In Brief | InnovCity

Monday 6 February 2012

Become a contributor

RSS

Twitter

Archive for the ‘In brief’ Category

A portal that saves users queuing for hours

Social | No comments

by Elsa Sidawy | 12.20.11

Designed for all those who are put off by long queues, the Jaimeattendre.com portal informs users of the busiest times in the places where they want to go. According to the start-up that publishes the website, a Frenchman spends an average of four months of his life queuing.

A tool to calculate the economic benefits of telecommuting

Social | No comments

by Elsa Sidawy | 12.19.11

You remain to be convinced of the financial benefits of telecommuting. The LBMG Worklabs firm has just launched a tool that can calculate employers’ telecommuting costs and profits.

Bordeaux opens its first floating library

Culture | No comments

by Elsa Sidawy | 12.12.11

On October 25th, the city of Bordeaux opened the “Biblio.bato”, an experimental library for the 15-35 age group. It is located on the upper deck of the I-Boat, a former ferry boat moored in the “wet docks” district and turned into a cultural place where electronic music and digital arts mix since the end of September.

Clothes libraries in Sweden and England

Social | No comments

by Adrien Geneste | 11.29.11

In Sweden, almost one item of clothing out of two never sees the light while textile consumption keeps increasing. In order to stop this nonsense, four women created, during the Stockholm Fashion Week, the first clothes library.

Paris within a second: the application that gives inhabitants of Paris real-time information

Social | No comments

by Elsa Sidawy | 11.22.11

On November 16th, the city of Paris launched a new and free mobile phone application to give on-the-move inhabitants of Paris access to practical information. “Paris à la seconde” (Paris within a second) provides iPhone or Androïd mobile phone users with weather forecast alerts, information on unexpected closing of public places or highways, pollution peaks, electricity failures…

Lyon celebrates ordinary heroes

Environment | No comments

by Elsa Sidawy | 11.18.11

The Greater Metropolitan Area of Lyon initiated in the summer of 2009 a project aimed at celebrating the initiatives of citizens working to preserve the planet. The project “Héros ordinaires” (Ordinary Heroes) is part of the Plan climat de l’agglomération (the Climate Plan of Greater Lyon), and is in partnership with the civic service association [...]

A bicycle pump for public space

Transportation | 1 comment

by Elsa Sidawy | 11.08.11

Specialists in all things bike-related, Altinnova unveiled on October 6th its latest bicycle pump destined for public spaces and businesses.

The Ride: A spectacular tourist bus in New York

Transportation | No comments

by Elsa Sidawy | 10.28.11

Over the past year, a sightseeing bus of a new genre has emerged in New York. Passengers who board “The Ride” must prepare for a new experience. While comfortably sitting on seats facing a huge window, they can, as in a theater, enjoy the various shows available to them along their journey through the Big Apple.

In Belgrade, a solar-powered device charges mobile phones for free

Urbanism | No comments

by Elsa Sidawy | 10.24.11

In order to find a solution to this everyday problem, students from the University of Belgrade invented the Strawberry Tree after two years of research. Installed in the Obrenovac public park in October 2010, the device enables users to charge their mobile phones for free within ten to fifteen minutes.

Exclusive: release of the 2011 index of the most innovative cities in the world

Social | No comments

by Elsa Sidawy | 10.19.11

The Australian agency 2thinknow released today the results of its fifth annual “Innovation Cities Index”. Like last year, Boston is top of the list of the most innovative cities in the world, among the 331 cities that have been observed (versus 289 in 2010). Paris loses its second place and comes third after San Francisco. [...]

Older Entries

Innovator
of the week

Guillaume Mathieu
Founder - Cityzen Mobility

Happy new year

Latest comments

Liven up information. Vitalize news. Go ahead and try!

Best
debates

Fascinating topics, exciting debates. Dare!

Keep an eye
on the news

Follow our best debates and most popular posts.

Debates on top
Latest comments
Most popular articles

The Rise and Success of QR Codes in London

Tourism | No Comments

Rotterdam’s Crowd-Funded Pedestrian Bridge

Urbanism | No Comments

Rennes wants to get its inhabitants involved in social issues

Education | No Comments

An experimental store for the visually impaired

Social | Anita Aaron | Il y a 8 jours et 12 heures

“Wild plants from my street”: the urban wild plant observatory

Education | goa flowers | Il y a 11 jours et 23 heures

A bicycle pump for public space

Transportation | Naor | Il y a 41 jours et 21 heures

The small Swedish town of Skellefteå is giving Silicon Valley a run for its money

Environment | Nadeem | Il y a 67 jours et 14 heures

In Nantes, l’épicier d’art sells low price artworks

Culture | korting | Il y a 89 jours et 22 heures

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

Urbanism | No comments

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

Tourism | 2 comments

Virtual high angle shot in the city of Masdar, the future eco-city of Abu Dhabi

Urbanism | No 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

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.

Zoom in

Nantes imagines tomorrow’s green city

A modern-looking henhouse in the Graslin square, a tunnel greenhouse along the Erdre River, pile beehives right in the middle of a roundabout… These extravagant ideas are at the core of an urban prospective project called “Ekovores”, which has been imagined by two industrial designers from the Faltazi agency in Nantes. A virtuous programme that Nantes, which is preparing to become the green capital of Europe, is having a close look at.

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.

Agenda Innov'in The City

January 19 to 20
Urbaccess, Paris, France.

February 7 to 9
Imagina, Monaco, Monaco.

June 6 to 7
Innovative City, Nice, France.

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.