Social media and crisis management: a Sydney conference

The Water Services Sector Group’s Social Media Conference was recently held in Sydney and I had the pleasure of attending. With a focus on crisis management and disaster response, a number of key speakers from various parts of the world shared their insights and experiences in the growing field of social media, which all agreed is now an undeniably important component of modern society. 

Melanie Irons spoke of the pivotal role of social media in mobilising a community through her Facebook page in response to the 2013 Tasmania bushfires. Suzanne Bernier used examples such as the ‘Yes we can’ Obama campaign and ‘Domino's Pizza Scandal’ YouTube videos to illustrate the role of social media in shaping the reputation of individuals and organizations, demonstrating the impact social media use can have to define, destroy, or strengthen during crisis scenarios. Caroline Milligan described the concept of a ‘Virtual Operations Support Team’ with key events such as the London 2012 Olympics or Hurricane Sandy having much of their social media crisis preparation and response performed virtually by her team based in New Zealand. And Charlie Hawkins demonstrated some of the latest social media harnessing and visualization tools developed by the CSIRO. 

While shortcomings were noted, such as the need for report verification, rumour control and negative posts, the overall consensus was the positive attributes of social media use in crisis management, such as the facilitation of coordination and collaboration, speed of information transfer, bi-directional communication and individual empowerment, far outweighed the negative. The message of the day was clear: social media is here to stay. It needs to be incorporated into emergency management strategies and policy in order to foster the most effective collaboration between connected communities and official information sources. The general public now expect authorities and organizations to be active on social media. How organizations respond to this expectation and how they conduct themselves by involving (or not involving) themselves in social media conversations can directly impact their perceived credibility and overall effectiveness both in disaster situations, and in public more broadly.  

Trending City - Urban Snapshot

Today's post is just a little shameless plug for something else I've been doing. I've probably posted in this blog less than I imagined I would when I started it, partly because I sometimes write for another blog, called Trending City. Trending city is a platform for sharing ideas and trends in the world's cities, predominantly surrounding architecture, design and culture. I've posted links on this site to my contributions to Trending City previously, so check those out if you're interested. But today's shameless plug is for the latest Trending City Urban Snapshot (a quarterly newsletter highlighting some of the great stuff recently on the site), of which I was guest editor and curator! Hoorah! Check it out here.

Photo - trendingcity.org

Some reflections on the Sydney rally for marriage equality

Rally for Marriage Equality, Sydney Town Hall - Photo by Billy Haworth

Today I attended the rally for marriage equality in Sydney. It was the first ever event of this kind I've attended. Even as a long time supporter (even if not in public demonstrations) of equal marriage rights, I found it quite emotional at times. Some of the stories told during a number of speeches, such as that of the struggles of a long time champion of LGBTI rights in Perth who took her own life just last week at the age of only 20, were quite hard to swallow. There were chants, words of inspiration, a march up Oxford Street, a re-chalking of the famous rainbow crossing at Taylor Square (the original was removed as "a matter of road and pedestrian safety"), and even a bit of confrontation with an opposing Christian group damning us all to hell - the "I say bigots, you say Fuck Off!" chant was particularly punchy in this instance. I don't want to go too much into the ins and outs of LGBTI struggles in Australia as this blog isn't really the place for it, and quite frankly that would make for a damn long article. But I do want to mention a couple of thoughts I had during today's events.

First, if Australia is such an 'advanced' nation, why does it feel we are so far behind other parts of the world on this issue? Same-sex marriage is legal in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Uruguay, and some sub-national jurisdictions in Mexico and the United States. Of course, each of these places experienced their own struggles along the way, and these haven't always ceased just because legislation allowing equal marriage has passed (see the recent backlash against same-sex marriage and adoption laws in France). It seems so obvious to me sometimes that Australia should be on that list, particularly as a country without the strong dominance of Church power that other nations face as an obstacle. Is a long run of conservative governments on this issue the reason why we're so far behind? With a federal election in just 6 days this could be the time that changes. In terms of major parties, The Greens have supported marriage equality for a long time, and the Labor party now says if they are re-elected into power they will act on the issue too. But a Liberal government in power would see no change and no equal marriage rights for LGBTI people (at least for some time to come). The prospect of the latter is a sombre thought.

The second observation I want to comment on is the notion of place and power. A space in the CBD of Australia's largest city normally reserved for cars and buses was today taken over by a few hundred passionate people with something to say walking all over this space. Oxford Street, a place long-associated with the LGBTI community, the Mardi Gras parade, and gay rights in Sydney, today became the site of a real power shift in the city; from the dominance of convention and the motor vehicle to the (somewhat still controlled) free reign of rally-goers marching and chanting to make their voices heard on an issue they believe in. The crossing at Taylor Square was 'reclaimed' with the marking of the rainbow. The everyday function of this place and the identity of the place are very different things, and the shift from the dominance of function to a dominance of meaning and identity was interesting to be a part of. A big aspect of any movement is power, and showing ones power, and having places of power - often through aligned identity of the people and the place. Recent evidence suggests that gay residents and commerce are gradually abandoning the area around gay Sydney’s most visible and central streetscape, resulting in its gradual ‘degaying’ (See Brad Ruting, 2006). Today, Oxford Street and Taylor Square once again became crucial and powerful places for LGBTI identity, and for the present and long-running struggle for equal rights in Australia.

Chalking the Rainbow Crossing, Taylor Square - Photo by Billy Haworth

Community-based renewable energy and the Bega library

Bega is not a city. It could be called a growing town, but that could also be an exaggeration. So what place does this rural NSW community of less than 5000 people have on a website about city trends and urban ideas? The answer is a community energy project that is both forward thinking and practical. It's something many cities in Australia and around the world could learn from.

In 2012 the Bega Library had solar panels installed on it's roof by NSW government-owned corporation, Essential Energy. The solar panel network provides not only a self-sufficient, energy efficient library, but also stores energy in a battery bank that can supply power to the community grid and reduces electricity costs for ratepayers and the council. The project is part of a larger trial in the Bega Valley of Essential Energy's Intelligent Network. The trial, a first for regional NSW, includes the use of in-home displays and meters, power line sensors and other automated equipment, and LED lights for Bega's main street street-lighting, which are both brighter and more power efficient.

Bega Library with it's new solar panels. Photo by Billy Haworth

Member for Bega, Andrew Constance, said of the project in the Bega District News, "Over the past few years we've seen a lot of interest and investment in both larger-scale commercial and individual home solar generation in NSW, but, until now, no-one has focused on its use in providing low-cost, clean energy for community assets or small population clusters." Mr Constance also stated that in the future, renewable energy systems of this kind will improve power supply quality and offer a more cost-effective and sustainable energy solution for neighbourhood communities.

With Australia's environmental policies and strategies constantly being debated, particularly with reference to the Carbon tax or an emissions trading scheme, it's nice to see an effective forward-thinking renewable energy project with clear goals actually being realised for the benefit of both local community and the environment, even if it is only on a small scale. But the idea behind the project of providing efficient renewable energy sources for communities is a trend that can be seen in many other places on many scales. For example, the City of Sydney currently has a new renewable energy master plan on exhibition which outlines how 100% of the City’s electricity, heating and cooling can come from renewable energy sources by 2030, using renewable electricity and renewable gases. And the European Commission has outlined that the EU aims to get 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020.

This post originally appeared on urban culture and trends blog Trending City.

Would free internet on public transport keep you happy?

On recent visits to European cities I'm now seeing far more of something than I did two or three years ago. That something is free internet on public transport, from wifi on buses in Copenhagen to wifi on the London underground. This is mainly a product of our increasingly digital lives and the desire to be 'connected' at all times. People want to be able to use their commute time to do business, email colleagues, connect with friends via social media, or just be entertained with videos, music and other media. But does this mean it should be free? Does the City have an obligation to provide this service for commuters? If so, why not just go all out and provide free public transport? (This seems a slightly absurd idea, but it's actually something currently being trialed in Tallinn, Estonia). What does the City gain from a scheme like this?

Free bus internet, Copenhagen - Image courtesy of Billy Haworth

There is probably an argument for the environment and climate change, with cities wanting to reduce the impact of auto-mobiles. But researching a little into the cities providing this service leads to the conclusion that the main drive behind free internet on public transport is customer satisfaction. Trials, surveys and pilot programs have been undertaken in a number of cities (E.g. Lisbon, Rome, Copenhagen, Dublin) with results all emphasizing the need to improve passenger's travel perception. 

Scotland's Transport Minister said of Scotland's train wifi program:

“A major challenge for the transport industry is embracing new technologies to meet the demands of passengers and help them get on with their ever more busy lives while travelling. It is essential that people throughout Scotland have online access to enable our economy to thrive".

Danish rail company DSB state that free internet allows the train driver to continuously monitor various aspects of the trains performance and passengers to log on using laptops and smart phones, but outline being able to provide passengers with up to date information as the most beneficial outcome:

"The state-owned rail operator decided to equip all metropolitan S-trains in Denmark’s capital Copenhagen with wireless internet after a study revealed that real-time traffic information was the number one request among its daily 220,000 passengers". 

rom the City's point of view it seems the main reason for free internet on public transport is to keep the citizens happy, and isn't that the City's main obligation? Perhaps with our modern digital lifestyle's free internet should be provided by the City. I'm not willing to go as far as saying it's their obligation, but I do think this trend will continue and more cities will be expected to offer free public transport wifi to keep their citizens 'happy'. Although, it seems this isn't what every citizen wants, and I'll leave you now with a quote from an online-commenter on Scotland's railway internet.

"Is there no escape. First it was idiots barking in brick-sized cellphjones in the 80s, then phones beep beeping all the time as TTTXXTTSS were snt 2 ol nd sndry ol t bldy tm, now we have computers being tap tapped, music played on them and always more noise. long haul flights used to be an oasis of calm but now they can use their phones and computers you might as well be at work. take a seat, look out the window, read the paper, chat to your fellow passengers, never mind Twitterbook, Face thingy or any of that antisocial netowrk rubbish, GET A LIFE"

This post originally appeared on urban culture and trends blog Trending City.

Something to be proud of: Menningarnótt, Reykjavík.

Harpa with Culture Night closing fireworks. Image - http://www.austurhofn.is

Menningarnótt or ‘culture night’ is an annual festival held in the capital of Iceland, Reykjavík. Created by the Reykjavík city council in 1996, Culture Night is held every August and focuses on all things cultural, from music and arts to food and traditions. It is estimated that around 100,000 people attend the event each year, which is a staggering number when you consider the total population of the whole of Iceland is only just over 300,000. The day starts with the running of the annual marathon, and slowly the streets fill with people enjoying local delights. There are several outdoor stages with live music playing well into the night, craft and art making on offer, Icelandic food samples, longer opening hours for museums and bars, and an exciting fireworks display to end the evening. In addition to the main music stages there are musicians playing all over the city. When you wander down the main commercial strip in Reykjavík, Laugavegur, you are confronted with a blissful blend of sights, sounds and smells. Things are happening everywhere. As you walk along, just as the sound of one musician fades away, you can already hear another around the corner. And away from the main strip it continues. At Culture Night in 2011 I found a musician friend of mine, Myrra Rós, playing down to the street from the balcony of her townhouse. I then joined her has she proceeded to also play down at the harbour, in a café, and in a book store, all in one afternoon! The talent is great, and if you’re lucky you may even catch some of the stars of the future.

Inside Harpa, Culture Night 2011. Image - Billy Haworth

But what is this event actually for, and why is it so popular? Iceland already has a day to celebrate its national day, a hugely popular gay pride event, and a world-famous music festival each year, Iceland Airwaves. What could Menningarnóttin possibly be offering that these other successful events do not?

Of Monsters and Men, 2011. Image - Billy Haworth

For me, the answer is city pride. Culture Night is not just a group or organisers running events. It is a whole city involved and embracing their unique culture. Obviously tourism is a factor and many businesses may benefit with increased profits, but the vast majority of the events and activities are free! It feels much more like a festival run for Icelanders by Icelanders. They are proud of their culture, both their heritage and traditions, and their modern way of living and creative lifestyles. This day allows them to ‘show off’ a bit. It encourages a sense of community, of togetherness and prosperity, and highlights the vast diversity of what is happening in the city each year. Icelanders are particularly proud people, and why shouldn't they be? While relatively small in size, Reykjavík is a beautiful modern city rich in cultural diversity, and I think a day to feel good about that is more than appropriate. I think it’s a fantastic initiative by the Reykjavík City Council and one I hope continues long into the future. I'm sure there are other examples of similar events in cities around the world, but I found Menningarnóttin a really unique experience. I’d like to see cities offer more cultural events like this for their people, even if just to be proud. If you know of anything similar going on in your city let us know!

This post originally appeared on urban culture and trends blog Trending City.

Laugavegur, Culture Night 2011. Image - Billy Haworth

High street shopping: a globalised landscape

Riding the bus through central London recently it struck me how repetitive many of the commercial streets are. A product of globalisation, much of the shops you see are identical to those you saw two streets over; big stores and big brands. But what about the small shops and local businesses that once lined these streets? Has the (relatively) recent emergence of malls had an impact on the culture of traditional high street shopping in London?

High street shopping, London - image: www.standard.co.uk

Malls grew out of shopping arcades and by the 1960s the first 100+ store ‘mega malls’ were beginning to open in places like North America. Today malls are even bigger, with the West Edmonton mall in Canada housing some 800+ stores, and even bigger malls planned for Dubai and parts of SE Asia. But why the mall? They offer convenience and a ‘one-stop-shop’ atmosphere. They have a variety of different stores and items all in one place, often with much better mobility and parking facilities than high streets can provide. They often include entertainment elements such as cinemas, bowling alleys, and prize giveaways, and the food courts also provide a place to fuel up. In suburbia they can be a kind of town-centre for places without a town-centre. Perhaps we like to escape to the comfort of a climate-less, place-less space that we know will be almost identical wherever we are?

In London two large scale malls have opened in the late 2000s under the Westfield brand; one in White City, and one in Stratford East. In London terms these areas are practically binary opposites. One is west; one is east. One is rich; one is (historically) poorer. One has a more international population, and one contains more Londoners. And yet, when you step inside the Westfield mall you would almost be unable to tell which one you were in, and perhaps even unable to recognise yourself as being in London. The same aesthetic meets your eye, the same sounds and smells meet your ears and nose, and the same shops and products are on offer. And that is their appeal. They are identifiably and comfortably essentially the same.

I think this influence in shopping culture is partly to blame for the change in London high streets. This idea of the convenience of the ‘same’ being accessible on every street has allowed the big stores and big brands to dominate.  But I see a fight-back coming. I think this globalised mall-type shopping is bland and artificial. I think people like the diversity of shops, they like supporting small business, and perhaps even prefer wandering around the long high streets to the ‘convenience’ of the shopping centre (which can also involve lots of walking anyway!). High streets are more intimate, more local, and more ‘authentic’, and particularly fitting for a city as diverse as London.  The recent closing down of HMV stores in England is a sign of things changing.  Perhaps a move away from globalised shopping is coming, and a more localised landscape is set to return. Perhaps in the modern city a hybrid of the two is the kind of shopping environment we can expect; something ‘glocalised,’ if you will. I hope London’s high streets don’t lose their soul, and I think this is definitely a trend worth watching.

This post originally appeared on urban culture and trends blog Trending City.

Multi-purpose design: Oslo Opera House

Winning several contemporary architecture awards, the Oslo Opera House is a fantastic piece of modern urban design. It combines style and functionality to perfection and is one of the most interesting and enjoyable buildings I've visited anywhere in the world.


Not only the home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, the building itself is a city attraction in it's own right. Aesthetically it mimics the icy Norwegian landscape wonderfully, but what I found most appealing was the interactivity it offers. The design is such that the public can freely walk all over it's surface, all the way up to the top of the roof, giving marvellous panoramic views of Oslo. There is actually a real sense of 'fun' when you climb all over a building such as this, and the views are stunning. It's also a very relaxing and peaceful place by the water away from much of the city noise. The roof has also been designed with angles and paving materials conducive to skateboarding. That's right, skateboarding is encouraged on top of the Opera House! The interior comprises exquisite shapes and acoustics, and exhibits a number of contemporary artworks. The most famous piece of artwork at the site, She Lies, is a glass sculpture which floats permanently in the adjacent fjord.

Combining style, functionality, interactivity, atmosphere, and panoramic views like no other, Tarald Lundevall's Oslo Opera House is a fine example of modern urban architecture. Perhaps this kind of multi-purpose design is something we will see more of in cities of the future.

The entrance to Oslo Opera House

She Lies - Monica Bonvicini

Images courtesy of Billy Haworth.

This post originally appeared on urban culture and trends blog Trending City.

Mapping Local Food Growing in London

More and more people in cities are seeking ways to acquire good quality, sustainably sourced food without breaking the bank.  In recent years a popular alternative in London to relying on supermarket food has been urban agriculture, or 'food gardening'. A few years ago Mikey Tomkins, researcher on food growing, was inspired by the local food growing that was already happening in his local borough, as well as the potential space he saw for even more food growth, to produce the 'Edible Map' of Hackney. The map highlights everything from urban space for short and long session veg and fruit trees to compost and worm farms. Mushrooms are even grown in garages and bees kept for honey on rooftops.

The Edible Map isn't just a list of place markers, it tells stories of the local community, it allows residents to assess their own local food growth, and it encourages others to join in. One of the most encouraging things about this initiative is that the maps are infinitely changing and growing, and the potential for transfer to other areas is great. And in fact it's already spreading. Mikey ran tours through Hackney with his Edible Map, educating people of the importance and potential for local food growth. Today Edible Maps are also available for Surrey Street in Croyden, and Elephant & Castle in south London. The Royal Geographical Society in London has also collaborated with Tomkins to add a walk through Hackney using the Edible Map to their Discovering Britain walks series, available to anyone for free via their website. The maps are interactive, fun, and informative, and a positive step for food sustainability, quality and affordability in our cities.

The interactive Edible Map is here.

The Royal Geographical Society walk is here.

This post originally appeared on urban culture and trends blog Trending City.

The oddity of the stationary escalator

London Underground - Photo by Billy Haworth

When going about our daily routines in the city certain things become repetitive and mundane, and often tweaking this regularity can cause a moment of confusion in our minds. An action that is normally so automatic can become highly noticeable in an abnormal circumstance, such as stepping onto a stationary escalator. Every time this happens it baffles me. I approach the escalator, I see that it's not in operation, and I think I have adjusted my gait accordingly to descend quite naturally what are now essentially stairs in front of me. But what actually happens feels very unnatural indeed! An awkward sort of near-trip occurs and I struggle to readjust and carry on down the motionless escalator. Something inside my body or my mind refuses to allow any amount of pre-observation and preparation to prevent this awkward moment. Even with knowledge of the escalator my body still automatically prepares for the motion of the escalator beyond my control. Why is this? Has my brain become so well-trained to it's usual response to the visual of the escalator that it can't operate otherwise? Is it more a muscular response, whereby some link between the eyes and the muscles is stronger than my conscious mind? How can a simple everyday object possess such psychological power over my body?

A 2009 paper addressed this exact question of action-perception linkage by asking: Does the odd sensation emerge because of the unfamiliar motor behaviour itself toward the irregular step-height of a stopped escalator or as a consequence of an automatic habitual motor program cued by the escalator itself (Takao Fukui, Toshitaka Kimura, Koji Kadota, Shinsuke Shimojo, & Hiroaki Gomi). They compared motor behaviour properties toward a stopped escalator with those toward moving escalators, and toward a wooden stairs that mimicked the stopped escalator.

"The results suggest a dissociation between conscious awareness and subconscious motor control: the former makes us perfectly aware of the current environmental situation, but the latter automatically emerges as a result of highly habituated visual input no matter how unsuitable the motor control is. This dissociation appears to yield an attribution conflict, resulting in the odd sensation." - Fukei et al., 2009.

So it seems in this instance at least I am not as awkward as I may have thought, and there is an explanation for this strange occurrence. The way we as people become accustomed to 'normals' in surroundings is interesting, particularly when something 'abnormal' occurs. And I'm sure there are probably other examples of similar odd sensations experienced by our interactions with the places around us, such as the feeling of motion experienced whilst sitting in a stationary train and seeing another train passing by. So if you find yourself one day awkwardly approaching a motionless escalator, you can take some comfort knowing there's an explanation for your odd behaviour.

Painted Traffic Signal Boxes: A new solution to an old problem?

Junction box street art by Cassette Lord, Brighton - Photo by Billy Haworth

One of my favourite places to visit for a day trip out of London is Brighton. Brighton is a small city by the seaside in the south of England with an 'alternative' reputation. One of the reasons I like it so much is the fantastic display of graffiti and street art on offer. Brighton is a place that acknowledges the role street art plays in forming it's urban identity and, rather than removing all graffiti as 'vandalism', embraces this. On my last visit one of the first things I noticed as I left the train station was a painted traffic junction box. It wasn't just a group of tags like I may have come to expect around city railway lines, but a piece of artwork covering the entire box. Clearly this work was authorized, and as I ventured through the city during the day I saw more and more of these junction box artworks. I thought they were great, and had read about these types of council initiatives, but had never observed them all over an area like this before. Of course, I wanted to know more. I found out the signal boxes in Brighton began with local street artist, Cassette Lord. On his website Cassette Lord says the idea to stencil the junction boxes came about when a youth group finished a mural they noted the only part uncovered was the green junction box in front. 

"The boxes were mainly ignored and often a bit scruffy, we agreed this would be a great way to liven them up and give people something cool to look at and add to Brighton," (Cassette Lord).

Painted junction boxes, Brighton - Photos by Billy Haworth

The first time I came across the notion of painting traffic signal boxes was during the course of researching graffiti management strategies and patterns in Sydney, Australia. The example of painting traffic signal boxes came from Brisbane, QLD.  The initiative Artforce, established in 1999, aims to reduce the recurrent costs of graffiti removal by inviting local artists and residents to help decorate the boxes. A report by Catherine Ovenden (2007) evaluating the efforts of this strategy over a seven year period found that the reduction of graffiti on painted compared to unpainted boxes was consistent across Brisbane, with unpainted boxes accumulating graffiti three times faster than painted traffic signal boxes (Haworth et al., 2013). On the surface then it appears the introduction of Brisbane's "drive-through gallery" has had significant positive impacts. In terms of graffiti management, however, measures of success that focus only on reduction of graffiti have limitations, namely they fail to distinguish between different types of graffiti or to take account of the evolving dynamics of graffiti writing (See my recent paper: 'Spatio-temporal analysis of graffiti occurrence in an inner-city urban environment').

Other cities around the world too have adopted this initiative. Melbourne in Australia has followed in the footsteps of Brisbane's Artforce, introducing painted traffic signal boxes in a number in inner city suburbs in the hope that they will "reduce graffiti, provide opportunities for local artists and enhance local streets with new and vibrant art," (City of Yarra).  Tauranga City council in New Zealand claim "beautifully painted roadside artworks reduce the likelihood of them being tagged, while making a beautiful and intriguing creative feature in the urbanscape of the city," (Tauranga City).  The Painted Utility Box program in the city of Calgary, Canada, similarly aims to discourage graffiti vandalism by providing public space for original community art.  

These initiatives are centred on the same core goal: to reduce graffiti 'vandalism'.  And that is where my problem with this approach lies. When exactly is graffiti 'vandalism' and when is it 'art'? Who decides this? These initiatives are based on the assumption that all graffiti that might occur on these traffic signal boxes or elsewhere is 'vandalism' not worthy to remain on the traffic boxes, and the community pieces are 'beautiful' because they are 'art'.  The issue I have is that everyone has differing views on graffiti; what they like, what they don't like, what is appropriate, what is not, what is graffiti, what is art, and so on. These initiatives ignore that graffiti is a diverse subculture.  I fail to see how taking even more space away from someone wanting space to write will be an effective approach. Perhaps rather than creating spaces where people cannot write, authorities should focus more on providing spaces where they can write, thus discouraging writing in unwanted spaces. 

One comfort I take from the Brighton example is that at least the program was started by a street artist already writing on the streets aiming to add to the existing urban aesthetic, and not by a councillor in an office who is unlikely to have much experience of graffiti culture beyond the view of it as crime in their community. I don't mean to say community art projects are not welcome. Of course they are great for many different reasons, and many of the works I've seen on traffic boxes, particularly those by Cassette Lord, are really awesome! And I would certainly say that I prefer an approach to graffiti management that aims to exhibit local art as opposed to those many cities adopt that simply remove all graffiti as vandalism. I do question, however, the long-term success of a strategy to reduce graffiti that fails to understand the fundamentals of what graffiti culture is, and the diversity that comes with it. I suppose only time will tell.