Public Learning Towards Smart Urban Places

• In Event: Hi-Tech, Low-Tech, Self-Tech: Tactics for the Production and Consumptions of Playful Social Public Spaces - II

Abstract

Civic IDEA is a pedagogical framework for translating public learning to advocacy. IDEA stands for: Investigation of issues, Deliberation on the values framing those issues, Expression of alternative narratives, and Advocacy for change. It is the guiding principle of Beta Blocks, a smart city project in Boston that seeks to involve publics in imagining how technology can transform their places. Beta Blocks creates block-level experimentation zones that encourage publics to explore how technologies might improve their lives. The zones are anchored by the installation of a custom inflatable “Block” in public libraries. The Block hosts rotating technologies for publics to Investigate, Deliberate upon, Experiment with in the public realm, and Advocate (IDEA) for whether, when, and how those technologies manifest in their lives. Block activities include the display of the technology in question, a data exploration portal, invitation to reflect on the technology and data, and opportunities to think creatively about how the technology might provide public value. Interested publics will be invited to join compensated teams that conduct technology experiments in the public realm, and workshops on Data Literacy, Technology and Society, and Experimental Design will support the efforts of those teams. Observational, survey, interview, and focus group qualitative data will be collected from City of Boston staff, project partners, and Beta Blocks participants. This data will be analyzed to understand the civic imaginaries of each stakeholder group. To STS, Beta Blocks contributes an innovative method for democratizing the manifestation of technologies in the public realm.

Authors

• Eric Gordon, Emerson College

• John Harlow, Engagement Lab @ Emerson College