Terms
Urbanism: The characteristic way of life of city dwellers; the study of the physical needs of urban societies [merriam-webster.com]
“Urbanism is not synonymous with city”. ‘City’ refers to an area distinguished principally by size, population, density and social diversity, whereas urbanism refers to a complex of social relations. [sociologydiscussion.com]
Charrette: Combines creative, intense working sessions with public workshops
and open houses. A Charrette is a collaborative planning process that harnesses the talents and energies of all interested parties to create and support a master plan that represents transformative community change. [sandiego.gov]
Placemaking: Placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community. Strengthening the connection between people and the places they share, placemaking refers to a collaborative process by which we can shape our public realm in order to maximize shared value. More than just promoting better urban design, placemaking facilitates creative patterns of use, paying particular attention to the physical, cultural, and social identities that define a place and support its ongoing evolution. [pps.org]
Granularity: The word ‘granular’ is used to describe something that is made up of multiple elements. If the elements are small, we call it “fine-grained,” and if the elements are large, we call it “coarse-grained.” These are terms typically used in economics, computer science and geology. But we can also use these terms when talking about cities. “Granularity” is used to talk about how the ownership of a city is divided, particularly in terms of the size of the lots that city blocks are divided into. [strongtowns.org]
Local Resources
- Bloomington City Council
- Recordings of City Meetings
- uReport (Report issues for city attention)
- Transportation Information
- Bloomington Walking Tours