention. “If it’s a different version of everyone calling 311 or the mayor’s press office to voice displeasure on a piece of legislation, it’s treated in the same way,” Loeser says.

Sorry Stu Loeser, this attitude doesn’t work and won’t cut it.  Social platforms work because they actively promote their message and brand to audiences all day long.  Cities need to realize that they are no longer just competing with other cities for attention, they are competing against big brands like Nike, Apple, Zappos, Amazon, and even Lady Gaga.  Speaking of Lady Gaga, this is her social media strategy; http://www.mindjumpers.com/blog/2011/06/edge-of-glory/, which is all about trying to actively engage audiences and create a brand that consumers and customers want to engage with.

Cities, need to realize they need to do the same, and that filtering through comments and lumping it together with other traditional input methods (311, letters to the mayor, etc.) is not only wrong but its an injustice to taxpayers.  This begs the question, why do cities use this lazy and passive method for dealing with social media rather than using these platforms to elevate existing services?

While the article makes it easy for us to applaud cities like Newark, which realize the content provided through social platforms are invaluable;

The City of Newark’s Twitter account has about 5,000 followers, and Torres says the comments and questions from people are split about 50/50 between complaints and praise. What’s becoming more common, she says, is people tweeting pictures of graffiti or vacant properties in hopes of getting the city to take action. “That to us is extremely useful. You can’t pay for that,” Torres says.

it’s still not good enough, because the City of Newark still misses the concept;

But while some of these issues can be solved relatively quickly – a tree down or a street that hasn’t had its snow plowed – others, like a derelict house breeding crime, can’t be handled right away. The instant gratification of online communication doesn’t really line up with these sorts of longer-term problems. 

instant gratification is not what people want.  Residents and people want ENGAGEMENT!  Engagement is the most important component for Cities to utilize when trying to leverage social platforms.  But instead, cities are still using the same old excuse of;

“I just don’t have the time to monitor all this stuff,” Piper says.

which is code in Oakland for, “I don’t have enough resources, because I’m only one person (who is getting paid higher wages than most social media community managers at marketing firms) to do my job correctly between 7am and 5pm.”  Or cities can also follower Piper’s example and just shut down the communication channel because they’re seeing criticism.

As the Occupy protests heated up in late October, Piper says the tide of communication reached “tsunami proportions.” Staying up-to-date on every wall post and tweet – and responding or deleting particularly offensive comments – was becoming unrealistic for one person. The easy option was to simply close the Facebook fan page that had been the main target of much of the negative commenting.

Maybe Piper should learn how to actually engage rather than just try to make sure only favorable comments appear on the Mayor’s wall. Either way, the tides are turning, people in general are expecting better feedback and response from brands that have an online presence (especially taxpayers who deserve it, because they’re forced to pay for it). Whether cities are willing to due their part and serve their constituents adequately or still just try to hide behind the old excuses of resources is still to be seen.

Really, this is the best you got?

The City of Los Angeles just released the beta version of their new website, http://beta.lacity.org/index.htm.  First impressions….

Well, sadly, is this the best you got?

In a world where social technology, such as Twitter, Facebook, fourSquare, and youTube, etc. has become a critical tool for democracy (see The Occupy Movement, Arab Spring, etc.) the new City of LA website has no social interactions.

Instead, it has a huge mug of the Mayor, yet still no way to actively engage him?

On top of that, its now a legitimate fact that lots of people access the internet thru mobile browsers on smart phones and tablets.  Actually, the tablet computer industry is the fastest growing industry in PCs…fast enough that Amazon is shipping roughly 1 million Kindle Fires a week. http://m.ibtimes.com/tablet-sales-kindle-ipad-newspapers-revenue-advertising-269680.html

Yet, the new site has no enhanced version for mobile browsers.

Seeing chop jobs like this is very upsetting.  Seeing it from a government agency that is funded by taxpayer money makes it even more infuriating, because it begs the question…who is this website for?  Is it for the residents, because if it is they don’t do a great job making it easily accessible thru mobile browsers.  Is it for the consultant that has been hired to design this shoddy piece of work?  Or is it for the Mayor of LA and his Staff so that he is highlighted and looks great?  From the looks of it we can eliminate the goal of creating a useful website for residents.

The City of LA could have easily used this opportunity to update their website to create a truly helpful tool for all residents in the City of LA and nearby regions be embracing social technology and ensuring easy accessibility on all mediums.  Instead, the City of LA gives its residents an ugly and shoddy website.

As of right now, campaigns, PACs, lobby groups, different advocacy groups are a multi-billion dollar industry.  After the supreme court case ruled last year that corporations are considered to be individuals, there is even more money that is constantly pumped through our political system.

 Sean Parker deftly identifies that most of the PACs and what not are just spending 100,000s of dollar managing mailing lists. 

That’s it, nothing more, and he’s right.  He was also right in identifying that the only thing the Obama administration did really well with “social media” was coordination efforts during his campaign to fundraise large sums of money and mobilize supporters.  But at the end of the day it was still way too brick and mortar.

But when you look down at the basics of campaigning or presidential elections, as of right now the guy that always wins is the guy that fundraises the most money. This needs to change.

How will this change?  Well most PACs, campaigns, etc. spend a large sum of their money on TV ads.  That is traditional TV.  As Apple is about to release Apple TV, or the new changes that will come from Roku, Google TV, etc. or all other devices that will disrupt how we presently consume television media, the public may no longer have to see political ads on TV in the traditional sense.

Many campaign managers don’t have the vision to see what a new TV would do to the lobbying landscape, but its HUGE and it will happen.

Campaign managers making Facebook “like” pages, John McCain tweeting, Obama asking all his followers to spam republican twitter accounts…amateur hour.  If it doesn’t happen this election, it’ll happen in the next.  Coordinating on Facebook, YouTube debates, streaming on Skype, presidential podcasts…all of these practices will be extinct.

The world is getting smaller and like it or not it’ll happen with you jumping on ship or not.  Once the political industry is disrupted, local elections (which always mattered more in the long run, but were always underestimated) will be the real game changers.  Ask anyone in LA or Chicago how much sway the city council members of Los Angeles or the Alderman in Chicago possess.  Politicians lobbying for larger state positions, small businesses, activists, they all know whom to call when trouble comes and they always know whom to support for this exact reason.  Services like Votizen are out there and while still growing its about to be huge and will play a huge role in local politics.

MyBO it’s not too long when I’ll be visiting you on the cached pages found on Google.

After a Weight Loss Challenge, Oklahoma City Seeks Walkability

Parking datapoints of the day

Guerrilla bike lanes and asphalt devils: Remaking the streets with protest art

Funding Bill, Without High Speed Rail, Gets Obama Signature

The efficiency conundrum

Infographic Of The Day: The Rebirth Of Apple’s Product Strategy

So a couple weeks ago I wrote an article entitled, “Urban Planning must Adapt of Die,” which created some interesting responses from every reader.

I might’ve taken the title a bit too far, but I’m going to dive more into this using some various examples.

The planning process is a joke.

Permitting, zoning, CUPs, planning review, etc.  The process takes itself too seriously, while the important factors (good outreach, workshops and meetings that use real words rather than asinine planning jargon and actually engage the community in a way where residents feel like they can actually participate, real community outreach that goes into long term planning, not the input from a few loud select individuals) are not taken seriously enough.

Instead of trying to innovate, city government tries to make square pegs fit into round holes and then claim…it’s a good enough solution for now and better solutions can’t occur because there are not enough resources (Instead managers will often say city staff will dedicate some time to research this and present it at the next board meeting). Rather than using the excellent research skills that planners possess at spotting demographics, long term trends, etc. to figure out how to streamline the process or develop relevant zoning…planners are instead asked too check off boxes, procure consultants to make library fodder documents (specific plans, feasibility studies, etc.). This system is only hazardously self-sustaining.  City board members demand more, administrators say they’ll look into it, a report is written, it’ll collect dust, and eventually there is some rinse and this process will be repeated.

One routine trap that planners and city officials find themselves caught up in is percentages.  What does 20% mean to a planner?  What does 20% mean to you?  The problem 20% is that most American’s don’t think much of 20%, you can’t touch and feel 20%. What’s 20% of a shirt?  Would you bend over backwards for a 20% discount at Nordstrom?  No. 50%, absolutely, but 20%…eh, maybe if its convenient. However, when I inform you that 20% of America is uninsured, unless if you’re a social worker, medical professional, etc. you’ll react to this 20% the same way as many people react to a 20% discount at Nordstrom.

This brings me to the medical field. Roughly 20% of America has no medical insurance. The cost of going to the hospital or seeing doctors for preventative care is out of reach for most of this 20%.  This does not mean that 20% of America doesn’t want health care; it means they just can’t afford it.  Meaning there is a huge demand for people whom want/need affordable health care.  With organizations like Medic Mobile that are using new mobile technology and tools to increase medical aid in third world countries, and the latest developments by Qualcomm, Intel, GE, Cisco, and others are developing tools that in the past could only be found in expensive hospitals (ultrasounds, x-rays, medical records, etc.).

Now these tools can be accessed by iPhones, iPads, and other devices and have the same accuracy as their bulkier counterparts that could only be found in hospitals, except at a lower price.  This allows greater mobility for doctors and they can now treat more patients at a cheaper price.  Brilliant right?! So if healthcare tools are getting cheaper.  Doctors are getting more mobile.  Moreover, you have huge populations of people who need medical care, what’s going to happen?  A breakthrough!  Hospitals will become less relevant, perhaps DIY medical clinics will occur in parks, etc. who knows.

Public health is a local government responsibility; local government will need to respond and respond in a way that maximizes the function of this yet unknown brand new service.  Planners should be sitting down and trying to figure out how to do this rather than getting caught up in that minutia of CEQA, Grants.gov, or making sure the verbiage in board memos do not offend any of the board members.

However, are planners doing this…no they’re not.

Could planners do this?  Yes, especially if they spent more times with the communities, did actual engagement, got attached to the communities they worked with. Planners might understand the real need for certain services and care rather than see a percentage number on some census report or demographic study and perceive the needs of the community as a figure.

This is the kind of adaptation urban planning needs to have in order to stay relevant. Because the mobile doctors and clinics are going to happen no matter what, because it needs to happen and the communities, need the service.  Whether planning is apart of that vision or gets left behind only to later try and find some way to setup an event permit for these clinics and further complicate an excellent service is up to planning community and local government.

Either get on board, or get out of the way.

Everyday I have the great benefit of either directly hearing or overhearing different people complain about how hard it is to use transit.  And they are absolutely right.  On my end it’s frustrating as I really can’t make the experience any better, other than preach to the choir or kick the dead horse with them.

I live in Southern California, and have you seen the Metrolink fare systems?  Its either designed for a Ph.D candidate or an idiot.  In this case, it was designed by Microsoft, so that’s probably the main reason why it’s so hard to use.

Thank goodness there are some smart people working at BART, as they’ve made this awesome comic book showing people exactly how to use the system.  Now BART, in my opinion is a pretty good system and is far from perfect, but this new comic makes it too easy not to use.  Rather than gamifying the fare system or employ some other buzz word theory in trying to improve the service, they just went back to basics and made a comic.  Something everyone can read, quickly, easily, and in a very fun manner.

Read the whole comic here!  It’s amazing.

As budget dollars get tighter, more residents and tourist begin relying on public transit, transit agencies need to embrace this new demand and make the systems easier to use through innovative methods like BART has employed.  Rather than think that just because people need their service they can provide as shoddy a service as they want because there are no other choices, transit agencies all around the country should embrace this new audience and deliver a better product.

I had this great post all written up…but I read this article this morning from Mona Simpson, Steve Jobs’ sister (also a UCLA faculty member…but today that won’t matter), which was the eulogy read at Steve’s funeral.  And well….this is too beautiful not to share.

Please click here to read it. 

Today Redfin, an online service that eliminates the need for a broker and real estate agents just received $15 million dollars in funding today.

Read the press release here

Not only is Redfin more efficient than getting a broker, they even reimburse you 2/3 the amount from the sale. Along with that there is a direct to seller service, making the buying and selling even easier. I think each buyer tends to get around $11,000.

Why does this matter to urban planning? Because its an indicator that the realm of planning, real estate, zoning, brick and mortar is ending.

The real estate industry is highly inefficient with way too many middlemen, and the consumers have responded with a service like Redfin. Planning for the most part is somewhat a reflection of the real estate industry so changes in one industry will soon carry over to the other.

But more importantly, as planners, we know our industry is highly….grossly disgustingly inefficient.  From serving the best interest of tax payers through effective and whole hearted community engagement and interaction to comprehensive plans that do more than just gather dust on the library.  The standard for urban planning blows.  Tax payers deserve better, and you’re lying to yourself if you don’t think so. Urban Planning is about to hit a precipice. The tide and current is swelling and the signs are here. Adapt or die.

James Rojas, an amazing mentor, urban planner, artist, and community collaborator/activist/advocate/organizer has an awesome exhibit up in Long Beach.  It’s received a lot of press from both the Long Beach Post and Streetsblog LA.

Rather than sum it up myself, James has written about it, and it is amazing.

But before that, you need to know the information about how to get there.

The Collaborative
421 West Broadway
Long Beach, CA 90802

Hours of Operation
Wednesday through Friday: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Thursday: 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Architect Giacomo Gastagnola and I have created the world’s largest interactive city diorama. The interactive diorama taps into the mental and physical ways people understand the city and transfer information through their body. The diorama is designed to make participants physically interact with it through various positions and break the normal way with interface with the built environment.

The diorama is of the city of Long Beach and measures 40 feet by 30 feet and 10 feet high and takes up the entire gallery.  The diorama celebrates this city by copying it its topography and captures the many perspectives and physical activities you can have here. You can dive under the harbor without getting wet, you can lie down under the city, you can explore and graffiti inside Signal Hill, and you can view the city from its highest point.

The installation is designed in three parts:  the Long Beach Harbor/beach, the street patterns, and Signal Hill.  These parts are separated by walkways. Long Beach Harbor and beach is located along the window wall of the gallery.  The city streets are located in the center of the gallery, while the back wall of the gallery locates Signal Hill.  This design embraces the architecture elements of the gallery and transforms them to urban elements of the diorama.

Long Beach Harbor and beach was created by five, 4 feet and 4 feet tables placed in a row against the window wall. The 40-inch height of the tables is the same as the first row of window mullions.  The tables are steel bases with Plexiglas tops.  The Plexiglas tops are cover in blue transparent vinyl. The first band of window mullions is also covered in with blue cellophane with creates the look and feel of water. Under the tables a beige carpet was installed to mimic beach sand. The carpet was placed on the floor against the window wall running the length of the gallery. The carpet was cut in a subtle wave pattern to break up the right angles of the tables and windows.  White beanbags were installed under the tables to encourage people to investigate under water life or relax and read a book.

The city of Long Beach portion of the installation is twelve feet by twelve feet and is placed in the center of the gallery between the harbor/beach and Signal Hill.  This placement of the city mimics the geography of the city. The city is designed in an H pattern. Seven forty inch, 4ft by 4ft tables form this pattern. People are encouraged to walk into the city in the center areas of the H.

The 40-inch high tables keep in line with the harbor.  They are made of wood. One table top, however is Plexiglas and under it was designed a wood lounge chair. People are encouraged to lie under the table and look up to the city through the transparent streets.

The Long Beach street pattern is a grid however I took artistic license added some diagonal streets to add interest to the street pattern.  The streets are 2 inches wide with medians place in the center of some. The block sizes are generally four inches by six inches.  Numerous parks were added to the model.

Hundreds of small and large one inch scale buildings made from recycled materials were placed on the city blocks. Additional buildings were placed on the two selves in the gallery. Participants are encouraged to move the building around and create a their own city. By using their hands and minds participants are doing urban planning!

Six tables tops form the overall street pattern of Long Beach. On one table top thousands of colorful, small vibrant, oddly shaped materials are placed to allow for creative thinking!  Here people can think out of the constraints we created and design their own city, buildings, activities or uses.

Signal Hill portion of the model was placed against the back wall of the gallery. It is twelve feet wide and eight feet deep and is the highest part of the installation.  It is made of steel and plywood.  The top is one flat top with sloping sides on three sides. On the top of hill was created with wire mesh and moss to copy the dry Mediterranean landscape. Oil wells were created and placed in this landscape.  In back of Signal is a series a stairs with allows the participants to walk up the hill and view the overall city from this vantage point.

In addition people can walk in side the oil rich hill as if they were entering a back holeThe underside of hill was painted black. Participants are provided calk and encourage to graffiti it.   Black beanbags were placed inside hill to allow people to contemplate the intimate space.

These three ecologies capture the essences of Long Beach and encourage discovery of the city.

This interactive model sets a new precedent for dioramas. Cities like New York, Berlin, Boston, Havana, and many other others have dioramas. These city dioramas are large, precise models of the city street patterns and building. They are usually made of wood, clay, or other materials and many are colorless. They capture the over all form of the city. People can view but not touch these models. Therefore, mainly urban planners, architects and urban enthusiasts visit theses models.

Cities are messy, engaging, creative and rich information, which the Long Beach Diorama captures in its design and interactions.  Every city’s planning department should have one to encourage more people to get involved in creating better places.