The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Cities | Sustainable Cities Collective Be Proactive. There’s much any city can do today. Even without sufficient budget or authorization from ‘senior levels’ of government, every city has a full menu of things that can be carried out immediately, generating positive momentum and goodwill. Business rewards the active entrepreneur, and the public desperately wants active cities. The rewards are great.   Plan – Plan Right. All cities carry out master plans for their key services, long-term infrastructure needs, and land use planning. Before starting these plans, the end needs to be clear. They are guidance documents, aspirational, and ways to rally supporters and give fair hearing to opponents. But a plan, no matter how good, can never be seen as a finished product. Before starting the plan an agreement is needed that the city is moving forward on this issue: the plan is the vehicle to bring along as many supporters as possible and identify potential potholes and trouble en route. Like a city, good plans are living documents.  Put First Things First. How many cities have we visited where they are building a new grand City Hall, yet much of the garbage still isn’t being collected or the water isn’t flowing? A city’s priorities should be basic services, professionalism and quality of staff, clear metrics, a reliable ongoing base budget, and nurturing a respectful two-way conversation with its residents. All great buildings need a solid foundation. 

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Cities | Sustainable Cities Collective

  1. Be Proactive. There’s much any city can do today. Even without sufficient budget or authorization from ‘senior levels’ of government, every city has a full menu of things that can be carried out immediately, generating positive momentum and goodwill. Business rewards the active entrepreneur, and the public desperately wants active cities. The rewards are great. 
     
  2. Plan – Plan Right. All cities carry out master plans for their key services, long-term infrastructure needs, and land use planning. Before starting these plans, the end needs to be clear. They are guidance documents, aspirational, and ways to rally supporters and give fair hearing to opponents. But a plan, no matter how good, can never be seen as a finished product. Before starting the plan an agreement is needed that the city is moving forward on this issue: the plan is the vehicle to bring along as many supporters as possible and identify potential potholes and trouble en route. Like a city, good plans are living documents. 
  3. Put First Things First. How many cities have we visited where they are building a new grand City Hall, yet much of the garbage still isn’t being collected or the water isn’t flowing? A city’s priorities should be basic services, professionalism and quality of staff, clear metrics, a reliable ongoing base budget, and nurturing a respectful two-way conversation with its residents. All great buildings need a solid foundation. 

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“Why the Federal Government Should Give More Power to Mayors Sarah Goodyear. April 18. 2012 “We’re being strangled by the lack of action at the federal level. That’s why mayors are where the action is.” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed uttered these words during a panel discussion titled “Cities 2012: Are Cities the New Global Building Blocks?” at the New York Ideas forum Tuesday, co-presented by The Atlantic, the Aspen Institute, and the New-York Historical Society. Reed and his fellow panelists, Houston Mayor Annise Parker and New York Deputy Mayor Robert Steel, talked a lot aboutthe new report from the McKinsey Global Institute, which shows that 259 of the largest cities in the United States are responsible for 10 percent of global GDP. That economic significance, they argued, means that American cities merit way more clout than they get in the current political environment. The mayors talked about the multitude of challenges facing American cities today – unemployment, pension and health care costs, outdated infrastructure, education, social inequity. All three emphasized that municipal government is more accountable, more innovative, and more responsive than federal government. “I hope for the good of the country, cities continue to lead on these issues,” said Reed, whose hard-nosed pension reform deal attracted national attention last year. “Because if we wait for the federal government to move on issues like immigration and real job creation, then I think we’re going to be waiting for some time.” Reed pointed out that a huge proportion of the nation’s GDP is generated in cities, but that mayors still have a hard time getting the feds to pump money back into them. “If you look at the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, less than 10 percent of those dollars went into cities, where 80 percent of GDP occurs,” he said. “We’re going to have to shift national politics, and we’re going to have to shift state politics. Governors have a better lobby than mayors do. That’s why they got 90 percent of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, when that money should have gone to cities. Because we deploy it faster, we’re more creative, and we’re more representative of the majority of the United States of America.” Via: The Atlantic Cities Photo: Elena Olivo via massurban:

“Why the Federal Government Should Give More Power to Mayors

Sarah Goodyear. April 18. 2012

“We’re being strangled by the lack of action at the federal level. That’s why mayors are where the action is.”

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed uttered these words during a panel discussion titled “Cities 2012: Are Cities the New Global Building Blocks?” at the New York Ideas forum Tuesday, co-presented by The Atlantic, the Aspen Institute, and the New-York Historical Society.

Reed and his fellow panelists, Houston Mayor Annise Parker and New York Deputy Mayor Robert Steel, talked a lot aboutthe new report from the McKinsey Global Institute, which shows that 259 of the largest cities in the United States are responsible for 10 percent of global GDP. That economic significance, they argued, means that American cities merit way more clout than they get in the current political environment.

The mayors talked about the multitude of challenges facing American cities today – unemployment, pension and health care costs, outdated infrastructure, education, social inequity. All three emphasized that municipal government is more accountable, more innovative, and more responsive than federal government.

“I hope for the good of the country, cities continue to lead on these issues,” said Reed, whose hard-nosed pension reform deal attracted national attention last year. “Because if we wait for the federal government to move on issues like immigration and real job creation, then I think we’re going to be waiting for some time.”

Reed pointed out that a huge proportion of the nation’s GDP is generated in cities, but that mayors still have a hard time getting the feds to pump money back into them. “If you look at the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, less than 10 percent of those dollars went into cities, where 80 percent of GDP occurs,” he said. “We’re going to have to shift national politics, and we’re going to have to shift state politics. Governors have a better lobby than mayors do. That’s why they got 90 percent of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, when that money should have gone to cities. Because we deploy it faster, we’re more creative, and we’re more representative of the majority of the United States of America.”

Via: The Atlantic Cities

Photo: Elena Olivo

via massurban:

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Social business isn't about companies, it's about cities

ibmsocialbiz:

Drawing historical analogies between cities and business organizations, Thierry de Baillon asks how long we can afford to deal with urban landscapes and social business as two different perspectives.

His provocative  conclusion: 

Furthermore, the divorce between work and other facets of human life which take place during the industrial era has to be considered under the light of Enterprise 2.0. As organizations aim at leveraging the relationships dynamics, they must taking seriously into account their own role in the city, which encompasses most of these dynamics. Redesigning work means rethinking the place of work inside human activities, thus inside cities. Restoring the city’s economical role and identity has become a sine qua non condition to a successful urbanism as well as a truly social business. Organizations do not need to become customer-centric, but citizen-centric. Utopia? Have a look at Zappos’ Downtown Project, which goal is to restore a continuity between the workplace and the urban community. The future of Social Business lies at the heart of the city.

Via Rawn’s Connected Business Daily

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Smarter Cities - Android Apps on Google Play Get the new Smarter Cities Scan Android App, which brings together a mobile portfolio of assets from IBM’s Smarter Cities initiative: posts about Smarter Cities from the asmarterplanet.com blog; the Smarter Cities Tumblr site; Smarter Cities news from around the world; the mobile optimized Smarter Cities site on ibm.com; the Smarter Cities Challenge program and even the People for a Smarter Planet community on Facebook.

Smarter Cities - Android Apps on Google Play

Get the new Smarter Cities Scan Android App, which brings together a mobile portfolio of assets from IBM’s Smarter Cities initiative: posts about Smarter Cities from the asmarterplanet.com blog; the Smarter Cities Tumblr site; Smarter Cities news from around the world; the mobile optimized Smarter Cities site on ibm.com; the Smarter Cities Challenge program and even the People for a Smarter Planet community on Facebook.

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12 Floating Airports That Turn City Skylines and Rivers into Landing Strips | Gizmodo Whether sitting atop the Hudson or drifting just above a skyscraper, these conceptual floating airports put landing strips where they’re needed most: in the middle of bustling metropoleis. Our friends at Oobject have assembled 12 of the best. Be sure to also check out these converted jets and jungle planes.

12 Floating Airports That Turn City Skylines and Rivers into Landing Strips | Gizmodo

Whether sitting atop the Hudson or drifting just above a skyscraper, these conceptual floating airports put landing strips where they’re needed most: in the middle of bustling metropoleis. Our friends at Oobject have assembled 12 of the best.
Be sure to also check out these converted jets and jungle planes.

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carl-vs-karl: Walking an biking to elementary school used to be common. Now it`s rare. What happened? We started building fewer, bigger schools between neighborhoods. We built new wide roads to reduce congestion on the way to school. We thought schools would be safer away from Main Street, with its sidewalks of commerce and distractions. We can see the consequences now, making connections between those decisions and rising health problems. With better information, can we make our neighborhood intelligent? We can.What makes a city intelligent? You do. Text: Jan Gehl: Infographic by The National Building Museum in Washington DC

carl-vs-karl:

Walking an biking to elementary school used to be common. Now it`s rare. What happened? We started building fewer, bigger schools between neighborhoods. We built new wide roads to reduce congestion on the way to school. We thought schools would be safer away from Main Street, with its sidewalks of commerce and distractions. We can see the consequences now, making connections between those decisions and rising health problems. With better information, can we make our neighborhood intelligent? We can.
What makes a city intelligent? You do.
Text: Jan Gehl: Infographic by The National Building Museum in Washington DC

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Public voting is now open for NYC BigApps 3.0! We received nearly 100 submissions this year, a new record. Browse the gallery to see the submissions and vote daily through Wednesday, March 8th for your favorite app to win the Popular Choice award. As part of the City’s ongoing efforts to increase transparency in government, and to improve the quality of life for New Yorkers and visitors, BigApps 3.0 made more than 230 new datasets available from more than 60 City agencies, commissions, and business improvement districts, for a total of nearly 750 data sets for developers, available at NYC Open Data. Thirteen prizes will be awarded in total, including two Popular Choice Application winners. Winners will receive cash prizes totaling $50,000. We’re also giving away two NY Tech Meetup demo slots, two TechStars finalist spots, and membership in the first BigApps Founders Network, to provide mentorship, networking, and business support services to help the winners get their startup businesses off the ground. For more info, visit www.nycbigapps.com. Don’t forget to vote! nycedc:

Public voting is now open for NYC BigApps 3.0! We received nearly 100 submissions this year, a new record. Browse the gallery to see the submissions and vote daily through Wednesday, March 8th for your favorite app to win the Popular Choice award.

As part of the City’s ongoing efforts to increase transparency in government, and to improve the quality of life for New Yorkers and visitors, BigApps 3.0 made more than 230 new datasets available from more than 60 City agencies, commissions, and business improvement districts, for a total of nearly 750 data sets for developers, available at NYC Open Data.

Thirteen prizes will be awarded in total, including two Popular Choice Application winners. Winners will receive cash prizes totaling $50,000. We’re also giving away two NY Tech Meetup demo slots, two TechStars finalist spots, and membership in the first BigApps Founders Network, to provide mentorship, networking, and business support services to help the winners get their startup businesses off the ground.

For more info, visit www.nycbigapps.com. Don’t forget to vote!

nycedc:

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