Fix City Dot Org

The good people of Brooklyn, NY now have a new tool at their disposal: FixCity.org. This crowdsourcing website (and its supporting organization) is all about taking small steps to “fix your city”. In this case the first project is to enable the public at large to suggest good locations for bicycle racks. As a part of the larger Open Planning Project and Open 311, FixCity is another effort to help citizens help government implement changes that they really want. 

Crowdsourcing – What?

I’ve talked about crowdsourcing on several occasions but for the uninitiated let me give my quick explanation. Essentially crowdsourcing is the term used for asking anyone (and I mean anyone) interested in participating in a process to provide their opinion/data/etc. based on some set of specific parameters. This is most often done via social media sites because it allows for maximum participation. The most famous crowdsourced project is, of course Wikipedia.org.

Fixing my ______

So what are the projects facing your community or organization? Do you feel like you really understand what your constituents and supports want? By crowdsourcing you may not get expertise (but you might get that too); what you will get is a chance to learn and honest feedback.

Crowdsourced solutions are like any other solution, if you aren’t asking the right questions you won’t end up with useful answers. To mitigate this issue follow these guidelines:

1. Create an environment of invitation – make your crowd owners of the process instead of outside participants.
2. Make sure that your questions are framed in the positive and require actionable answers.
3. Provide clear transparency of what is happening along the way so that participants don’t feel like they are talking to a wall or that their input is being misused.

There are other issues that need taken into consideration as well but I feel like this list is an excellent starting point. There is no need to be fearful of crowdsourcing – just take some time for thoughtful consideration about what your end goal really is and if you are ready to listen to the wisdom of crowds.

Pay it Forward

A big part of crowdsourcing is sharing; people giving to reach a common goal without outside incentives. When developing a crowdsourcing process use social media tools like Wiki’s or Blogs to share the process, the work, the lessons learned and hopefully the success story so that everyone can learn from what you’ve done. In this way you will be paying forward the good work you received.

If you want to explore this idea of crowdsourcing and how it might enhance a project you have in mind please feel free to contact us at Andrew Miller Consulting using this page. Thanks!

As promised, here is my first article for This Week UA.

Sidewalks, bike lanes can help create neighborhoods

A couple of years ago I had the honor of hearing Traci Parks speak about her life and work at a Tri-Village Rotary meeting. Traci Parks is a Columbus photographer with a special story: she is legally blind. She spoke about the challenges that disabled individuals face when trying to navigate neighborhoods and other public spaces.

Traci Parks photographs deficiencies in sidewalks and other pedestrian infrastructure. Through her photography she documents the types of deficiencies that many able-bodied individuals find to be an inconvenience. For the disabled however, these deficiencies are much more than an inconvenience. The use of pictures as a way of showing the general public what she experiences — but cannot clearly see — is powerful.

Actually, it was powerful enough that I never looked at sidewalks the same way again. After the birth of our daughter I had even more reason to consider these issues as more than a mere inconvenience. How we choose to develop pedestrian infrastructure says a lot about our community priorities.

Upper Arlington currently has sidewalks along approximately 20 percent of its roadway. There are some streets where the shoulder has been lined to suggest a safe zone for pedestrians but not to mandate it. Bike lanes have been rejected by residents and, except for the lighted intersections, crosswalks are often barely visible and rarely respected by drivers. For many people they are just two faded white lines.

Some residents find this acceptable; they don’t walk much anyhow, don’t bicycle, don’t have kids or are able-bodied enough that the lack of infrastructure doesn’t pose a problem. For them, crossing someone’s yard or using the roadway is a minor enough risk to take.

The arguments from residents against sidewalks and the like tend to fall into the categories of either cost or aesthetics.

There certainly is a large cost associated with installing these amenities; but then, what is the cost of not having this infrastructure? And isn’t there beauty in neighborhoods full of people walking, talking and biking?

Many of my peers have questioned my move to Upper Arlington. While they think it is a nice suburb (and it is) they don’t see it as being alive the way other local communities are. There’s not the kind of vibrant street life you see in Grandview, Worthington, Westerville or old Dublin; not to mention places like Clintonville or the Short North.

Healthy, vibrant communities are ones where residents have a maximum opportunity for interaction. People out walking, riding bikes, using public spaces for all sorts of activities — these are communities that encourage neighbors to engage each other and to meet the needs of individuals from within. Local businesses and organizations thrive around high pedestrian activity because, when people leave their car at home, they rely on them instead of the megamall, etc.

Fred Rogers, famous for his own Neighborhood, wrote, “There’s a world of difference between insisting on someone’s doing something and establishing an atmosphere in which that person can grow into wanting to do it.” Providing people with an atmosphere and infrastructure that encourages greater community engagement invites just that type of growth.

Walkable communities, as they’re often referred to, provide a focus on the implementation of complete streets as a way of supporting multiple transportation options. They bring walking, cycling and public transportation up to the same level of importance as the personal automobile.

As society re-embraces the wisdom of cities, those communities that reject this pedestrian orientation are finding it harder and harder to attract new residents and maintain their community identity. The generations that built our suburbs created the right community infrastructure for the time, but that time is passing.

To be fair, I am not without personal motivations here. I bought a home in Upper Arlington and want to make sure it remains a good investment. Now, several years on, Upper Arlington is losing population and its median age is rising. Even our excellent schools and libraries have taken some lumps.

If Upper Arlington is to remain a premier community, I believe it must offer superior amenities. The financial restrictions on making this happen are real but there is an opportunity to be innovative while remaining fiscally responsible. Holding neighborhood meetings, using grants, taking advantage of lower construction costs, and re-striping streets that can accommodate it are all examples of innovative and responsible ideas at work.

I put forward the challenge to residents and city leaders alike to find ways to enhance the pedestrian experience. My family and I look forward to sharing some conversation and space on the sidewalk, path and bike lane with you soon.

My latest commentary airs today on WOSU 820am at the usual 12:35pm time slot. If you miss that here’s the copy. Hopefully the audio will post to the WOSU website and I’ll link to that when it happens.

Commentary by Andrew Miller

The other night my wife and I hosted friends for dinner. They live a couple miles from us and arrived via bicycles. My family and most of my friends are avid cyclists, not just for environmental or economic reasons but because it is a very social form of transportation and a bit romantic.

During dinner Dan made an observation about a recent trip to a craft store. Why do so many people purchase model villages, complete with pedestrians and quaint shops but not an SUV or Wal-Mart in site? There is some sort of desire in them to reminisce about a time when we were much more social and community focused; when we lived locally.

As we face the energy and banking crisis – not to mention poisonous vegetables from our broken food system – isn’t it time that we stop fantasizing about those days?

My family spends a lot of time bicycling and walking around our community, taking advantage of everything it offers. The exercise hasn’t hurt us any either.

We don’t worry much about the bacteria in our food because we grow much of it and buy the rest from local farmers. At one time we had to justify the local organic produce; remind ourselves how it is cheaper in the bigger picture. Now, thanks to the current economy, the local organic farmer is actually dollar for dollar cheaper than the salmonella roulette megastore bio-food.

Getting around by foot, bike and bus allows us to stop and talk to neighbors and explore things we might otherwise have just driven right by. When you slow down like this you have a chance to appreciate what is available to you right outside your door. We also don’t worry much about the gas prices.

So what do we do with all of the extra money we’re saving? Well like most American’s we don’t actually save enough of it, but we do invest it. When it was time to get my daughter a new life jacket for canoeing we went to the local outfitter instead of Target; it may have cost a few more dollars but having local businesses stay in business is a bargain to us. Local merchants generally invest 50% back into the local economy while national chains barely scratch 15%.

For entertainment we find that there is no lack of community activities to take part in. When there isn’t an activity then we have been known to take it upon ourselves to create one. This has allowed us to get to know more of our fellow residents – at least the ones who are also taking advantage of living locally.

The silver lining of the economy and energy crisis is the way it is forcing more people to stay close to home. The more people that participate in living locally the better your locale will become. Put away your miniature village and take advantage of what living local can do for your wallet, your waist-line and your social life.