"JPI Urban Europe ENSUF" Learning Loops in the Public Realm
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Manchester
Department Name: Environment, Education and Development
Abstract
The public realm is a place where urban stakeholders interact and sometimes come into conflict. Symptoms such as traffic congestion, street safety and air pollution are difficult to tackle, as they involve multiple stakeholders. Planning and implementation to improve public space can be enhanced through co-creation, but examples of co-creation approaches and tools that overarch the full planning cycle are rare. The aim of the LOOPER is to build a participatory co-creation methodology and platform, to demonstrate 'learning loops' i.e. new ways of decision-making which bring together citizens, stakeholders and policy-makers to iteratively learn how to address urban challenges. A typical loop starts with debate on topical issues, then frames the problem and collects data using participatory sensing. The platform then visualizes the data, and enables the co-design and evaluation of solutions. The selected solutions are then implemented, and the results are monitored with a second loop learning from the first. LOOPER will produce a prototype platform with demonstrations in three Urban Living Labs with different spatial, cultural and thematic contexts: traffic calming and pedestrianisation in Brussels; street safety and security in Manchester; environmental pollution in Verona. It will also provide guidance, available for to enable any city to improve its decision-making.
Planned Impact
The main stakeholders and beneficiaries of this project include:
- Municipal departments particularly in planning, transport, housing, environment and LED
- Third sector / non-governmental organisations particularly in housing design and management, urban environmental protection, place-making and transport
- Communities, residents, citizens and local stakeholders (not necessarily the same persons)
- Private companies associated with urban planning and design, public consultation,
The overarching objective of LOOPER is to to realise the goal of a fully responsive, participatory and inclusive planning and decision-making process. To do this it will develop and test a tool which combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies, in conjunction with online and offline tools. This involves two main types of outcomes: improved decision making processes and the implementation of new solutions. These outcomes have a series of financial, social / environmental and policy impacts at both the local level and European level.
Financial impacts for urban stakeholders: The global market for smart cities and urban infrastructure is estimated to be worth up to $1.5 trillion by 2020. At the same time it is clear that pilots and demonstration projects have not yet led to the effective scaling of urban solutions.
The outputs from LOOPER embed technical solutions in local needs through the development of a full learning loop co-creation process. A key impact of this will be to improve the ability of municipal stakeholders to successfully implement urban solutions, and the potential financial benefits of this are very substantial. Locally, urban planners, residents and NGOs will benefit from more efficient and attractive urban infrastructure which, for example, provides ecosystem services, improves air quality, and reduces carbon emissions. Nationally and internationally businesses will benefit from being able to deploy their products and services more effectively. This is especially important in terms of the LOOPER tools themselves, which will be fully exploited in terms of commercialisable value.
Social and environmental impacts: A long standing mission in urban planning is a participative and inclusive decision-making process that is at the same time fully evidence based and robust in different places and different sectors. By embedding the co-creation process in rigorous learning loops, LOOPER will provide a platform for both scientists and practitioners to collaborate in a way that produces satisfying outputs for residents and planners. The impacts of this will be to enable local authorities and 3rd sector agencies to respond more effectively to citizen and community needs. Alongside, the more intangible benefits to municipalities and service providers include enhanced trust and improved satisfaction. A key impact of the citizen role in local decision-making involves greater political buy-in and the development of secondary competencies around consultation and participation.
Policy impacts local & national: A key output of LOOPER involves a tool to enable more rigorous forms of co-creation capable of supporting a new model of decision-making. LOOPER uses quantitative and qualitative research to understand how cities function and assess the effectiveness of key interventions and decisions. A key impact of LOOPER will be to develop a model of urban decision-making that brings scientific evidence and specific community needs together, while also opening up space for organisations and businesses to engage in remaking cities. Within the project, LOOPER will implement a new decision making tool in three cities which will impact directly upon the organisations involved.
- Municipal departments particularly in planning, transport, housing, environment and LED
- Third sector / non-governmental organisations particularly in housing design and management, urban environmental protection, place-making and transport
- Communities, residents, citizens and local stakeholders (not necessarily the same persons)
- Private companies associated with urban planning and design, public consultation,
The overarching objective of LOOPER is to to realise the goal of a fully responsive, participatory and inclusive planning and decision-making process. To do this it will develop and test a tool which combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies, in conjunction with online and offline tools. This involves two main types of outcomes: improved decision making processes and the implementation of new solutions. These outcomes have a series of financial, social / environmental and policy impacts at both the local level and European level.
Financial impacts for urban stakeholders: The global market for smart cities and urban infrastructure is estimated to be worth up to $1.5 trillion by 2020. At the same time it is clear that pilots and demonstration projects have not yet led to the effective scaling of urban solutions.
The outputs from LOOPER embed technical solutions in local needs through the development of a full learning loop co-creation process. A key impact of this will be to improve the ability of municipal stakeholders to successfully implement urban solutions, and the potential financial benefits of this are very substantial. Locally, urban planners, residents and NGOs will benefit from more efficient and attractive urban infrastructure which, for example, provides ecosystem services, improves air quality, and reduces carbon emissions. Nationally and internationally businesses will benefit from being able to deploy their products and services more effectively. This is especially important in terms of the LOOPER tools themselves, which will be fully exploited in terms of commercialisable value.
Social and environmental impacts: A long standing mission in urban planning is a participative and inclusive decision-making process that is at the same time fully evidence based and robust in different places and different sectors. By embedding the co-creation process in rigorous learning loops, LOOPER will provide a platform for both scientists and practitioners to collaborate in a way that produces satisfying outputs for residents and planners. The impacts of this will be to enable local authorities and 3rd sector agencies to respond more effectively to citizen and community needs. Alongside, the more intangible benefits to municipalities and service providers include enhanced trust and improved satisfaction. A key impact of the citizen role in local decision-making involves greater political buy-in and the development of secondary competencies around consultation and participation.
Policy impacts local & national: A key output of LOOPER involves a tool to enable more rigorous forms of co-creation capable of supporting a new model of decision-making. LOOPER uses quantitative and qualitative research to understand how cities function and assess the effectiveness of key interventions and decisions. A key impact of LOOPER will be to develop a model of urban decision-making that brings scientific evidence and specific community needs together, while also opening up space for organisations and businesses to engage in remaking cities. Within the project, LOOPER will implement a new decision making tool in three cities which will impact directly upon the organisations involved.
Organisations
- University of Manchester (Collaboration, Lead Research Organisation)
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Co-funder)
- Arts and Humanities Research Council (Co-funder)
- Manchester City Council (Collaboration, Project Partner)
- Cardiff University (Collaboration)
- University of Surrey (Collaboration)
Publications
Dixon T
(2022)
Re-imagining the future: city-region foresight and visioning in an era of fragmented governance
in Regional Studies
Evans J
(2019)
Smart and sustainable cities? Pipedreams, practicalities and possibilities
in Local Environment
Ravetz J
(2017)
Rethinking Masterplanning: Creating Quality Places
Ravetz J
(2022)
Multidisciplinarity and Interdisciplinarity in Health
Ravetz Joe
(2020)
Deeper City: Collective Intelligence and the Pathways from Smart to Wise
Description | Key discoveries: - take up of online tools for community co-design of solutions to public realm challenges varies across different socio-economic contexts - residents are not always enthusiastic about giving up time to monitor things like air quality when they already know them to be a problem - the process of deep consultation to generate an understanding of key community concerns and then ranking with delivery stakeholders is an effective way to identify desirable and feasible solutions, as well as generating buy-in from partners in the form of in-kind and financial support - data on traffic, noise and air quality is effective to engage community including hard to reach groups such as young to middle age males - small scale interventions including planters, hanging baskets, 20mph speed limits, welcome signs, banners and street art have been effective in addressing resident concerns over appearance and safety of neighbourhood. Small scale greening provided the most cost-effective and inclusive solution. - professional stakeholders have reported considerable impacts on their practices - the Looper mode of governance is being taken up by Manchester City Council in their South Manchester Neighbourhood Planning and by other research projects nationally |
Exploitation Route | The findings will be relevant to all organisations involved in local community consultation and planning. The deliverables in the final year of the project are intended to present these findings to these audiences. Work so far interviewing professional stakeholders in the project has revealed considerable impact on professional practices in terms of: engaging citizens in co-creation, the potential to use trials to test for best solutions and generate buy-in, and the power of resident-led, data informed governance processes in legitimising local investment and action. |
Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Construction Environment Healthcare Government Democracy and Justice Transport |
URL | http://looperproject.eu/output/deliverables/ |
Description | The local work in Manchester has generated impacts in the form of: - commitments by the City Council and Housing organisation to fund elements of the public realm improvements. - changed working practices among the professional partners (including construction company on site) in the form of new skills around community consultation and place-making. - the Looper model of governance is being used by Manchester City Council in other initiatives and by research projects at the University of Surrey. - the Looper living lab in Manchester is hosting a follow on project funded through the Enhancing Place-Based Public Engagement project on citizen sensing for urban health, led by Professor Sheena Cruickshank and funded by Research England. Internationally, the project has highlighted the importance of cultural and socio-economic differences in shaping how community-led, data informed governance should be practised. These findings have now been published in the end of project report. |
First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Construction,Environment,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice,Transport |
Impact Types | Societal Policy & public services |
Description | Contributed to revision of EU "Regional Innovation Strategy 3 " |
Geographic Reach | Europe |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Impact | Improvements to EU regional development policy. Impacts not felt yet. |
URL | http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/-/european-structural-and-investment-funds-and-european-fund-for-... |
Description | Homes England strategic program: invited presentation and expert |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
Description | UK Collaboratorium for Research in Infrastructure & Cities: Urban Observatories (Strand B) |
Amount | £8,000,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/P016782/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2017 |
End | 03/2022 |
Title | Development of methods to engage hard-to-reach residents and communities |
Description | To prepare the activities on the ground and linking it to online activities, the academic partners have reviewed and subsequently developed methods for the Living Labs on the inclusion of hard to reach groups, co-design and evaluation of ideas. These are now being employed on the ground. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | These methods are being implemented across the three living labs and will be formally evaluated in the final year of the project. Non-academic partners uptake of these methods will also be captured. |
URL | http://looperproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/LOOPER_D3.2_Hard_to_Reach_Groups_FINAL.pdf |
Title | Online platform to support learning loops in the public realm |
Description | The partners have developed an online platform together that includes participatory data collection, visualization and idea generation. A prototype is being tested and will be revised throughout the project. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The platform is being used by partners and communities in the three case study living labs. |
URL | http://looperproject.eu/co-creationplatform/ |
Title | Pathways Toolkit (aka 'Synergistic Toolkit;) |
Description | The key to positive transformations we see as the 'collective intelligence' - the capacity for collaborative learning, thinking, co-creation and co-production: between a wider community of interest, with deeper layers of value, for further horizons of change and transformation. Synergistics - the art and science of synergies - is at the centre of this view of cognitive complex systems - social, techincal, economic, environmental, political, cultural etc. The Pathways Toolkit has been developed over 15 years of front line experience. It contains a series of templates and techniques, which can be applied in several ways: - Basic templates for visual thinking, analysis / synthesis, discussion & deliberation - 'Platform': a virtual hub for information connectivity - 'Playbook': a tangible boundary object for framing questions & elicitation - 'Role-play': step by step for turning your problem into opportunity Folllowing the Covid-19 lockdown these techniques all moved to online options, using Mural and Kumu as the main platforms. |
Type Of Material | Improvements to research infrastructure |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The Pathways Toolkit is attracting interest from academics and practitioners, at local / national / global levels |
URL | https://sites.manchester.ac.uk/synergistics/toolkit/ |
Title | LOOPER visualisation platform |
Description | Visualisation of data for Manchester living lab |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Use by research team and local stakeholders |
URL | http://manchester.looperproject.eu/visualisation/ |
Title | Manchester Urban Observatory |
Description | Hosts the traffic sensor data recorded as part of the Looper project |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Traffic data has been used by local neighbourhood association to petition for traffic crossing |
URL | http://130.88.41.228 |
Title | Traffic and Noise Data for Brunswick Street/Ardwick, 2019-2020 |
Description | Traffic and Noise Data for Brunswick Street/Ardwick, 2019-2020 |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Traffic and Noise Data for Brunswick Street/Ardwick, 2019-2020 |
URL | https://reshare.ukdataservice.ac.uk/854552/ |
Description | Enhancing place-based Partnerships in Public Engagement: Developing community co-researchers to investigate air quality, health and well-being in Brunswick |
Organisation | University of Manchester |
Department | School of Medicine Manchester |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We have been assisting in the delivery of the citizen engagement. |
Collaborator Contribution | Partners have contributed expertise on public health and mobile health monitoring |
Impact | Multi-disciplinary involving public health |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | International comparison of hazard resilient cities: From risk evaluation to developing pathways |
Organisation | Cardiff University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | International comparison of urban resilience, drawing on the Peri-cene project |
Collaborator Contribution | International comparison of urban resilience, drawing on similar projects in China & UK |
Impact | Outputs are still work in progress: The project is highly multi-disciplinary, including - earth sciences - climate change impacts - disaster management - urban & rural planning - adaptive governance - complex systems analysis |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Local-wise (Urban participatory research & knowledge loops) |
Organisation | Manchester City Council |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | The 'Local-wise' program, (funded by ESRC via UOM), has two main aims: External - knowledge exchange / co-production between UOM and the wider community policy / service providers, locally and the GM city-region; Internal - promote the practice of 'participatory research', with the skills and resources needed, within UOM & partners. These will be provided via three main actions: Demonstration: highlight the principles and practice of knowledge co-production / participatory research, via a short pilot project, which sets up further funding; Training: provide an outline of good practice in participatory co-production, for future research proposals and funding programs; Evaluation: outline assessments of some example recent projects, with a framework which builds on the above, and validates the agenda for institutional learning. |
Collaborator Contribution | Manchester City Council (Neighbourhoods Directorate) is providing high level access to policy development process, plus significant staff time for engagement and dialogue |
Impact | Work in progress as of March 2023 The project is highly multi-disciplinary, including the following : - urban planning - public administration - urban sociology - complex system analysis |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | Loop-3 (Local Loops & Links) |
Organisation | Manchester City Council |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | This concept builds on the Looper project 2018-2020 (www.looperproject.eu ), which highlighted the 'active' potential at the neighbourhood level. We were fortunate to gain CoA additional funding due to the disruption on the Looper project. This is proposed to fund a small pilot project 'Loop-3', which puts the Looper findings into active use, with an added focus on organizational learning and policy coordination in typical inner city communities. |
Collaborator Contribution | Manchester City Council has provided large amounts of officer time for consultation and fieldwork information gathering, along with on-site office premises. |
Impact | work has just commenced as of March 2021 |
Start Year | 2021 |
Description | Manchester City Council |
Organisation | Manchester City Council |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Support South Manchester Neighbourhood Team in developing plans for active transport and greening plans |
Collaborator Contribution | Support with LOOPER actions and uptake of the outputs of the project in future local activities |
Impact | The activity is in process |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | NorthWest Guildford 2030 |
Organisation | University of Surrey |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Knowledge transfer of LOOPER governance model. |
Collaborator Contribution | Adopting the LOOPER governance model |
Impact | Computer Science |
Start Year | 2019 |
Company Name | Urban 360 |
Description | Urban 360 provides a range of services with a focus on environmental monitoring such as air quality, including maintenance, analytics and reporting. |
Year Established | 2021 |
Impact | Air quality monitoring services for a range of city councils Air quality training for city councils |
Website | https://urbanthreesixty.com/ |
Description | A presentation of the LOOPER governance model |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | This was a presentation by Dr Ioanna Tantanasi to fellow academics at the University of Surrey at the Computer Science department. This was prior to Ioanna starting a part-time research post with the team at Surrey (project called NW Guildford 2030). The purpose was to transfer knowledge from the LOOPER governance model with the scope to replicate part of it in the NW Guildford 2030 project which shared very similar characteristics. There were about 20 participants ranging from academics, PhD students, members of the local RSPB, members of the Surrey Wildlife Trust, members of Guildford Borrow Council -including two local Councillors Ms Fiona White and Ms Julia McShane. There was strong interest in the LOOPER governance model, which lead to further discussions to explore avenues for future collaborations between the Surrey lead (Prof. Paul Krause) and LOOPER's PI (Prof. James Evans). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Belmont Forum Keynote |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | 1. Keynote at Belmont Forum London workshop on SUGI / JPI (Sustainable Urbanization Global Initiative) Food-Energy-Water Nexus, 'inspirational introduction', based on Looper principles, June 11 2018. Audience: around 120 academic / policy, from EU and global. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Blog for urban transformations |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | CO-CREATING LEARNING LOOPS FOR PUBLIC REALM IMPROVEMENTS IN BRUNSWICK, MANCHESTER |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.urbantransformations.ox.ac.uk/blog/2018/co-creating-learning-loops-for-public-realm-impro... |
Description | Blog piece |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
Results and Impact | Blog piece reporting on the first 6 months of the project, focusing on the activities in Manchester and their social responsibility elements. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://seedsrsite.wordpress.com/blog/ |
Description | Community engagement workshops (x 3) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | This was part of three community engagement workshops that Dr Ioanna Tantanasi organised and ran as part of her NW Guildford 2030 project at the University of Surrey. The purpose was to collect data for the said project but seeing that the said project was using some of the LOOPER tools she briefly spoke about the LOOPER model too. There were in total 3 workshop sessions carried out with Year 9, 10 and 11 students. The size of each cohort was on average 20-25 pupils. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |
URL | https://nwguildford2030.wordpress.com/news/ |
Description | Eversheds Place-making practitioner conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | 9. Eversheds Sutherland practitioner conference: 'Remaking Manchester - Placemaking and transformation' - panellist, with exposition of Looper principles. Nov 16th 2017. Audience around 200 mainly practitioners from real estate & infrastructure sectors. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | IHEDATE institute UK visit |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Gave talk to a large delegation of French planning professionals. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://ihedate.org/ |
Description | Joint MUI / MIOIR seminar: Policy Innovation in Indonesia |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | INNOVATING POLICY FROM THE CENTRE The case of Indonesia's development priorities 2014-2019 A joint seminar: Manchester Institute of Innovation Research - Alliance Manchester Business School: and Manchester Urban Institute - School of Environment and Development University of Manchester, The Penthouse Event Space, 3 October 2019, 4.00pm By Yanuar Nugroho, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Executive Office of the President, Indonesia; Honorary Research Fellow, University of Manchester, United Kingdom (Chair: Joe Ravetz, MUI) Abstract How can science-technology-innovation (STI) studies help with policy and policy-makers on the ground? Just as cities show layers through time, many public institutions seem to address the problems of the past. But looking forward, in urban and economic development, social policy and public services, there are new and powerful insights coming from non-Western settings. This points to the Looper theme of digitally enhanced learning loops and active co-governance: the possible extension to the Global South is of topical interest. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.alliancembs.manchester.ac.uk/events/innovating-policy-from-the-centre/ |
Description | Keynote at EU workshop "Regional Innovation Strategy 3: "'How do cities learn and think'? |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Launch & review of program & partnership to explore improvements to EU regional development policy. Contributed to revision of RIS3 program |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/-/european-structural-and-investment-funds-and-european-fund-for-... |
Description | Keynote at the EU Joint Research Centre Workshop "Regional Innovation Strategy 3 in Greece: Consolidating Governance and Raising Ambition", Thessaloniki, |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Keynote at the EU Joint Research Centre Workshop "Regional Innovation Strategy 3 in Greece: Consolidating Governance and Raising Ambition", Thessaloniki, The JRC, in collaboration with our central government partner, the Ministry of National Economy and Development under the framework of the project "RIS3 Support to Lagging Regions" organised a workshop in Thessaloniki on 13 February 2019. The workshop "RIS3 in Greece: Consolidating Governance and Raising Ambition" had two aims: • To contribute to the improvement of RIS3 governance. A practical step in this direction was the participatory exercise on governance with representatives from all 13 regions • To raise the ambition of RIS3 in Greece in preparation for the next programming period. To this end, invited experts presented examples of integrated projects aiming to transform production and consumption systems. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/-/lagging-regions-workshop-ris3-in-greece-consolidating-governan... |
Description | Keynote at the EURAC conference on ''Fit for the Future by Design' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | On the frontiers between multiple types of knowledge - from rationalist to experiential - images, imaginaries and imagination each have essential roles to play, for a deeper and wider kind of inter-connected knowledge. Here we introduce a fourth dynamic: 'imagineering'. Just as 'engineering' is about the process and skills for creating physical constructions, imagineering is about the process and skills for enabling and exploring 'imaginaries and imaginations'. Imagineering processes point towards the idea of a 'collective intelligence', with many practical applications in social, technical, economic, environmental, political or cultural systems, and their many combinations (Ravetz 2020). Here the role of visual systems design thinking is crucial, in helping to see beyond the technocratic paradigm, towards more holistic, experiential, co-creative modes of shared learning and deliberation. Follow up is now taking shape in the form of a research consortium (depending on Horizon Europe / UK axis) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.eurac.edu/en/institutes-centers/center-for-advanced-studies/news-events/fit-for-the-futu... |
Description | Keynote for Royal Geographical Society / IBG Forum on 'City of Tomorrow' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Our panel examines alternative visions of urban futures, covering planning, sustainability, governance and new technology, they give a sense of how everyday city life is being reimagined by geographers. The panel included Prof Alison Browne (Cardiff), Tim Schwanen (Oxford) and Joe Ravetz (Manchester) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.rgs.org/all/?day=2019-10-24 |
Description | Keynote for UoM Industry 4.0 Symposium |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | UoM Industry 4.0 Symposium, invited keynote: 'Urban 4.0 for Industry 4.0' "There are huge opportunities in smart city IoT, and also a realization that there is more to cities than a set of technical problems, and hence a growing agenda to look 'from smart to wise'. This raises the current debate on 'smart inclusive growth', and the social context of Industry 4.0 in skills and training, careers and livelihoods, and local investment for global value chains. All this raises the prospect of 'collective industrial intelligence', where an Industry 4.0 model reaches beyond the production chain, to wider demand side and societal linkages. And if this calls for not just a 'triple helix' of policy / business / academia, but an urban Multi-Versity, where everyone can learn from everyone, it may be that Manchester is ideally placed to put such ideas into practice |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.industry40summit.com/academia |
Description | Keynote to KU leaven Sustainable Campus symposium |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Keynote delivered to University researchers and staff "Setting up and scaling up a living lab." Living in a Lab? Looking for Sustainable Solutions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | https://www.kuleuven.be/lsue/livinglabs/program/ |
Description | Led a workshop on the 'smart settlement' development program with Homes England, IBI Consulting and East Cheshire District. |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Led a workshop on the 'smart settlement' development program with Homes England, IBI Consulting and East Cheshire District. This was a proto-pilot test bed for a proposed urban living lab. The smart demonstrator now moving forward in E Cheshire and possibly other sites, is an ideal 'experimental zone', a so-called urban Living Lab. Such a Lab would include: - A medium-longer term investigation, starting with site brief and pre-planning, through design, construction, occupation and maintenance. - Focus on the links between technical innovation and social / economic / governance innovations - A framework for monitoring & evaluation of the development in practice through the life cycle. Urban living labs are in operation, around the EU and beyond. Most are combinations of the following: • Trial / demonstration of new systems, prototypes, innovations under real world conditions • Enclave or niche, for controlled experimentation & evaluation • Platform for learning between various actors & sectors, in a 'multi-versity' (multi-helix) effect |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Lisbon, European Trade Union Institute, facilitator of Foresight-III workshop on the future of the EU trade union movement |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Contribution based on Learning Loop principles. Audience: 18 practitioners from around the EU |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | MAMCA workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | MAMCA workshop held in November 2018 to co-design solutions to local challenges. Professional participants said that they had been inspired by the workshop, with one stating that he had been 'Loopered'! This laid the ground for the joint actions and the commitments of partners to fund elements of the public realm improvements. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Manchester Leadership Programme lecture |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | 'Sustainability and beyond: living the sustainable community dream' Audience: approx. 250 mainly UG / PG students from Humanities |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018 |
Description | Pint of Science: 'Smart cities - the future urban' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | This is one of 6 events in 32 cities in the 'Pint of Science' https://pintofscience.co.uk/ - new research frontiers as seen through the glass of reality We may not see flying cars above Oxford Road by 2030, but our cities are changing...they're getting smarter. So does that mean humans are getting dumber?? Join us in an interactive evening where we will explore how cities can be made into 'future-proof', 'smart-wise' liveable communities. Joe Ravetz & Dr Nuno Pinto (Joe is Future Cities Lead at the Manchester Urban Institute: Nuno is Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning and Urban Design, The University of Manchester) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.pintofscience.co.uk/event/smart-cities-the-future-of-our-urban-areas |
Description | Qatar International Energy & Carbon Transitions Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | p Presentation on 'Low carbon pathways and the deeper ecological mind - local communities with global aspirations' Doha, 27-28 Nov 2017. Audience: around 60 academics / policy / consultants, mainly from Arab states but also global. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Sustainable Homes and Communities Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Contributed to development of follow on project funded as part of the European ERDF SmartLine project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Universidade Baja California Mexicali research presentation |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
Results and Impact | Interest from Mexican civil society organisations in LOOPER project and methods |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.uabc.mx/iis/eventos.html |