High Technology : Development News

Last week, the city of Minneapolis introduced a mobile app for reporting non-emergency issues.

The free Minneapolis 311 app, which is available on both iPhone and Android platforms, supplements a city hotline. People can dial 311 to call attention to potholes, graffiti, broken streetlights, and so forth. (This can also be done on the city's website.)

Right now the app offers 10 different types of service requests that people can submit. It'll be expanded in the future depending on the demand, according to city information.

Thanks to GPS technology, the app can pick up the location of a certain request, according to Don Stickney, director of Minneapolis 311.

Further, service requests, which can be made even during 311’s off-hours, are trackable. Photos can be attached as well.

The app is a response to local and national trends. Many cities across the country have rolled out various types of apps in recent years. “The thing that we’ve seen is the utilization of smartphones,” Stickney says, adding that more and more visitors to the city’s website are using the devices.

The city is always working on increasing access, and this is another way to do so, he says.

SeeClickFix, a website that enables people to report neighborhood-level problems, developed the app, while Kana Software Inc. is “providing the technological framework to route the service requests” to the right city departments, according to city materials.

In a prepared statement about the app, City Council member Gary Schiff, who chairs the city’s Information Services Policy Steering Group, says that the app also helps in lean times. 

“While calls to 311 can take minutes and cost dollars, reporting the same thing with our new app takes seconds and only costs the city a few cents,” he says.

 
Source: Don Stickney, director of Minneapolis 311
Writer: Anna Pratt

To make the area more amenable to bicyclists, the Metropolitan Council has started gathering information about individual rides with the help of a smartphone app called CycleTracks.

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority originally developed the app to improve its transit system. Recently the California agency licensed the Met Council, for a fee, to use the same program locally, according to council information. 

Using GPS technology, the free app, which is available to both iPhone and Android users, captures data about cyclists’ routes, distance, and travel times. The app also collects demographic information such as age, gender, ride frequency, and so forth.  

Jonathan Ehrlich, a senior planner with the council, explains: “We’re using it for transportation planning. We can get data about cyclists, what facilities they’re using, and for what purpose.”

“The app tells us everywhere a bicyclist has been,” he says.

It also distinguishes recreational bicyclists from commuters and others who bike as a primary mode of transportation.

This information will tell the council “what roads and paths are being used and what ones are being avoided,” he says.  

People can also add notes about their ride.  

Right now the app has a couple hundred users and the council hopes to get several thousand. “We’re very pleased with the response so far,” Ehrlich says.

The council is trying to get as much data as possible this summer and fall, to aid in a private study.  
 
Another senior transportation planner, David Vessel, adds that this is “a great way for regional cyclists to contribute to a more accurate model of cycling activity and improve the plan for future cycling facilities.”  

At the same time, “The app stores the ride map and stats for the cyclist on their phone too,” he says, adding, “It is a handy free cycle computer.”

Source: David Vessel, Jonathan Ehrlich, senior transit planners, Met Council
Writer: Anna Pratt

The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis recently updated its self-guided audio tour of the building, which allows people to learn more about the theater at their own pace.

It’s accessible via smartphone, iPod, or other listening device, and devices can be checked out from the theater, according to Guthrie spokesperson Quinton Skinner.

The 40-minute tour takes people through various levels of the building, starting with the main lobby. Users can get behind-the-scenes details about the structure's architecture and history, including its auditoriums, artwork, lobbies, cafes, and meeting spaces.

A highlight is the cantilevered “endless bridge” that reaches toward the Mississippi River.

From level nine, people get a chance to take in “one of the best views of the city,” Skinner says.

The tour goes on to describe the building’s shiny blue facade, which is decorated with images of  playwrights who have special ties to the theater, he explains.

One benefit of the tour is that it's self-guided, so that “if someone is really entranced by a view, they can pause and reflect.”

When starting out, listeners get to choose between six different narrators: St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, WCCO-TV news anchor Angela Davis, performer and writer Kevin Kling, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, Cities 97 radio personality Brian (B.T.) Turner, and actor Sally Wingert, according to Guthrie information.

The idea behind the tour is to “remind people that the Guthrie is...[a] community treasure that’s open to the public everyday,” even when shows aren’t happening, Skinner says.

He admits that “it was a lot of hard work, working on the script and recording it and editing it and making it user-friendly,” but he hopes that the result is something that appeals to both out-of-towners and locals who are curious about the theater.  

Source: Quinton Skinner
Writer: Anna Pratt

A new digital mapping tool encourages community members to offer feedback on Minneapolis’s redistricting process in a hands-on way.

Common Cause Minnesota and the League of Women Voters worked together to present the web-based map following a similar project at the state level.  

Besides attending public meetings about the implications of U.S. Census changes, people can go to the website to redraw their ward and park boundaries as they see fit, according to Mike Dean, who heads Common Cause Minnesota.

The deadline for doing so is April 2.  

In contrast to how the process has been done in the past, the map “lets people have more of a voice,” he says, adding, “It’s much more transparent.”

“Too often, it’s the politicians drawing lines,” he says. “For the first time, citizens can bring their own ideas.” Community members “do a good job of protecting the neighborhoods,” and more ethnic communities are weighing in this time, as well, he says.

So far, over 40 maps have been submitted, while at least 130 people have registered to use the tool.

The website includes a video tutorial along with information about terminology and factors to keep in mind while using the tool.

In the first year that this technology has been available, “We’re revolutionizing the way redistricting works,” Dean says, adding, “I think we’ll see, in the future, citizens be significantly more engaged.”

“It helps move the process along much more quickly,” he says, and he hopes it’ll result in a better map, too.

The application comes from DistrictBuilder, which is an initiative from PublicMapping.org.

Source: Mike Dean
Writer: Anna Pratt

As a new way to reach targeted audiences, Minneapolis has recently joined Foursquare, a location-based social network.

On Foursquare, users can connect with friends by “checking in” at a site on their smartphone or other mobile device.

They’re able to swap local knowledge or get deals that are tied to certain locations.

Minneapolis spokesperson Matt Lindstrom says that the city is offering tips at specific places that help “advance and achieve specific goals for the city.”

He adds, “We’re trying to be strategic about where we reach people on Foursquare.”  

For example, if someone checks in at an area dog park or a pet store, they’ll find information about pet licensing, which “is important for animal control.”

The city is also trying to build awareness for its STEP-UP youth summer jobs program. On Foursquare, people can learn more about the program when they check in at school.
 
Likewise, check-ins at city buildings will pull up tips about following city council meetings in person or online, which, Lindstrom says, promotes transparency.

More tips will be added later on. “We want our tips to make sense and have a purpose for where we leave them,” he says.

Minneapolis has also been successful with Twitter and Facebook, according to Lindstrom.

Recently, the city got props from Government Technology magazine for having a couple of the most-followed municipal Twitter feeds nationwide.

“The reason we do [social media] is because that’s where people are,” he says. “It’s a great way to quickly share news and information. It’s also a way to hear what people have to say.”  

Source: Matt Lindstrom, spokesperson, city of Minneapolis  
Writer: Anna Pratt

St. Paul’s Frogtown Neighborhood Association (FNA) has generated a geographic information systems (GIS) map of the 5,500-household district to help it more dynamically engage the community.

The local Flat Rock Geographics helped it build the digital map, which was released in November following a couple of years of development, according to Tait Danielson Castillo, who leads the neighborhood group. “It’s about efficiency and organizing,” he says.   

The map, which was made possible through a $20,000 grant from the McKnight Foundation, allows FNA to quickly connect with people within a specific geographic area, including everything from information about who’s interested in gardening topics to crime statistics.

Most of the databases that neighborhood groups use are searchable only by person. “What we never thought about was how to categorize people based on interest and place of residence,” says Danielson Castillo.

The GIS map helps the organization get to the bottom of questions such as, “How many people would like to garden within 1,000 feet? How many water sources are nearby? How many vacant lots are within 1,000 feet?”
 
Some of the information has been manually entered in with the help of portable GPS devices, while other data may come from the city or county.

Danielson Castillo explains that it’s not about data mining, but freeing up time to make meaningful face-to-face connections. “It’s about the follow-up after we get people connected to the neighborhood organizations,” he says. “The system is only as powerful as the relationships that we build.”

Already, the system has had an impact. For example, when the city realigned the sewer system on Thomas Avenue, FNA used the map to connect with non-native English speakers, which helped avoid a potentially disastrous situation.   

Within a 24-hour period, Danielson Castillo was able to contact the street’s residents directly, sending translators where needed.

“The best system is still the phone or direct verbal contact. That’s still what we’re shooting for,” he says, adding that although social media are useful “We’re digressing in some ways, returning back to our roots and using technology at its best.”

The project’s next phase will involve maps that the public can use to learn more about current events, developments, public art projects, or the area’s history.

“We’re 90 percent sure that nobody else has used [the technology] this way,” he says. “No one else we know is using this on the community level.”   


Source: Tait Danielson Castillo, director, Frogtown Neighborhood Association
Writer: Anna Pratt

Last winter, when Matt Forrester worked in downtown Minneapolis, he often took the skyways to get around, but, at first it was challenging to find his way.

Forrester, who then worked at Thrivent Financial, frequently used the indoor walkways to get to the Minneapolis Convention Center. It took about five tries to master his route.

“It’s a terribly confusing system if you’re not there day-to-day, or if you’re not in your own office," he says.

That's where his cartography skills came in handy. Around the same time, he and his business partner, Kate Chanba, started a map-making company, Carticulate.

The existing skyway map, which the city has been using for a long time, is “really bad. There are a few things wrong,” for starters, and it’s difficult for those who are color-blind to read.

Forrester and Chanba put together an alternative skyway map to address those issues. When they published it online, it led to a huge spike on their website, he says.  

Subway maps like Harry Beck’s 1933 London Underground inspired them.

Their map shows multiple ways to get from point A to point B. Each building acts as a subway “stop” with seven different “lines,” which are color-coded.

They eliminated the background geography, such as cross streets, which helped simplify things. “Most people aren’t leaving the skyways,” he says.

Their goal is to get the map into the skyways, with some corresponding signage. “It definitely trumps any other map that’s out there,” he says, since other maps don’t clearly show connecting routes that go through multiple buildings. 

The challenge is that there’s no one entity governing the skyways.

Even though the pair moved their company to New York this month, they're staying the course. “We’d love to help out the area and benefit the city. We want to do what we can to make it better.”

Source: Matt Forrester, Carticulate
Writer: Anna Pratt

This year, a lot of local development projects got creative.

They innovated in community engagement, replacing the typical “request for proposals” with contests. Social media tools helped to keep the conversation going beyond the traditional town hall meeting. Artists and art-making were brought into the development process in fresh ways. And technology contributed to community-building via smartphones and QR codes.

For example, early in the year, the Mississippi Riverfront Design Competition attracted 55 proposals from around the globe.

In re-imagining a portion of the riverfront in Minneapolis, the idea was to emphasize parks as an “engine for sustainable recreational, cultural, and economic development along the riverfront,” according to project materials.

Today, the effort has evolved into the Minneapolis Riverfront Development Initiative (MRDI).

On Dec. 15, MRDI held a well-attended public meeting at the Mill City Museum to discuss the possibilities for a nearby ‘Water Works’ park along the river. In the past it was the site of the city’s first water supply and fire-fighting pumping stations.

Partners in Preservation

Partners in Preservation (PIP) from American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation had a contest to award $1 million to 13 local preservation projects. The public got to help determine where the money went by voting on Facebook for their favorite projects.

Chris Morris from the National Trust for Historic Preservation said that the contest raised the profile of a number of local preservation projects. He celebrated “the impact it can have on sites that are meaningful to people in their neighborhoods.” Additionally, through creative open-house events, people “tried to involve the community and do good work.”

The Weisman Art Museum held a contest that for the redesign of the bike and pedestrian plaza outside its door, hosting public meetings with interdisciplinary design teams and exhibiting preliminary sketches and models.

Similarly, Architecture Minnesota magazine, which the American Institute of Architects Minnesota publishes, is undergoing its second annual round of Videotect, a video competition that asks participants to contemplate the built environment. The theme this time is sustainable transportation and its enhancement through design. It’ll wrap up with a screening of the videos, giving the audience a chance to weigh in.

Irrigate   

Also on the transportation theme, Irrigate is a three-year place-making initiative that aims to connect artists to community development that will accompany the coming Central Corridor light rail transit line.  Springboard for the Arts, TC LISC and the city of St. Paul received $750,000 from the national funding group ArtPlace, to set it in motion.  

Laura Zabel, who heads Springboard, said, “We really see the Central Corridor and construction as an opportunity to engage artists in a really deep way."
 
Similarly, technology tools are helping to create a sense of community. Some recently released smartphone tours feature audio segments about local landmarks, like Ranger on Call, which touches on various aspects of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area.

Others, such as Saint Paul: Code Green put people on a kind of scavenger hunt in which they scan strategically placed QR codes to learn more or advance in the “game.”

Experience Southwest’s "shop local" marketing campaign in Southwest Minneapolis also takes advantage of QR codes to direct community members to area retailers.  
 
Going forward, I expect to see more experimentation of this kind in other areas--look for it in connection with locally trending topics like bicycling, solar power and urban farming.

Anna Pratt, Development Editor

A new audio tour created jointly by Minnesota Public Radio and the city of Minneapolis, called Sound Points, allows listeners to go behind the scenes of 14 recently commissioned public artworks.

Anyone who happens upon the sites, which are indicated with signs, can access the tour around the clock, either by making a phone call or by scanning a QR code with their smartphone.  

The Line recently featured a similar audio tour of the Mississippi River, called Ranger on Call, here.

While the cell phone tour is modeled after similar museum tours, it takes advantage of readily available technology, MPR producer Jeff Jones explains.

There's no need to check out equipment or stick to visiting hours and the artworks can be enjoyed in any order.

“You can just stumble upon these things now,” he says. “That’s what’s taking the tour outside the walls [of the museum]. It lets people find them on their own.”

And, unlike a video or a brochure, it doesn’t substitute for the experience. “It’s meant to enhance the experience of place,” he says.  

Many of the Sound Points can be found near bus stops, making it convenient for those who are already lingering.

For example, one part of the tour features the “Blossoms of Hope” bus shelter that artist Majorie Pitz created in conjunction with Catalyst Community Partners.

She turned the busy bus shelter at Penn and Broadway avenues in North Minneapolis into an oversized vase of flowers, with colorful petals that look like sails.  

After the July tornado that hit North Minneapolis, Jones says, “It became a rallying point for the community,” with services, food, and other assistance being handed out there.

“It was literally a bright spot. It’s a playful piece of art that can be seen from a long way off," says Jones.

Another of his favorite Sound Points centers on an artistically designed water fountain at 21st and Lake Street, titled “3 Forms: The Lake Street Bubbler.”

Water is the fountain’s theme, embodied grotto-style, so that “there are lots of tiny hidden objects and forms throughout the piece."

It’s one of the most satisfying aspects of an audio tour--to learn something that not everyone is privy to, he says.  

To take things a step further, the tour encourages people to respond, either with questions or personal anecdotes, in writing or verbally. 

Other tour highlights include Wing Young Huie’s “Lake Street USA,” which is displayed at the city’s Public Service Center downtown, the 35W Bridge Remembrance Garden, by landscape architect Tom Oslund, and “Enjoyment of Nature,” on Third and Nicollet, by artist Kinji Akagawa. 


Source: Jeff Jones, Sound Point Producer, MPR
Writer: Anna Pratt