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"We are developing tools that apply findings from the fields of cognitive psychology and behavioral economics to the design process. These tools provide a head start on framing research as well as developing new strategies for solving user problems."
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"But what if we did take a single step further out? What if we imagined that the citizen-responsiveness system we’ve designed lives in a dense mesh of active, communicating public objects? Then the framework we’ve already deployed becomes something very different. To use another metaphor from the world of information technology, it begins to look a whole lot like an operating system for cities."
links: April 2010 Archives
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"39. We do not admire Picasso’s Guernica or Goya’s The Third of May 1808 solely because of the techniques used, yet we are often invited to admire computer art for just that reason. Art that is deliberately content-free is one thing. Art that is accidentally, lumpenly content-free is another."
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"The following two case studies demonstrate the struggle youth groups face when trying to promote sustainable, healthy, local food systems; they represent attempts by youth to access power over urban space via state structures. The information in the following came from informal interviews with project members."
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"More than 80 groups, schools and other organisations expressed an interest in participating in a ‘soil to table’ project devoted to finding a healthier, more sustainable local food system. These included primary and secondary schools, pre-school groups (Sure Start), residential homes, allotment associations, mental health units in local hospitals, residents’ groups, voluntary organisations and even the staff of a smart department store in a main shopping street in the town centre. The local council chipped in by agreeing to dig up part of the main local park so the Urban Farming teams could grow specialist plants and food there. "
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"Mobilizing around the food garden supported bonding among homogenous but separate third-sector organizations, through increased opportunities for networking which built trust, reciprocity and resource exchange. The project also provides a model for a community–university partnership providing opportunities for service learning by students and for social investment by the university."
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"They placed the Stranger Exchange box in Central Square during the late evening of October 25, 2009. Since then, either John or Chris tries to visit it every other day to see what has been left and taken. They’ve discovered books like A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, as well as movies, photographs, souvenirs, and even letters.
But what really has surprised the friends the most is the quality—and, in many instances, the effort—that has gone into some of the things that have been deposited. Plus, people are clearly making items specifically, for the box for no other reason than to share."
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"Window Farms are vertical, hydroponic, modular, low-energy, high-yield edible window gardens built using low-impact or recycled local materials."