civic data and civic faith - dtw.tmforum.org · 8/7/2015 · stephen walter program director...
TRANSCRIPT
Civic Data and Civic Faith
Stephen WalterProgram Director
Mayor’s Office of New Urban MechanicsCity of Boston
@newurbanmechs
Efficiency and Meaningful Inefficiencies
in the Smart City
The New Urban Mechanics
BOSTON’S CIVIC R&D TEAMA City agency formed in 2010 and one of the first municipal innovation offices in the world, the Office of New Urban Mechanics pilots experiments to improve the quality of life for Boston’s residents and visitors.
OUR APPROACH
Explore Experiment Evaluate
3 LESSONS
1. Build Things That People Want and Need
2. Encourage and Enable Civic Actions
3. Design Not Just For Efficiency, But ForDemocratic Values
Smart City?
Many projects with the “smart city” branding end up here:
LOST IN TRANSLATION
We’ve noticed that failed projects tend to suffer from:
• A lack of clear civic value or goals• Guiding principles from the private sector• A lack of early public engagement• Poor collaboration• An audience that doesn’t have either the skills or the
enthusiasm for unpacking and using data
DATA
DATA
ALTERNATIVE FACTS
Data can create a foundation upon which to act, but it can’t produce a
will to act.
There is a crisis of faith in our civic institutions, in civic data, in civic
media, and of our ability to get things done with each other.
THE WILL TO BELIEVE
William James:
“If your heart does not want a world of moral reality, your head will assuredly never make you believe in one….
“There are, then, cases where a fact cannot come at all unless a preliminary faith exists in its coming. And
where faith in a fact can help create the fact.”
SOME SMART CITY FOUNDATIONAL VALUES
Data alone is not enough
We need to spark trust and meaningful experiences
We need to cultivate good faith in our ability to get things done and with each other
SOME SMART CITY FOUNDATIONAL VALUES
We Need Civic Faith.
BOSTON’S SMART CITY PROJECTS
Creating Real Civic Value With Technology
monum.github.io/playbook
monum.github.io/playbook
Valuing Experience as Much as Efficiency
Increasing government efficiency is only one piece of the puzzle.
In a democracy, sometimes we need messiness, disruption, and creativity to create equitable change.
How can smart city technology help facilitate these “meaningful inefficiencies” in civic life?
Digital Smart City Projects
CAN TECHNOLOGY BE USED TO BUILD TRUST?
TITLE
Analog Smart City Projects
SIDE GUARDS
BU Today
December 6, 2012
The Boston Globe
August 7, 2015
SIDE GUARDS
Pilot (2013) Current (2015)
TIDRAPHONETidraphone, a tidal vibraphone, invites Bostonians to interact with the water and consider our relationship to it, via a playful musical experience that is dynamically affected by the daily tides.
STAIRS OF FABULOUSNESS
Simple. Colorful. “Rainbow stairs will make City Hall 400% more fabulous.”
New Smart City Partnerships
localsense.org
Local Sense Lab
The objective was to create a public-private partnership that was:
• Decentralized• Distributed• Open• Not based on a financial transaction
LINKS
Smart City RFI and other Smart Streets Initiatives: boston.gov/smart-streets
Smart City Playbook:monum.github.io/playbook
Local Sense Lab:localsense.org
Stephen Walter@newurbanmechs