Citizen Collaboration at the Heart of the City | Bristol, UK

The City of Bristol is my favourite city out of all five exemplar cities researched for this assignment. Collaboration and innovative design thinking are truly at the heart of this city. The tech for good Bristol projects examined were Flourish, highly technical self-driving vehicles in the trial phase to combat mobility challenges, and Bristol Approach, where little sensors were designed to monitor air quality for concerned citizens. It was powerful listening to the videos and reading content about each project because the passionate voices of the individuals shined through above all else. Elders fearing their lack of mobility will force them to live in isolation, and citizens with asthma fearing how their city’s extreme air pollution can harm them, are both real issues that are important and need to be addressed. With these particular projects and others, Bristol sets an exemplary example of how a city should embrace and empower the voice of vulnerable citizens to combat challenges they face in their daily lives, as well as, extending to other challenges that impact the city as a whole.

My involvement in this civic innovation course, and being given the opportunity to learn from guest speakers, has tremendously added to and complimented my learning experience as an information designer. I have become more critical of how The City of Calgary is shaping the community for all Calgarians, including myself. As discussed in class with representatives from The City of Calgary, we need to continuously ask ourselves how the city can be more inclusive or exclusive. To better understand the answer, there needs to be collaboratation with those whom often have their voice unheard or overlooked. Knowing that I will assist in advocating for a user-testing group in Calgary, and personally pursuing a career that works with people to solve problems, there were several things I was reminded of while immersing myself in this exemplar cities research. These lessons include that involving the user has only ever added value, and it does not typically require extensive work to achieve this value.

I hope in referring to these exemplar cities researched, The City of Calgary can find ways to create space for citizens to be engaged and empowered, using tech for good, and always thinking ahead.

KP