In addition to Monday’s reference to Simran Noor’s five actions the bike movement can take to advance racial equity, two other articles came across the screen this week with five points of advice for people-focused urban regeneration.
The first, from Bloomberg Philanthropies Tommy Pacello who served as the Director of the Mayor’s Innovation Team in Memphis, TN. His definition of city innovation includes “developing bold solutions to big urban challenges”, and through his work with Memphis he was engaged with both reducing gun violence and economic revitalization of distressed communities. Out of this experience, he developed a top five list for fellow City Innovators, and it looks like this:
1. Activate the community
2. Numbers are your friend
3. Break down the silos
4. Don’t forget the importance of project management
5. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel
Meanwhile, at CityFix also chimed in with five reflections on ways technology can support better urban living from the Smart City Expo World Congress which recently wrapped up in Montreal. The conference focused on smart cities under the rubric of “energy and climate change, urban resilience, open government, and sustainable mobility”, with “the idea that smart cities are not truly sustainable unless they equip their citizens with the tools they need to contribute to civic life.” Dario’s top five are employing technology to:
1. Helping planners understand mobility needs
2. Empowering communities to engage in the planning process
3. Improving the travel experience
4. Integrating technology as a component of wider sustainable development objectives
5. Rediscovering bicycle ‘technology’
Themes of community-driven, data verified policy and programs run through both. So does working broadly and collaboratively and having an appreciation for those existing solutions that may need to be emphasized or enhanced, in other words, building on assets.
Many of these points are also similar themes to many of those sounded in the One Region Forward Complete Communities report, which gives a series of stakeholder-driven recommendations about making quality neighborhoods for all residents: data for informed decision making; pursuing neighborhood specific, asset based strategies for neighborhood redevelopment; and ensuring adequate capacity to carry out neighborhood projects.
Though there is some overlap, there are certainly many lessons to be learned from the various perspectives and emphases that lists like these bring.
So what about you? What are your top five recommendations for revitalizing communities in your area of focus?
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