Initially published by YPLD and republished in Atlantic Cities’ blog (September 2014) Many studies affirm the importance of the local level when tackling climate change. Cities concentrate the most part of the population, the energy consumption and the pollution due to transports. Thus, local authorities are the best placed to find significant tools to reduce the …
No city is an island
Originally posted in Atlantic Cities’ blog (August 2014) Cooperation has become, in EU jargon, an unavoidable word. At the same time, together with the progression made by cohesion policy, the urban dimension has turned the hottest point in the European agenda. So even if the crisis makes individual strategies more tempting, the time has come …
City Branding: The French Revolution
Originally published at Atlantic Cities’ blog (July 2014) July 14th marks the anniversary of the capture of La Bastille by the people of Paris. Because traditional celebrations are a significant component of branding, today we will focus on how city branding has been tackled by some French cities. As a pioneer, the OnlyLyon trademark cannot be dismissed when …
What is the city but the people?
Initially published at CAAC blog An article written for the Urban Solutions Seminar, Birmingham May 2012. Amazing cities. Social constructions, where the best and the worst of humanity live together. From the first fortifications in the Middle Ages to the megapolis of Tokio or Mexico, cities have developed and now seem the most …
Some ideas on city storytelling
Initially published at CAAC blog Explained by Zideate, “as a marketing tactic, storytelling is based on the premise that people remember information better when it is told as a story rather than presented as a list of facts. This is largely because stories are more relatable and inspire an emotional reaction in an audience. Any marketing …
4 P’s for Placemaking
Initially published at CAAC blog Several definitions tackle the concept of Place Making. The description of Wikipedia cannot be dismissed, as it enounces that “Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces. Placemaking capitalizes on a local community’s assets, inspiration, and potential, with the intention of creating …
How may EU communication be improved? Colour, Emotion and Empathy
Communication has become more multidimensional than ever. In almost any communication initiative, a fixed, colourful image escorts a text which is completed by a video whose sound will be a tube in the radio, and so on. Virality seems to be the new nirvana to be attained and the requirements of Social Media are the …
Three secrets and three tips of external evaluation
As we are involved in the implementation of our project and the first results start coming, the need for an external evaluation may seem preposterous. Even worst, the assessment maybe carried out only for the sake of the funding organization, in the view to present the next project in a favorable light. Of course, …
Participatory Budgeting: Lisbon
A notorious pioneer in social innovation, Lisbon was the first European Capital in implementing the participatory budgeting. Up to an amount equivalent to 5% of the investment budget (which until this issue has been of five million euros) the Lisbon Participatory Budget (PB) runs along a cycle with several phases. As it is completely based …