(updated 30th december, removed some details, see the attached document )
This is IT-infrastructure project.
Enable simple instant reports from the citizens to city officials, similar to what is done in some cities (reporting about potholes...)
Suggestion box for citizens requesting activities, a forum to connect with like-minded people and to form groups to organize activities. To make them find venue for their event. To make other citizens go out and search for empty unused lots.
Design this software/App/facebook plugin to make the process to get events up and running quick and smoothly.
Inside the APPlication:
• Posting a venue:
Anyone can take a photo or video of an abandoned house, empty industrial estate, unused property, and upload with a simple report and the GPS-location or address (could be done hightech or lotech)
That report should make the city planners start to:
- Search in the archives of who the legal owners are
- contact these for investigation
- prepare all paper-work, release-forms, insurance and permits that is needed.
- place this property in the calendar, available to be scheduled for different events once all paper-work is cleared.
• Posting activity:
Anyone can submit ideas for events/activities they want in their city.
Match with the available properties that are in the database. Make public query for what type of venues are needed, to instill a open search for more properties to add into the database.
All citizens can vote online for projects.
organisor of event can find volunteers and reach customer base in advance, to start work immediately when an appropriate property comes up as available.
Spreading virally tweets about the upcoming events.
Asking for participants videos and photos from each event will be possible, to show how vibrant it was on the night, helps promote future similar events. (It seems very popular to watch on internet who was at the party on previous weekend)
Calender:
Every property with permission to use, appears in the calender, and becomes able to schedule for activities & projects. Several projects can be held at the same venue at different days of the week. Many activities can coexist, in the same place, at the same time, without interferring with each other. This will definitely bring a vibrant crowd of diverse groups, for interaction and spread of ideas and influences.
• Posting an event:
New activities will appear both in calendar and on the map, and these databases is searchable, and possible for spreading through grapevine, virally/tweets. RSS-feeds can create automatic messaging to people requested news about certain types of activities.
Low-tech-ads onsite (offline-info)
Signs could be put on each site that is reported into this database, to make it clear that this site is just awaiting permits, a cleanup and a go-ahead-signal from the authorities. with info about where citizens can add ideas to what could be done at the site.
When this property clears permits, and exist in the online calender you could change the posters and stickers to a different colour! and with info about upcoming events, and where to look for finding the schedule.
Signs could also be put up on sites that is reported but is not being allowed to be used by the owners, explaining reason why it is abandoned, explaining that there are several other sites like this available to use for your activity, and how to do to book those.
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Educational possibilities and work-experience:
If city hall can do a thorough search for all previous owners of the lot, it could compile and share the heritage of it to neighbourhood at these venues (volunteers with access to archive? doing extracredits for school?). All city archives & local museums have got old photos, ancient street maps, blueprints and other records that can be displayed at the events on these sites. (make simple power-point-presentations to project onto the exterior of the factory)
There could be mentoring or apprentice-ships within this program. Work-experience-schemes for unemployed youths within the city council for administration, making them the moderators of the forum in the App (opportunities for engineering & repairing to secure the dangerous sites, constructing safety measures to make them safe to use)
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Legal issues:
Property owners could at least be made to give temporary contract and time-limited permission for events that does not require any permanent installation in the ground or on the building.
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Funding ideas:
Other property owners in this city would be able to purchase a licence to scan this database for all the different types of ideas that have been submitted by the public. If they find something that they feel is appropriate for their unused properties, it could be organised collaborations to start scheduling activities, anything temporarily.
These companies could be asked to become investors/donors/sponsors/partners.
Perhaps this will create other spin-offs that utilize the functions/service within this concept. Potential for the local business, trade, culture...
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there is no need at this stage to create a list of potential events/content to take place on the empty lots, this is just focused on the direct way to have open database as interface-window between the three parts : citizens, government and property owners.
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Spin-off idea Service clerk / City Concierge :
Citizens can't waste time to run around the city hall between departments with their simple errands. Install a new form of service-minded employee in the local government! This concierge/clerk receives the citizens at a counter or in this database online, assist in filling out forms, and then run around to all departments to get needed permissions.
( I started this spinoff idea as a separate concept : /open/vibrant-cities/concepting/city-concierge/ so I will add and adjust that concept depending on your feedback/comments on it there)
![[ Opencity ]](https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/226233526_640.jpg)
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Johan Löfström
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