OpenIDEO - How might we restore vibrancy in cities and regions facing economic decline? - Inspiration

The Challenge

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How might we restore vibrancy in cities and regions facing economic decline?

Inspiration 894 inspirations

Concepting 329 concepts

Applause 329 final concepts

Refinement 20 final concepts

Evaluation 20 final concepts

Winning Concepts Announced!

Realisation Ongoing

Congratulationsto all our contributors!

Mission #1

Explore Vibrancy

Share your definition of what vibrancy looks like where you live. Find out more...

Mission #2

Share Stories

Tell us about the cities and communities you know are currently struggling or in the process of revitalising.

Mission #3

Get Active

Take some time to get active and explore your own community – then report back what you learned. Find out more...

Mission #4

Collect Insights

Interview someone living in a struggling city or region to learn more. Find out more...

Mission #5

Surprise Us

Got an Inspiration that doesn't fit the other Missions? Find out more...

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The Challenge Brief

Intro Video by Steelcase

Challenge FAQ

Supporting Resources Forum

Brainstorm in a Box

Concepting Tips

Refining the Top 20

Announcing our Winning Concepts

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Mission #5 Surprise Us Find out more...

Design for Children

Children serve as a kind of "indicator species" of whether a neighborhood is vibrant or not. Cities designed for children work well for everyone.

Children playing in fountain in Downtown Sandpoint, Idaho

"We know a lot about the ideal environment for a happy whale or a happy mountain gorilla. We’re far less clear about what constitutes an ideal environment for a happy human being. One common measure for how clean a mountain stream, is to look for trout. If you find the trout, the habitat is healthy. It’s the same way with children in a city. Children are a kind of indicator species. If we can build a successful city for children, we will have a successful city for all people." —Enrique Peñalosa (see "To Save Our Cities, Put Children First" from Yes! Magazine, which opens with this quote).

The problem of creating vibrancy can be redefined, at least in part, as the challenge of designing for children.

Here's a few initial design goals this approach naturally leads to:

1. streets that you can play on

2. walkable neighborhoods (kids can't drive) - specifically parks within walking distance

3. education as a central experience (Christopher Alexander writes about how to utilize patterns around education to create vibrancy in "A Pattern Language" as well as how to make other city experiences work for children)

4. the city as an education tool

5. safe, friendly neighborhoods (i.e. Jane Jacobs' "Eyes on the Street")

By asking the kids, I think more design objectives could be found and concepts could be tested. In fact, it may be helpful to attempt to actively bring input from children into our evaluation phase of this challenge.

Mission #5 Surprise Us Find out more...