Ever since working on my thesis, I’ve found myself evermore interested in cities as a subject for study. I’m currently taking part in a applied design-thinking for sustainability module, and Sharon, Caroyln and I are currently working to rethink public transportation and signage systems in Paris. We’re still in the very early stages of our project, but in our research Carolyn came across Give a Minute!, an interesting platform for the public to voice ideas for the city through a digital, shared post-it note. As an initiative by CEOs for Cities and imagined by Local Projects, the site launched in Chicago but has spread to Memphis, New York and San Jose. Specific questions are designed to generate new ideas and the site becomes more interactive as the best ideas get responses from city officials, helping show the value of community participation. I think it’s an interesting way to get the general public thinking about what their city and community means to them (and if web isn’t your think, you can text your ideas). You can read more about the project on The City Fix and GOOD.

It reminds me a bit of what OpenIDEO is doing through their design challenges (but OpenIDEO is more process-driven. Speaking of which, they launched a cool new brainstorming tool this week.

{top: screen shot from giveaminute.info}