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CIVIC LEARNING

Blog about working with communities and business to promote sustainable development

Tag: Smart City

Public Engagement Blog: Proaction Cafe creates debate about what Smart City should look like

12 May 201717 Jun 2019 Posted in Community, Higher Education, Participation, Public engagement, Research, Smart City, Uncategorized

Using waste ground coffee to grow mushrooms, create a make-do-and-mend culture and find ways to stimulate a ‘sharing economy’ were at least three ideas for a ‘Smart City’ I didn’t see coming. They were given to me at Leicester’s first Proaction Café at the LCB Deport. I was asked to host a table at the event and seek a solution to my challenge – in my case consulting people on what does Leicester as a Smart City mean to you? It is part of what hopefully be a series of Proaction Café’s in the city led by Leicester Interchange. Billed as ‘Idea Generation’, the event invited people to come to support others to generate ideas on how they can address social issues that affect the lives of Leicester’s residents. Around 30 people joined the session and they were invited to choose which subject they would like to contribute to from the five table hosts at the event.

Continue reading “Public Engagement Blog: Proaction Cafe creates debate about what Smart City should look like”
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Public Engagement blog: Design your life in an app and define what a Smart City could be…

26 Feb 201717 Jun 2019 Posted in Citizen Science, Participation, Public engagement, Research, Smart City, Uncategorized

What is a Smart City?

Most people don’t know what a ‘Smart City’ is, and let’s face it why would they care? Even the most simplified definition, like this one, taken from Wikipedia, would switch off any man or woman in the street quicker than a dodgy smartphone battery: “A smart city is an urban development vision to integrate multiple information and communication technology (ICT) and Internet of things (IoT) solutions in a secure fashion to manage a city’s assets – the city’s assets include, but are not limited to, local departments’ information systems, schools, libraries, transportation systems, hospitals, power plants, water supply networks, waste management, law enforcement, and other community services.” If you haven’t already blown your own brains out and get the gist of it, you soon realise that this stuff is much bigger than us, so probably wont engage with it. To quote The Smiths: “It says nothing to me about my life…”  I met with my colleague Dr Lee Hadlington who sits with me and on the De Montfort University Smart City Project Board to work out how we can get people more involved in the idea, as we work on a plan to see how Leicester could be a Smart City*.

Continue reading “Public Engagement blog: Design your life in an app and define what a Smart City could be…”
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I’m Mark Charlton, Associate Director of Sustainable Development Impact and Net Zero Research Director at De Montfort University (DMU), Leicester, United Kingdom.  I’m passionate about universities working with businesses and communities on ideas to tackle climate change and achieve the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. I am an advocate of Public Engagement in Research and Citizen Science as well as Service-Learning, community-based learning, civic learning, the scholarship of engagement, learning-linked volunteering and all the other ways we describe students sharing their skills and knowledge beyond the campus.  I currently lead the United Nations Academic Impact Initiative Global Academic Hub for SDG 16 at DMU. I am a PhD Scholar, researching the impacts of civic engagement on students’ political participation (SDG16). Contact me via mcharlton@dmu.ac.uk

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