2010 July | InnovCity

Archive for July 2010

Mathieu Monnet

Official | Learning Club

« Versailles’ neuro-visit: learn and discover while exercising your memory »

Hungarian cities go geothermal

by Elsa Sidawy | 07.30.10

Mannvit Engineering has been chosen by the Hungarian cities of Miskolc and Szentlörinc to implement an urban thermal heating system. It will have a power of 40 MWth in Miskolc, one of the biggest cities in the country, with around 200,000 inhabitants.

Networks that are saving cities from asphyxiation

Environment | No comments

by Elsa Sidawy | 07.29.10

Cities cover less than 1% of the earth’s surface. Yet they are inhabited by 50% of the world’s population, which unsurprisingly greatly increases their carbon footprints. Since 2006, experts from the Internet Business Solutions Group at Cisco have launched, along with the Clinton Global Initiative, the Connected Urban Development program with the goal of reducing emissions of the world’s largest cities.

Free transport in Aubagne: why it works

Transportation | No comments

by Elsa Sidawy | 07.28.10

Since May 2009, Aubagne in the Rhone delta made public transport free for all. This social innovation required a strong political will but was especially allowed thanks to the increase in the Payment Transport. Discussion with Andre Sinet, deputy mayor of Aubagne in charge of transport.

The gardens of Versailles launch a multimedia tour

Tourism | No comments

by Elsa Sidawy | 07.28.10

Orange and the Château of Versailles have joined forces to develop multimedia tours that cover the opulent grounds of Le Nôtre. In October 2009, 200 users first tested their new application “Versailles Gardens” developed for the iPhone.

Manga: an original and innovative variant of the tourist leaflet

Tourism | No comments

by Elsa Sidawy | 07.27.10

Julia has just been stolen of her horse and goes explore the Bresse countryside with her two friends, in search of her faithful battle steed. The young heroes go through the most famous places in the area and meet picturesque characters. Here is for the story framework. As for the pictures, they are inspired from the manga universe.

The “mobilistes”, a humane and positive approach to mobility

Social | No comments

by Rémy Lombard | 07.26.10

“Many resources are invested in mobility. Although we rarely ask the question whether they are being truly utilized”, explains Christian Werderer, director of the agency Inx. Given this discrepancy, the firm has developed the Inx mobile observatory, with the organization Pôle Véhicule du futur. The observatory hopes to understand mobility in its fundamental sense for members of the public and private sector.

A line to part the streets of New York between tourists and hurried pedestrians

Social | No comments

by Elsa Sidawy | 07.25.10

The Improv Everywhere organization, familiar with spectacular actions in the New York public space, has just invented the “tourist lane” or how to create a surprise in a megalopolis where pedestrians often walk at high speed.

Alice Moura

Innovator

Creator | Rent a local friend

« Visit a city’s hidden corners with a savvy local »

A self-service solar station to recharge telephones and computers

Urbanism | No comments

by Elsa Sidawy | 07.23.10

Both a public bench and an electric charger for common small devices, the Sun Station has the advantage of supplying free energy in all exterior public places, like bus stops or parks. The advantage for the community is therefore social, economic and also ecological.

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Osmose prefigures tomorrow’s metro stations

Transportation | cars | Il y a 12 heures et 42 minutes

Paris City Council Innovation Grand Prizes: French innovators awarded for their creativity

Education | Wrongful Death | Il y a 26 jours et 8 heures

China may be coveting the German system of suspended monorail

Transportation | Abair Heart | Il y a 45 jours et 2 heures

The Babayagas’ house, an alternative to old people’s homes and home care

Social | Janet Bardon | Il y a 60 jours et 4 heures

The Babayagas’ house, an alternative to old people’s homes and home care

Social | Michael Hawley | Il y a 63 jours et 3 heures

Smart street furniture in Paris: the winners of the call for projects are finally unveiled

Urbanism | 1 comment

A poetic exhibition looks at the city’s place in comic strips

Culture | No comments

Cultural short breaks on board a 2CV soon in your city?

Tourism | 2 comments

Feedback

For sure if we aim to change our habits, urban areas have to be equipped in such a way the citizen don't feel like constrained in their everyday life.

John F. sur Electric car charging stations: DBT aims 25% of the French market | 1 comment

Web TV

15.07.11 | Urban Music Game’s enhanced ball

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Expert talk

Robert Spizzichino | Partenaires Développement

Greater Geneva: an economic and social project at the heart of innovation

Urbanism | 12.16.11

The Greater Geneva project represents an economic and social challenge for that area spanning France and Switzerland. The aim is to set in motion again a process that will stimulate job creation in the French part and strengthen residential services in the Swiss part. Innovative activities should find their place in that territory.

Jean Haëntjens | Urbatopie

Innovation lies also in the strategy

Social | 09.08.11

Is the proliferation of urban innovations counter-productive? While some cities are experimenting with abandon and with no real apparent logic, others have adopted a long-term strategy to combine innovations to serve a smarter, more sustainable city. Jean Haëntjens returns to this forum to talk about how important it is for cities to approach innovation with consistency and control.

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Zoom in

London’s transport system is transformed into a massive playground

And what happens when a public transport network becomes the scene of gigantic team games? Inspired by the principle of Fun Theory, which suggests that environmentally responsible behavior can be encouraged through attractive infrastructure, Chromaroma invites London Underground users to participate in an eco-citizen turf war.

Blogs review

Pop-Up City , the blog of Jeroen Beekmans

Rotterdam’s Crowd-Funded Pedestrian Bridge

Urbanism | 01.05.12

The International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) and Rotterdam-based architecture firm ZUS have launched the project I Make Rotterdam, a spectacular temporary pedestrian bridge between the city’s Central and the North districts that will be financed through crowd-funding.

Quinte & Sens , the blog of Olivier Genevois

In Caracas, mimes ease traffic tension

Education | 11.07.11

Venezuela’s capital Caracas plans to manage its traffic flow in an unusual fashion. In addition to traffic police, 120 mimes dressed up as clowns were sent into the city’s streets. Their role? Curb the risky behavior of pedestrians and drivers, not by force or repression, but through silence.

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Agenda Innov'in The City

May 9 to 11
Energy Cities annual meeting, Guimarães, Portugal.

May 12
International Workshop on Open Data, Nantes, France.

May 12
Stockholm Summit on Service Innovation in Cities, Stockholm, Suède.

Innovative city zoom

Toulouse has tackled issues ranging from urban lighting to public cleanliness with experimental innovation often on a shoestring budget, but the results continue to inspire many other cities in France and worldwide. A portrait of a city embracing urban innovation, helped along by the enthusiastic investigator Alexander Marciel, follows.

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