On Friday, October 19 the Bloustein School will host Representing the City: Technology, Action, and Change, a day-long symposium exploring the possibilities and challenges of information technology in democratic planning practice for social justice.
The symposium features a morning panel of five organizations that utilize digital data technologies as a catalyst for urban community engagement, a keynote lunch, and a series of afternoon workshops that will expose participants to new technologies and tools for social change. Opportunities for dialogue, debate, and discussion will be available throughout the day.
Participating organizations include the Center for Urban Pedagogy, the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition, the MIT CoLab, the Public Science Project, andOpenPlans.org. Each organization will be hosting an afternoon workshop session. The luncheon keynote will be presented by Elvin Wyly, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of British Columbia and Alan McConchie, a doctoral student in the Department of Geography at the University of British Columbia.
Representing the City: Technology, Action, and Change is part of the larger, multi-year initiative Technologies Without Borders: Technologies Across Borders, exploring how the vast advancements in technology are changing the world. This year’s focus, Citizenship and Social Responsibility, looks at cooperative efforts being made across disciplines, communities, nations and continents. The symposium is co-sponsored by the Center for Global Advancement and International Affairs, the Ralph W. Voorhees Center for Civic Engagement, the Rutgers Association of Planning and Public Policy Students, and the Rutgers Graduate Student Association.