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The rise of nudge – the unit helping politicians to fathom human behaviour

[aminkhosravi]

In January I was fortunate to attend the Executive Board at the World Health Organisation (WHO), made possible by Ariel Foundation International (AFI). As I work in urban development, I was  interested in how health at a very strategic and international-transnational level links to sustainable development.  On the ground, issues around health play such an important role in the dynamics of urban environments.  As I am also passionate about youth advocacy and involved with the AFI in their Right to Development Youth Summit at the UN initiative, I was particularly interested in how young people can get involved in health related issues at the UN.

Attending an event like this gives great insight into the process, logistics and political etiquettes involved when getting representatives from the world’s countries to come together to discuss, debate and agree. In terms of atmosphere, I would say that the UN seems to have its own language, both verbal and non-verbal, diplomatic and multinational by design. This is even reflected in the physical design of the conference rooms, shaped for consensus and equality between member nations. Here in lies a great part of the challenge. Obtaining consensus across all the different member states takes time, effort and compromise. I was struck at the 60 plus item agenda and the time it took to get through some items. This is where the role of the Chairperson is so important, to make sure the meeting progresses whilst balancing with the need to provide opportunity for all member states to voice their positions. The sense of respect that exists between nations in the way representatives agreed or disagreed meant that without a strong Chairperson, proceedings could carry on indefinitely.

I found particularly interesting discussions that drew out:

- How adaptation to climate change should be regarded as basic healthcare provision.

- Challenges posed to the WHO by data accuracy (i.e difficultly in measuring progress and the difficulty in obtaining comparative data as a result of different methods/ approaches to measurement used in different places).

- The challenge of how universal health care is delivered to individuals.

From my professional experience there is still a great deal to do to communicate the link amongst practitioners and decision makers of health-wellbeing to happiness, reducing inequality and sustainable development. Linking policy to practice is such a big challenge for governments and international organisations.

During my experience at the WHO, I could not help but think how the way things are done have probably not changed for decades. Without being disrespectful to WHO and to the art and profession of diplomacy, I could see so many opportunities for innovation and change. For example, change in the way meetings are run, the digitalisation of documents/ meeting communication, innovation in the way data is collected, innovation in delivery models that translate policy into action on the ground, innovation in the development of drugs, innovation in the way preventative care is communicated. 

In my opinion young people are best placed to respond, participate and lead in all these areas.  In fact they already are! I had the pleasure in a separate conference of seeing Professor Samir Brahmachari (Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India) talk about how young people are at the centre of their pharmaceutical innovation process, participating and leading crowdsourcing problem solving using social communication platforms. This has led to innovations that large pharmaceutical companies and experienced scientists were struggling to grapple with. I believe young people have the drive to make a change and to deliver progress for a better world. Technology is making this possible in ways that simply could not exist before. This is why I am so excited to work with AFI in increasing the influence of young people at the UN. It certainly feels that the time is now.

[aminkhosravi]

Second hand spaces. Recycling sites undergoing urban transformation

Michael Ziehl, Sarah Oßwald, Oliver Hasemann, Daniel Schnier

At vacant sites, second hand spaces draw on the atmosphere, the traces, the remains, and the history of their previous uses. Their actors develop an individual aesthetic out of the site that stands out due to its simplicity and improvised quality. New ideas are tested, and elements of surprise are created in the city. Second hand spaces evolve against the background of different demands on urban spaces and provide opportunities for interaction, participation, and start-ups. They open up new courses of action for urban planning and at the same time make a contribution to the sustainable design of urban change.In nine essays, twenty-seven experts highlight the backgrounds, actors, and effects of second hand spaces based on fifteen projects from Europe, resulting in thematic links to current social discourses throughout the book.

[aminkhosravi]

Enriching what already exists in a way that communicates uniqueness and connects the past-present-future is a key element of my approach to urban development and regeneration. This is why I like any projects that propose to bring new life to abandoned spaces. These proposals provide  ideas on how disused metro stations in Paris can be brought back into use. The Metro is part of the city's heritage, identity, urban rhythm and romance. For me, transformation into something that will provide a unique experience for residents and visitors whilst contributing to the unique image of the city against abandonment is a no brainer. Maybe London should be thinking about this!

[aminkhosravi]

I love these redesigned underground maps that make visual reference to each place's identity. More here

[aminkhosravi]

thisbigcity:

Data driven breakdown of the world’s megacities. Thanks goes to tumblr user Luxojr93 for pointing us in the direction of these graphics. 

[aminkhosravi]

I apply design thinking to everything I get involved in. Here is a good introduction by Tim Brown CEO of IDEO.

[aminkhosravi]

Provoking global population infographics.  Sources can be found here.

[aminkhosravi]

A really interesting and provoking image published in the Washington Post that gives a more authentic spatial sense of Africa as opposed to the one we are more used to, derived from maps based on the Mercator projection- showing Africa 14 times smaller than it actually is...!

http://knowmore.washingtonpost.com/2013/10/27/africa-is-much-much-bigger-than-you-think/ 

[aminkhosravi]

Memolition.com's best examples of street art 2012

http://memolition.com/2013/02/02/the-best-examples-of-street-art-in-2012-48-pictures/#!prettyPhoto-1794/0/ 

[aminkhosravi]

In the summer time the city of Geneva comes to life! Regular free concerts and cinema screenings in the park are amongst some of the many activities organised by the municipality and their partner organisations. Friends, lovers and families of all ages come early to catch a good spot whilst the sun is still out. Enjoying each others company over a picnic in preparation for the concert or film. This creates highly humanised and social public spaces that attack audiences’ senses with creative stimuli. The diversity of the city’s population is brought out to collectively share an experience. The positive experience that the audience takes from these events strengthens their bond with the City, in turn positively impacting social and economic behaviours in other aspects that benefit the City and its community’s well being. Of course, being in Switzerland, it goes without saying that these events are very well organised.

[aminkhosravi]

Reusing scrap parts of cars to build bicycles.

[aminkhosravi]

Architecture for the people by the people. Great TED talk about democratising urban development through open source design and 3D printers.

[aminkhosravi]

Watchtower of Morocco by Leonardo Dalessandri. An excellent example of it is possible to communicate a rich sense of place through creative audiovisual storytelling.

[aminkhosravi]

Painting Beirut.  Citizen street art in a city full of stairwells.  We should consider our urban environments as the art galleries of our day-to-day lives. Inspirational civic action and participation. Full story available at http://mashallahnews.com/?p=9430

[aminkhosravi]

Incredible rare footage from 1920s London.  What struck me is how familiar it felt to today's London in many ways. It made me reflect on many things I apply in my work- identity of places/ cities, how that evolves over time, how places adapt through existing infrastructure and urban character to new communities and circumstances, the importance of memory and human-scale environments. All these elements contribute in the development of narratives for places. Places that embrace and learn from how they have evolved are better able to build upon success and communicate their uniqueness in an increasingly fast paced and competitive world.  

[aminkhosravi]

Educators are Designers. Great work by IDEO working with teachers (users) to develop a toolkit that facilitates design thinking for education. Toolkit and more information can be found at http://www.designthinkingforeducators.com/