TOPIC: CITIES (31)

Citizinvestor

http://www.citizinvestor.com

Citizinvestor allows citizens to invest in the local government projects they care about most. 
Local governments submit pre-approved projects to citizinvestor.com. The cost of the project has already been set and department approved, the only thing lacking is the funding. Citizens then find the projects they care about most and invest financially in those projects. Once a project is 100% pledged, the project is built! Citizens don’t pay a dime unless the project is funded in full. This ensures that there’s little risk to the local government entity and little risk to the citizen.

Walkonomics

http://www.walkonomics.com

Walkonomics aims to rate the pedestrian-friendliness of every street in the world.  By enabling ordinary people and local communities to add a rating of any street, it is hoped that a realistic walkability score will be created for each street.  Where available, public datasets are also used to add ratings and provide more quantitative reviews.  By harnessing the power of 'crowd-sourcing', social media and open data, Walkonomics aims to become a self-organising system where users correct any inaccuracies or errors in street reviews.
In addition to this, Walkonomics also provides an interactive online space, where local people, government and business can suggest, discuss and create walkability improvements for our streets, neighbourhoods and cities.

Urban Life International

http://www.ulicanada.org/

Urban Life International is an independent research training organization with the desire to foment a better understanding and response to the urban challenge.  The urban challenge has been described as the need to transform concrete and steel into communities of health and hope.  The people who live in cities are caught in-between segregation and integration, diversity and distinction, and density and privacy.  Their quality of life is determined in how they respond to these challenges.

GOOD Ideas for Cities

http://www.good.is/ideas/posts

GOOD Ideas for Cities taps creative problem solvers to tackle real urban challenges and present the solutions at live events across the country.

Popularise

https://www.popularise.com

Popularise is the online platform that shares the power to build new places in your neighborhood with local residents like you
By joining other people in your area on Popularise, you can create the kind of cool, authentic places you want in your neighborhood. Submit your own ideas, and vote for what to build on projects posted by real estate developers and local business operators.

CNU

http://www.cnu.org/

The Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) is the leading organization promoting walkable, mixed-use neighborhood development, sustainable communities and healthier living conditions.

Beacon Food Forest

http://www.beaconfoodforest.org

A Food Forest is a gardening technique or land management system that mimics a woodland ecosystem but substitutes in edible trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals.  Fruit and nut trees are the upper level, while below are berry shrubs, edible perennials and annuals.  Companions or beneficial plants are included to attract insects for natural pest management while some plants are soil amenders providing nitrogen and mulch.  Together they create relationships to form a forest garden ecosystem able to produce high yields of food with less maintenance.

Nextdoor

https://nextdoor.com

Nextdoor is a free and private social network for neighborhoods. On Nextdoor, neighbors create private websites for their neighborhoods where they can ask questions, get to know one another and exchange local advice and recommendations. Nextdoor’s mission is to use the power of technology to create stronger and safer places to call home. The inspiration behind Nextdoor was to give people a social network to connect them to one of the most important communities in their lives - the neighborhood. Nextdoor believes that when neighbors start talking, good things happen.

Gidsy

http://gidsy.com

Gidsy is a marketplace for authentic experiences. Besides booking fun stuff to do, the site allows anyone host activities. Think unique walking tours guided by locals, nature hikes with wild cavemen and exclusive pop-up restaurants hosted by top chefs.

Creative Mornings

http://www.creativemornings.com/

CreativeMornings is a monthly breakfast lecture series for creative types held in major cities internationally. Each event is free of charge, and includes a 20 minute talk, plus coffee!

Neighborland

https://neighborland.com

On Neighborland you can share your ideas and insights for your city, support your neighbors’ ideas, and connect with people who share your interests. We are providing residents, neighborhood organizations, economic development groups, and municipalities with a powerfully simple platform to connect and make good things happen.

Chicago Trees Initiative

http://www.chicagotrees.net

The Chicago Trees Initiative is a city-wide, public-private effort to plant, care for and advocate for trees. This means many more trees will be planted in our great city, which is already known for its green urban spaces. And more important, existing trees will have better care – the best strategy for meeting our urban forest canopy goal. Every Chicago resident – and indeed, anyone who cares about trees has an important role to play. The goal invites all of us to be involved in planting and caring for trees on public and private land throughout the city.

Walk Your City

http://www.walkyourcity.org

An open-sourced online resource for anyone to auto-magically create their own guerrilla wayfinding sign to export, print and install.

This Big City

http://thisbigcity.net

This Big City is an award winning sustainable cities blog covering innovations in urban design, architecture, culture, technology, transport and the bicycle. Launched in September 2009 by Joe Peach, This Big City now features content from urbanism writers and organisations all over the world, and publishes in English and Chinese.

Urban Observatory

http://www.urbanobservatory.org

Richard Saul Wurman, Radical Media, and Esri bring you the Urban Observatory—a live museum with a data pulse. You'll have access to rich datasets for cities around the world that let you simultaneously view answers to the most important questions impacting today's global cities—and you. Compare and contrast visualized information for a greater understanding of life in the 21st century.