Imagine Boston 2030 is an intriguing crowdsourcing concept that is being proposed by Mayor Marty Walsh. As WBUR explains:
“We are really looking at it being a holistic, comprehensive city planning effort, so it’s moving beyond just land use and it’s not really just focused on zoning,” Imagine Boston 2030 executive director Sara Myerson said in a phone interview. “It’s really thinking about all of the components of the city — ranging from education to health and safety to arts and culture to prosperity and equity — as we think about what is the city we want to see in the future.”
To that end, the city on Wednesday launched a mobile platform called Textizen that allows people to submit their ideas via text message.
The program is includes a survey element:
Asks people to complete the following sentence: “My life in 2030 will be better with…” by texting one of the following choices to 617-860-3745:
a) Housing I can afford
b) Safer neighborhoods
c) Better transportation options
d) Quality education for all
e) A more environmentally friendly city
f) Great parks and public spaces
g) A more innovative and creative city
h) Expanded job opportunities
i) More vibrant neighborhoodsThose who submit a response will then be asked a series of follow-up questions, including, “What do you think is Boston’s biggest challenge to overcome?” and “What’s your big idea for making Boston a better place to live in 2030?”
I encourage everyone here to fill it out, it takes under two minutes, and to chime in here with their free form answer to those last two questions.
What is our biggest challenge and what’s your big idea for solving it?