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Urban Level
Openlab creates opportunities to make Stockholm a global centre for social innovation and improve the quality of life for its residents.
Through the Develop Your City initiative we are inviting you to share your ideas and to help find ways for the city to meet new challenges and benefit from new opportunities. Visit their website: http://openlabsthlm.se/
Five multi-disciplinairy Medialab groups presented their final concepts @De Nieuwe Banier today after intensive team work. Interesting ideas and prototypes!
TSI Foundation is involved in several (social) innovative programs in Rotterdam and initiated novel ideas: work in progress in research, outlining, and partnering. Area's like educational innovation, city sensing, and European entrepreneurship.
Interesting read: special book edition 'Connecting Industries - duurzaamheid en innovatie in de Noordzeedelta'. Site: http://www.connectingindustries.nl/
This time De Gemene Delers (The Common Denominators) meeting was about the role of art and design in social issues: exploring wicked problems from different perspectives. Impressive stories, rethinking, and good food.
"A wicked problem is a form of social or cultural problem that is difficult to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements. These problems are typically offloaded to policy makers, or are written off as being too cumbersome to bother with. Yet these are the problems that plague our world and our cities - poverty, sustainability, equality and health and wellness are issues that touch each and every one of us”. Austin Center for Design, www.ac4d.com.
TSIF starts with conducting an inventory of the WS&RS (Work Smart & Travel Smart) program: challenges in a mobility program at a behavioural level.
During the first years of the program there was a strong emphasis on 5 % fewer cars in rush hours and improving the accessibility of Leeuwarden. To realize this people were encouraged to use (electric) bicycles, public transport options, digital technology. Also smart work possibilities were facilitated.
WS&RS represents the mobility component in Leeuwarden. In May 2010, government and industry concluded on an ambitious mobility agreement. The set goal was challenging a 5% diminishing of cars during rush hours, by working and travelling smarter. Less travelling or choosing different times aim at reducing the number of kilometres and an improved accessibility of the city of Leeuwarden .
Within the national program 'Improved Utilization' (Beter Benutten), regions and industries work together to improve accessibility. The objective is to reduce congestion at the busiest points in 2014 with 20 percent within a range of about 300 practical, measurable actions. Besides 2014 being administered as the year of measurable effects, it also brought forward the decision to continue the program. Together, the ministry and regions decided to invest an additional 600 million Euro until the end of 2017. This way allowing the parties involved to reach for an extra 10 percent improvement. Client: WS&RS. Contact: Tony van Acquoy
Video about the Dutch national program 'Beter Benutten'
On Tuesday, February 4th, the Workbook West was presented at a special meeting headed by Arno van der Heyden. This booklet being one of the results of multiple 'city-area vision' evenings with citizens of the city of Groningen. Residents, entrepreneurs, civil-servants, housing corporations, welfare organizations, police officers and other interested parties worked together, not only on designing policy for future development, but also on realizing concrete changes and improvements in their living area. In co-creation these parties identified eight themes as being essential in future area development. Within the following stages of this proces ideas and preferences were listed, plans were made and projects started. The results of this co-creation program are compiled in a work booklet: not a static document, but a permanently developing co-creative magazine. All new ideas and initiatives that deserve to be prolonged can be written down, sketched or worked out in this document .
TSIF is a consulting and organizing partner in this co-creative neighbourhood approach. Client: Municipality of Groningen. Contact: Peter Everts.
