Photo Essay: Urban Design Elements in Hyattsville

As a part of class, I examined the new Route 1 development in Hyattsville. I was specifically looking at urban design elements and how they compared to some of the older structures in the neighborhood. I wanted to explore different presentation media, so the following is a presentation I created using Prezi.

Social Media & Social Equity

Social media has fundamentally changed the way we interact and connect with other people, and the technology will continue to be prevalent even after its beginning stages (such as Myspace and AIM) left the spotlight. The dominance of online communities like Facebook reveal a new social universe, but as a planner – I have to ask – can social media help create social equity?

Now, I’m  not referring to the newest definition of the term, which refers to the brand reputation of companies online, but rather the term in its planning sense. Can we use this new technology to further connect people and put everyone on the same playing field? Or is this only strengthening the economic – and now digital – divide between many parts of the world?

Of course, Twitter and Facebook campaigns like KONY2012 have shown us how social media can spotlight a global issue, but creating awareness is only the first step in creating equity. Furthermore, creating awareness of an issue not only puts that issue in cyberspace, it puts your organization out there as well. (KONY2012 was, and should be, questioned about where their doubled revenue is being spent.) So, we should be prepared to answer more than questions on the issue, but about our process.

And the catch with social media is: people can ask questions anytime, from anywhere. The engagement process is no longer restricted by a 9 – 5 window, which can help or hurt our goals depending on how it is used. While posting a tweet takes seconds, reading and responding to feedback takes much longer; those who want to be active in the online social sphere need to be constantly vigilant in order to limit the spread of misinformation.

That seems like a lot of work for a small advocacy group. Can we really rely on our social media campaigns to produce action?

The marketing world says, Yes. According to t2social.com, “Influence on social media translates into influence on decision making.” And focusing on specific online communities helps build targeted outreach and influence very quickly,. So, start smaller and work towards building a following, while remembering that “every tweet, every blog post, every Facebook response… and the subsequent following you receive… is a small investment into the future.”

So – circling back to my original point – we should be invested in using social media as a marketing and outreach tool. And, conceivable, our efforts will produce action and influence; be it one person at a time. The Planning Pool states that social media is “empowered participation” with varying levels: sharing, cooperation, and collective action. The article also argues that social media has fundamentally changed the way commons – either physical or digital (ie a park or data) – are managed; we, as the public, have much more power over the commons than we had before.

At the end of the day, true social equity is only going to result from physical action, but I believe that planners can use social media technology in innovative ways to strengthen commitment to equity issues, and to reach audiences beyond our normal capability.

Why Planners Should Get to Know (at least a little) about Code

No one can deny that internet expertise is a skill employers are looking for, but it may not be enough. As planning becomes more and more tech savvy, behind-the-scenes programming knowledge will be critical. True, we cannot require planners to become computer programmers – we already have those – but basic html skills will make a huge difference in smaller organizations that lack in-house technical staff.

• From personal experience, html coding is useful for quick website fixes, mass email marketing, and other design aspects. There are free html editors such as CoffeeCup or Komodo that allow users to view code and the product page simultaneously.
• It can save a business money, but it can also save project time if someone on staff can take care of the little things.
• Html is one of the most widely used language for web design, which also means download speeds on your website will be quicker.

While most of this post is my own opinion, I do believe that html coding can be a transferable skill in and outside of planning.

HABISP: Technolgy & Urban Planning in Sao Paolo

Writing this blog has forced me to look for new planning initiatives that are being creative in the ways they use new technology, beyond a simple mapping feature or twitter account. HABISP is one of those projects.

HABISP is an innovative information system used by the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2005, The Department of Urban and Housing Development (SEHAB) contracted an information technology team to create a “user-friendly system that municipal staff could access and input data themselves.” The end goal was a complete dataset containing information about residents of public housing and precarious settlements – over 30% of the city’s population lives in slums – such as favelas, informal land subdivisions, slum tenements, and hazardous areas. Its purpose was to provide a comprehensive view of all settlements in Sao Paulo so staff could identify and prioritize interventions.

In order to provide updated housing records for the software, over 2,000 field inspections were conducted. All data, after being entered into the system, was then geo-referenced to cartographic and photographic databases. Lastly, data from the Basic Sanitation Company of São Paulo which mapped the existing network of water and sewer mains was added. From there, staff could create a picture of different types of settlements, their precariousness, and their needs.

Since 2008, HABISP has been available on the web and open to the public, meaning not only do city staff use it, but citizens can become involved and informed about the urban poor. Users can see the different types of communities, but also be updated on projects and decisions the city is making to improve these areas. It helps the city remain accountable and transparent.

Critics of the program suggest stronger lines of communication so that information can be disseminated through parties more easily, but overall the program has received good feedback. A review of the program’s current success stories was presented at ITC’s 2008 ExpertGroup Meeting on Slum Mapping in Enschede, the Netherlands.

Sao Paulo is one of the wealthiest cities in its region, and therefore was able to devote the monetary and manpower resources needed in order to complete the project. But is something like this possible on a smaller metropolitan scale? Can a program like this be easily mimicked in other cities? And more importantly, how can we, as planners, continue programs like these that have both a social and physical impact on the urban landscape?

Why Planners Should Care About the Connect America Fund

Many of us have heard of the FCC, but most of us may not be familiar with the Universal Service Fund, and even less so with the Connect America Fund. I only know about CAF through working at a telecom-focused organization, and reading multiple articles on its purpose and proposed benefits piqued my interest.

Broadband, and access to it, has risen from a luxury to a necessity in order to survive in modern America. Consider that thought, and think about all the times you use a smartphone, tablet, or computer for class or work. What if you were still using dial-up? What if you couldn’t download large files? Would it affect your work?

For that reason, the FCC is reforming its Universal Service Fund and the Intercarrier Compensation initiative to help accelerate broadband build-out to rural America. It is the hope that this reform will not only drive economic growth in these rural areas, but expand the online marketplace overall, thereby creating new jobs and businesses.

The FCC describes “universal service” as “the principle that all Americans should have access to communications services.” It is also the name of a funding program run by the FCC that supports specific projects that adhere to and implement this principle. There are 4 programs within the Universal Service Fund:

• High-cost program (now the CAF)
• LifeLine (see previous article)
• Schools and Libraries (see previous article)
• Rural Health Care

All these programs are being reformed and rolled under the Connect America Fund, as many of them (especially the last two bullets) deal with rural connectivity issues.

The Connect America Fund
The Connect America Fund provides support to qualifying companies serving high-cost (usually rural) areas, in order to ensure that residents of these regions have access to “reasonably comparable service at rates reasonably comparable to urban areas.”

The FCC estimates that nearly 18 million Americans in rural areas currently do not have access to broadband. Check out the Broadband Availability map here, which shows where broadband exists and does not exist, and compare it with the map of Potentially Eligible Areas. Thirty-seven states received funding in Phase 1 of the process, the amount of funding detailed by state here.

The ultimate result would be high-speed broadband access in every corner of the country, resolving unreliable service issues.

From a planning perspective, the Connect America Fund provides a potential in-road to disconnected areas and opportunities for economic development outside of large metropolitan regions. Broadband expansion can lead to an online market expansion, allowing more companies to take advantage of online sales and marketing. It can also build efficiency by providing businesses with faster connection speeds and better larger bandwidth.

Think about how broadband has affected your life. Now, how can it improve the lives of others?