Presentation from the second of two workshops run by Social Life and Cisco about using digital technology to build resilient communities in Chicago's South Side.

1. Using digital technology to create
resilient neighbourhoods in
Chicago’s South Side
Nicola Bacon & Saffron Woodcraft
Workshop July 19, 2012

2. Social Life is a new venture set up in 2012, with a strong
heritage.

3. We continue to build neighborhoods that fail to thrive as
flourishing communities and struggle finding ways to revive
failing areas.

4. This is a global issue.

5. We believe we can learn from both the mistakes, and the
hopes, of the past.

6. Where are the people?

7. Our approach: putting people at the
heart of placemaking

8. Our work: hands-on local innovation

9. Our tools: understanding how places
innovate
Research investigating what
enables some places to
innovate successfully.
Case studies about public
and community sector
innovation in cities.
Focus on UK, USA, France &
Netherlands.

10. Our tools: understanding how places
innovate
1
Prompts
2
Proposals
6
Systemic
3
Prototypes change
4
Sustaining
5
Scaling
The Young Foundation social innovation spiral

11. Hands on innovation: practitioners workshops in in Malmö,
Sweden

12. Our work: social sustainability

13. Our tools: a framework for social
sustainability
The Young Foundation/Social Life Social Sustainability Framework, 2011

14. Our first question: what is a
community?
A UK mainstream
version: defining
a sustainable
community
Source: Egan review 2004

15. A US version:
what makes a
successful
place?
Source: Project for Public
Spaces

16. But what about…
• A sense of identity: a place people feel they
belong
• Local history, myths & stories
• Strong social relationships, networks & bonds
• Trusting the neighbors
• Rituals and rhythms
• Physical boundaries to promote geographical
identity
• Visible leadership

17. Stuck vs dynamic?

18. Our tools: a framework for social
sustainability
The Young Foundation/Social Life Social Sustainability Framework, 2011

19. Future communities: Barking Riverside

20. Eco Bicester: working with Cherwell council and the developer of
exemplar stage to build social sustainability into the ambitious new
development, planned to be 20,000 homes over 20 years.

21. Working with Berkeley Group, exploring how to understand and
measure the social sustainability of the places they build.

22. Our work: resilient communities

23. What is resilience?
• The ordinary superpower…
• Resilience is the ability of a
person, group or community to
bounce back in the face of
adversity
• Adaptability matters for
individuals, families, communities
and cities
• Good and bad happens
everywhere
• Resilience is not static: it can be
changed.

24. Survival resilience vs adaptive resilience

25. Structural
Open up opportunities,
increase confidence
We increase resilience
through:
• Increasing access to
Social
opportunity
• Boosting local
leadership
• Building identity and Emotional
belonging
• Creating and Increase wellbeing,
isolation, hope, optimism
strengthening local
social networks and
neighborliness

26. What interventions build resilience?
Full of life: tested in Brixton and Kingston in London, peer to peer
learning, using volunteers trained by experts

28. Wellbeing and resilience in Poplar, East London

29. How do we build community resilience?

31. Feedback from July 18

32. 21 participants from community and city-wide agencies

33. Process of designing propositions for increasing resilience
through digital technology moving from the general to the
specific

34. Generated four propositions for development

35. A sample of the process

36. Structural
Open up opportunities,
increase confidence
We increase resilience
through: Social
• Increasing access to
opportunity
• Boosting local
leadership Emotional
• Building identity and Increase wellbeing,
belonging isolation, hope, optimism
• Creating and
strengthening local
social networks and
neighborliness

37. The Task
Ideas generation at speed, using the prompt cards.
Your question: how would you build resilience in
south side neighborhoods?

38. Our four propositions

39. The four propositions
• All grounded in neighbourhoods and
experience
• All combining on-the-ground
community development with digital
backing
• All building the conditions that will
boost resilience
• And encouraging take up of new
technology, encouraging wider use
• Boosting civic engagement, driving the
creation of bridging as well as bonding
social capital.

40. Proposition 1
Title: Adding barter to main street
Aims: To create a local “swap-shop”, on corner of 63rd and Cottage, which
will:
• Encourage greater foot traffic to other stores in area
• Improve perception of area
• Increase local social interaction, especially between private owners and
public housing
• Ensure preservation of local heritage in murals
• Kick off with a one off festival/event to get people to the area
• Extend the footprint of a ‘safe’ area
Local specificity: 63rd and Cottage
Technology use: Digital timebanking/sharing platform to be reinforced by
local activity

42. Proposition 2
Title: Flash blocks
Aims: Enable new use of empty spaces, in order to:
• Increase foot traffic
• Improve sense of community pride and ownership
• Provide a place to house community events
• Build community involvement
• Make the ‘sense of place’ more visible
• Potentially create more permanent opportunities for local entepreneurs
Local specificity: tbc, seek out enthusiasm and energy
Technology use: Digital technology is tool to communicate and convene, and
then network after the event

43. Proposition 3
Title: Building a city-wide placemaking app
Aims: Through creating a city-wide placemaking app with local ownership and
management we will:
• Increase belonging
• Build local identity
• Increase civic engagement
• Reduce social isolation by increasing connections
• Improve the quality of the built environment, create better places
• Bring together community organisations, developers, architects, citizens,
public service and business
Local specificity: City-wide
Technology use: multi-modal web, mobile and SMS capability
available at all community access hubs

44. Proposition 4
Title: Team Approach to Violence (TATV)
Aims: To focus on neighborhoods that have highest levels of digital exclusion
and violence, to use TV and mobile technology to inform government about
crime and disorder, anonymously, in order to:
• Reduce violence and crime
• Share information
• Create sense of public services and community as one team
• Empower community and individuals
• Encourage civic minded decision making
• Create a platform for broader dialogue
Local specificity: most troubled blocks, streets, neighborhoods in south side
Technology use: Make use of familiar technology that is used in areas where
digital uptake is low. Focus on technologies that are compatible with
anonymity.

45. Two questions
• If we use Flash Block and Main Street as
test beds for developing a city wide
digital place making tool, what would you
need to make it work for you?
• We know this will take time, money and
people, so what do we need to get it
started?

46. social-life.co
nicola.bacon@social-life.co
saffron.woodcraft@social-life.co