Spring | Printemps 2011 - CSLA :: AAPC

TO BEGIN WITH
JACK KRUBNIK, KELTY MCKINNON, LUC DENIGER, JOHN ZVONAR,
YVAN LAMBERT, JANIS FEDOROWICK, KEVIN FRASER
UPFRONT _ PROLOGUE
JACK KRUBNIK
CEOS FOR CITIES
LOCAL PROJECTS
SINCE ITS CHICAGO DEBUT, GIVE A MINUTE
HAS MOVED ON TO MEMPHIS, AND IS SETTING
ITS SIGHTS ON NEW YORK AND SAN JOSE
Hey Chicago, what
would encourage you
to walk, bike and take
CTA more often?
HEY CHICAGO, what would encourage you to walk, bike and take the CTA more often? Late last
year the question was front and centre, on Chicago Transit Authority buses and trains, in the
Chicago Tribune, even on the streets. Community leaders were asking for answers, and people
were responding in droves.
How? Using texting, Facebook, Twitter, and direct post. And the replies were often inventive.
(“Healthy breakfast options to go on every platform!” Harry. Posted 11.26.10 at 11:46pm via Web)
As people responded, community leaders listened, actively reviewing posts and tweets
and responding directly to their favourite ideas. Responders included the three key sectors:
private – Stan Day, President and CEO, SRAM Corporation; public – Terry Peterson, Chairman,
Chicago Transit Board; and non-profit – Ron Burke, Executive Director, Active Transportation
Alliance. The motivation? By this fairly simple gesture, leaders wanted to bridge the gap
between the traditional forms of public engagement (like the public meeting) and community
consultation, 20th century style. Through a campaign called “Give a Minute” city leaders were
acknowledging the dominance of texting, Facebook, tweeting and direct post as powerful media
of communication with incomparable rates of penetration. In short order, Give a Minute proved
itself to be a fresh and inventive form of civic engagement. And although the dialogue did not
imply a firm obligation for action, the intent was clearly building momentum for urban change.
JUST A MINUTE Founders Carol Coletta, president of urban advocacy non-profit CEOs
for Cities, and Jake Barton, principal of the media design firm Local Projects, know what
drives their initiative: most North Americans have opted out of public participation. Give a
Minute sets out to re-imagine public participation in ways that are more suited to the 21st
century, thereby re-establishing civic democracy. We all have great ideas, but traditional
public meetings always happen in a physical space – and this gravely restricts community
engagement. Carol Coletta believes “technology can be used to include far more people in a
far more productive and efficient environment than most public meetings can include.”
“In this day and age of competition for everyone’s attention,” says Jake Barton, “government is
understanding that it will need to be fun and creative to engage citizens in a positive way.”
And, says Coletta, we need to stay tuned: “Give a Minute in its 2.0 version makes it easy for
ordinary citizens to organize themselves to do things (in real time, real space) to improve their
cities.”
Since its Chicago debut, Give a Minute has moved on to Memphis, and is setting its sights
on New York and San Jose. This indicates that momentum is building and communities are
embracing their new found voices. So, how about your city? Tap into the medium of your
choosing, give a minute, and perhaps your city will be next.
JACK KRUBNIK, an urban designer for the City of Toronto, is a 2007 graduate from the University of Toronto
MLA program. jkrubnik@rogers.com
Give a Minute: http://giveaminute.info
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did you notice ?
* LP MAGAZINE IS CHANGING FONTS 14m
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