agile cities: urban renewal for a networked world

Agile City Urban Renewal for a Networked World

Aaron Naparstekadn@mit.edu@naparstek

CEOs for Cities Fall National MeetingOctober 17, 2012

"We like traffic, it means economic activity, it means people coming here."

-- Mayor Michael Bloomberg, August 2, 2006

Really?!

This one wasn't built, thankfully

The result of 80 years of car-oriented planning and policy

$13 billion per year in lost productivity

Source: Partnership for New York City

Streets weren't always just for cars

Mulberry Street, Manhattan’s Lower East Side, circa 1900.

Source: Library of Congress Photocrom Collection

San Francisco, September 2005

We organized our own "Parking Spot Squat" in Brooklyn

This cute kid is now an 8-year-old.

2006

47 parks13 cities 3 countries

Midtown Manhattan

2007

200 parks50 cities 9 countries

Athens, Georgia

2008

600 parks100 cities 13 countries

Indianapolis, Indiana

2009

700+ parks140 cities 21 countries

Krakow, Poland

2010

800+ parks183 cities 30 countries

Buenos Aires, Argentina

2011

1,000 parks162 cities 35 countries

Ahmedabad, India

2011 Park(ing) Day World Map

Antarctica remains un-reclaimed.

Park(ing) becomes policy in San Francisco

Plazas and Parklets

Today there are more than 40 projects.

New York City launches the Pop-Up Café

Park(ing) becomes official city policy in NYC

Fifty Seat Pop-Up Cafe

in Lower Manhattan's Financial District

Broadway at 34th Street, Herald Square, Manhattan.

Before After

Quick, inexpensive changes with temporary materials.

Broadway through Times Square

Before After

The new way of doing development: Agile.

The "Lean Startup" Feedback Loop

The old way of doing development…

Mainframe Computer Master Planner

The city is the original social media.

Broadway at Herald Square.

Is your city agile?

Aaron Naparstekadn@mit.edu@naparstek