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Show COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE + PLANNING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH ABSTRACTS Candice Blackwelder Stephen Goldsmith ASSESSING WEB-BASED PORTALS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: THE CENTER FOR THE LIVING CITY Candice Blackwelder (Stephen Goldsmith) Department of City + Metropolitan Planning University of Utah The non-profit organization, The Center for the Living City (CFTLC), was created in collaboration with Jane Jacobs in 2005 to advance her research in h o w cities should function to benefit the individuals w h o live there. Jacobs concluded that our cities should outlive us. She also wanted people to understand that cities are to be places capable of adapting to fit the needs of the people. After her death in 2006, CFTLC continued to use both their website and the annual Jane Jacobs Walks to educate people about Jane Jacobs and support community based events. While working under the direction of Professor Stephen Goldsmith in the Department of City + Metropolitan Planning, w h o is also the Director of The Center for the Living City, I created the current website for the CFTLC to stand as its o w n entity and function as a place for community engagement and crowdsourc-ing for n ew ideas. Using Jacob's theories and research, along with m y knowledge of n e w media-based communication, I worked to create a space both interactive and engaging for community observations. I uploaded digital files of recorded interviews about urban issues in NYC during the 1970s and 80s between Jane Jacobs and her friend Roberta Gratz, a journalist and N e w York City resident. I also uploaded archival quality PDF files of written letters between Jane Jacobs and Roberta Gratz. The information found in the letters is valuable to planners, urban activists and citizens because of the collaborative way the two w o m e n discussed issues w e continue to deal with today. The new site has proved to be more navigable and informative once the site was established as a separate entity from Jane Jacob's Walk. I saw improvement after the Jacobs and Gratz letters and audio files were uploaded and accessible for the public, as well. I anticipate the CFTLC website will continue to connect people with ideas that they otherwise would not have been exposed to; supporting the claim that web-based connections are unique in h o w they unify people globally. 6 |