Signal Group DC’s Post

I recently enjoyed the Blue Zones documentary on Netflix. It’s about the physical and social environments that promote long, healthy, and fulfilling lives. It’s fascinating to see the similarities and intersections with: - new/ancient urbanism (Strong Towns, 15-minute cities) - climate action (energy efficiency, diet, active & public transit) - health and happiness research (Together, by Vivek Murthy) - defending freedom (On Tyranny lessons 2, 4, & 12-15) - mindfulness practices As we might intuitively expect, it seems there are many co-benefits to be had from the work of cities and communities, and our active participation in them. https://www.bluezones.com/

Dropping another nugget of awesome from the Folklife Crew. Check out our new Wonder/Wander Asset Map. Changing the way we think about a festival, and also leaning in to one of the best parts of the Folklife Festival, Wonder/Wander encourages exploration, curiosity, and getting lost! Wonder/Wander starts out with 3 cities, but will one day include places all over Washington State. Each city has been split into its various neighborhoods and as you hover over those neighborhoods, we've started to compile lists of recurring events, venues, arts organizations and creative businesses that you can go and visit. For example: You wake up on a Saturday and say to yourself, "Self, I've always wanted to explore that Hillman City neighborhood!" Well, now you can go to our website, search through our Wonder/Wander map, and find something to do and somewhere to do it! We know things like this exist, but let's face it, there's nothing quite like this! #explore #curiousminds #wonder #wander https://lnkd.in/epNQQ2sa

Summer moving season is here. ⛱️🚛  What are you doing to prevent your residents from moving to a new building in the neighborhood? Stay ahead of the competition and see how you can win with technology in our latest blog post: https://lnkd.in/e2t3_xB9

Here's what we're reading this week

Great to see our urban heat study in Brisbane Times. We analysed the economic and ecological trade-off in the distribution of buildings and vegetation in Hamilton QLD, where the athletes' village for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be built. In our simulation, we show that a $1.19 billion increase in sales revenue would come with an increase of the maximum temperature difference from 4 to 5 degrees Celsius. See our study here: https://lnkd.in/gD5jDSa6 Matthias Tuczek, Kevin Desouza, Richard Watson, Tan Yigitcanlar, Michael Breitner #urbanheat #optimisation #decisionsupport #urbanplanning #2032olympics QUT (Queensland University of Technology) QUT Science, IT and Maths, #QUTScience QUT Engineering, Architecture and Built Environment QUT Business School Leibniz Universität Hannover KPMG Digital Frontier Partners The University of Georgia

How can we make cities more sustainable, more liveable and attractive? By 2030 over 80% of the worlds population will be living in cities, that is why we need to solve this challenge. Polluted and car-crowded cities need to become a thing of the past so that the people can take back their cities and navigate within 15 minutes of what is most important. Urban Future. Festival next year in June discusses all those topics. Think about how you can contribute to making your city more attractive. https://lnkd.in/ghf_UTdp

Day needs night, light needs dark. Today, on International Day of Light, let's marvel at the incredible power of light. Throughout the ages, light has fostered scientific discovery and technological innovation, and inspired creativity. Light shapes our world in profound ways. We at DarkSky are not against the use of light. We advocate for the responsible use of light when and where it is needed. We can work together to protect the night by following the Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting at Night (ROLAN) and continue to celebrate the role light plays in our lives. Learn more by following the link https://bit.ly/3U0zrNy 📷 A Camper on the banks of Lake Puakaki with Mt Cook in the distance and Southern lights over Lake Pukaki, New Zealand. #DarkSky #ProtectTheNight #DiscoverTheNight #DarkSkyInternational #SaveTheNight #NightMatters #LightPollution #InternationalDayOfLight #LightDay2024

Public Matters, LLC, This is incredible – the people, voices, platform-bending use of technology, media, and storytelling for community self-determination and change. ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ https://lnkd.in/eSTzQXB4

It is so powerful to have a journalist like Alissa Walker taking the whole historical view and documenting LA's steps to prepare for #Olympics28, because she nails it. Compare Paris/ Anne Hidalgo's leadership to what's now happening in LA. Here's a quote from Walker's EXCELLENT #Torched #newsletter piece. "To pivot away from 'car-free' would be very unfortunate at this moment. LA officials are at the Olympics right now to ostensibly learn from Paris, where leaders used the games to accelerate a permanent, citywide shift away from cars. In part because of the way Paris has re-allocated space to walkers and bikers, car use is rapidly declining among residents. Vehicular traffic fell 50 percent from 2002 and 2022 as Parisians overwhelmingly opted for other modes of transportation." Mayor Hidalgo re-allocated space away from cars and toward bike/walk long before the immediate years leading up to the Olympics. She saw it as a #ClimateInfluence win-win-win with the Paris games in the middle. Drivers get used to the changes, and as the numbers show, uptake on biking/walking and transit increases. Bold leadership in the form of a Mayor or other local leader - who also themselves are *seen* riding a bike or #ebike, or taking #transit - is the absolute key. It's what my entire #LivingChange #podcast is about. The leaders who do the more uphill front end work of making the changes they know are needed and trusting that the communities will come along. My Season 1 conversations with folks who are (or were at the time of recording) mayors or local leaders in places like Emeryville and Culver City, CA; Columbia, MO; Milwaukie, OR; Vancouver, B.C.; and Baltimore MD, continue to prove that point. Where the #communications strategy and the messaging success lies is less in the constituent/consumer facing storytelling than in the - "look, the leader of this city is already doing the thing they would like for you to start doing, so that leader and their policies can be trusted in the long run." Hoping these sorts of conversations get LOUDER with regard to LA's situation and in rooms at #ClimateWeekNYC where we are talking about #cities and #transportation. We have huge opportunity to quickly shift the social norms of leadership in U.S. cities. Let's GO. (And, you all - DO go read Alissa's fantastic piece/subscribe) Climate Mayors United States Conference of Mayors WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities C40 Cities #cities4climate #sustainability #BeSeenLeading #LessCar #CarFree

Reimagine urban spaces through the lens of life - including human, plant and animal. Have a look and take part of it! https://lnkd.in/dki4VcQy