Refresh Philly

Please join us for the February installment of Refresh Philly hosted by local GIS software development firm Avencia. We’ll be meeting at Avencia’s offices located at 340 N 12th St Suite 402(at Callowhill) on Monday February 8th at 6:30pm.
http://avencia.com/Info/Directions.aspx

Aaron Ogle
Walkshed
http://walkshed.org/

While living in Seattle, Aaron became intrigued by Alan Durning of the Sightline Institute and his concept of a “walkshed” that would score a location based on the quantity and diversity of amenities within a one-mile radius. A year later, Walk Score, which drew heavily from Durning’s walkshed concept, became the first application to calculate walkability. Walk Score is a fantastic application with a clever methodology but it also has a number of acknowledged limitations.

Aaron wondered if improvements were possible. So as part of Avencia’s 10% research project program, he has developed Walkshed to demonstrate that it is possible to more accurately calculate and map walkability by accounting for actual walking distances and user preferences. Walkshed is available in Philadelphia and New York City, and is competing the NYC BigApps software competition.

Josh Marcus
CommonSpace: Sustainable Transit Visualization

Getting around without a car — by walking, biking, or public transit — adds another wrinkle to making plans with friends. Instead of just having to figure out what’s going on in the city, we need to figure out what’s going on that’s conveniently located to everyone. Could a web-based tool make this moment of planning and collaboration easier? And could it promote Philadelphia “local treasures”, sustainable businesses, and sustainable transit at the same time? That’s the question Avencia is exploring for NPower and the Sustainable Business Network, as part of an exciting initiative funded by the William Penn Foundation to implement innovative web-based tools focused on the environment and Philadelphia communities.

Josh will show an early mock-up of an imagined application that would allow real-time collaboration, integrate a variety of curated data feeds of destinations and events (sustainable business databases, online services, Philly blogs), provide biking and public transit directions, as well as allow users to dynamically visualize and search the areas that are available to them — and the “common space” where a group of friends could meet if they want to split the difference and meet in the area that’s convenient to everyone, based on how they’re each traveling.

Refresh Philly February
Monday February 8th
6:30 to 8pm
340 N 12th St Suite 402
RSVP on Facebook

Happy New Year everyone! We’re breaking protocol this month and meeting on the 2nd Monday of January. We could blame the holiday, but we were also really excited about checking out Science on Tap at National Mechanics!

Science on Tap is a monthly gathering that features a brief, informal presentation by a scientist or other expert followed by lively conversation. They meet on the 2nd Mondays of the month at National Mechanics.

January’s Science on Tap features the following:

Dr. Ernie Schuyler, Curator Emeritus of Botany, Academy of Natural Sciences
“The Origin and Evolution of Beer”

How could a bunch of geeks not be excited about the history of beer?

Join us for a pint and a chat to welcome in 2010!

Refresh Philly January featuring Science on Tap
Monday January 11th @ 6pm
National Mechanics
22 S 3rd St [btw Market & Chestnut]
RSVP on Facebook

We’re pleased to announce that Chris Bartlett (aka @harveymilk on Twitter) will be leading the next hands-on installment of Refresh Philly!

A few months ago, Chris gave a heartfelt presentation at Ignite Philly about the Gay History Wiki, a project he has been working on for many years to honor and recognize the multitude of gay Philadelphians who have died since 1960.

View the Ignite Philly presentation >>

The Gay History Wiki raises many other issues to the surface, such as how do we remember the dead in social networks? How do we share a person’s history and context through images, connections, and comments?

We’ll explore these questions and more as we breakout into groups to brainstorm ways to take this project to the next level.

As always, doors open at 6pm and RSVP is required to gain entrance to the Comcast Center. Please RSVP on Facebook or email refresh[at]refreshphilly.org to get on the list.

Refresh Philly December
6:00 to 8:30pm
The Comcast Center
17th & JFK

Our refreshment sponsor for this event is Lose It or Lose It!

“Lose It or Lose It helps people stick to their desire to lose weight by making them try for 10 weeks or be punished! You pick lb per week and dollars per lb and give us the money up-front. each week, if you skip a weigh-in or don’t make your goal, you lose part of your initial investment. We send you daily reminders as well as let you add accountability friends who are updated every week with the status of your weigh-in. You weigh in by taking a picture of your feet on the scale and uploading it.”

Long story short: “Lose the weight or lose your money”

On the eve of Election Day, Refresh Philly is excited to host a politically themed panel:

Local Politics on the Web: Is technology more important than kissing babies in Philadelphia?

Much has been made of the social media revolution in national politics, but will reliance on the Web come to the wards and blocks of Philadelphia and other local elections anytime soon? Has it already? What would that mean for voter interaction, transparency and fundrasing in a city known for machine politics?

Moderator:

Christopher Wink is a co-founder of Technically Philly, a news site that covers technology, entrepreneurship and innovation in Philadelphia. He covered Pennsylvania state government in the Harrisburg State Capitol in 2008 for six of the state’s largest newspapers in association with the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association. In May 2007, he began a year-long thesis research project on Philadelphia’s Republican Party and its relationship with the city’s Democrats.

Panelists:

Benjamin Barnett is the social-networking micro-blogger for pa2010.com. He is the founder and digital media strategist for the Philadelphia-based Media Bureau.

Alex Urevick-Ackelsberg is Partner & Business Lead at Zivtech, LLC, an Open Source/Drupal web development company located in Old City. Alex has been working at the cross section of technology and politics/organizing sincesince he hooked up with Music for America, a voter education and registration initiative, during the U.S. 2004 presidential campaign. Before he began working professionally with Drupal he helped to create numerous blogs and online communities including Young Philly Politics (where his official title is “technical overlord”), Blue Force, a progressive national security site, and Future Majority, which looks at the intersections of youth, culture, and politics.

Rob Wonderling officially became the president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce in August. The two-time Republican state senator from Delaware County previously served as deputy secretary of transportation to then-Gov. Tom Ridge. He spent the preceding decade working for Bentley Systems, an Exton-based software firm, and Allentown-based Air Products and Chemicals. The Chamber’s first major initiative under his leadership has been to undertake a major public advocacy and awareness campaign called Relay, the first step of which is to survey more than 25,000 people in the region to capture how the chamber might affect the most change.

Doors open at 6pm, panel will begin at 6:20. We’re starting and ending a little earlier so we can go downstairs and catch the Phillies game on the BIGGEST screen in town - the lobby of the Comcast Center!

RSVP on Facebook or email refresh[at]refreshphilly.org

It’s first Monday again, which means another meeting of Refresh Philly! Please join us for a happy hour on Monday night at Jose Pistolas.

We’ll have the upstairs bar from 6 to 8pm. Swing on by and meet your fellow Refresh Philly friends. Never been to Refresh? This is a great time to see what we’re all about.

Looking forward to seeing you Monday!

Jose Pistolas
236 S 15th Street @ Locust Street [map]

RSVP on Facebook

Please join us on Monday September 14th for the September installment of Refresh Philly.  We’re meeting a week later than normal because of the Labor Day holiday.

We are very excited to have Alex Mulcahy and Stephanie Singer from GRID magazine be our guests for this hands-on Refresh session.

Grid inspires the people of Philadelphia to create a more just, livable and sustainable city.

We’ll learn about the history of the magazine, the editorial process and where they see it going in the future.

After that, we’ll help GRID brainstorm up some ideas for their website presence and ways to have  more impact on improving the city of Philadelphia.  We’ll share some of our favorite brainstorming techniques for drumming up ideas.

Doors open at 6pm, event begins at 6:30pm. Please RSVP on Facebook to get on the list or email refresh[at]refreshphilly[dot]org.

See you soon!

Please join us for the next installment of Refresh Philly happening on Monday August 3rd. We will be meeting at the Comcast Center at 17th & JFK.  Doors open at 6pm for socializing and networking, speakers begin at 6:30.

Please RSVP on Facebook or email us at refresh[at]refreshphilly[dot]org

Our speakers this month will be sharing information about civic minded events on the horizon this Fall in Philadelphia.  Get inspired and learn how you can get involved!

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Pamela H. Zimmerman, AIA
Parking Day Philadelphia
September 18
http://parkingday.org/

Originally created by Rebar, San Francisco art and design collective, PARK(ing) Day is an annual, one-day, global event where artists, activists, and citizens collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks.

Anyone can participate in PARK(ing) Day, though it is strictly a non-commercial project, intended to promote creativity, civic engagement, critical thinking, unscripted social interactions, generosity and play.

Learn more about last year’s Parking Day in Philadelphia and how you can get involved this year!

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Beth Van Why
Design Philadelphia
October 7-13, 2009
http://www.designphiladelphia.org/

Moving into its fifth year, DesignPhiladelphia is the largest national celebration of its kind. This city-wide cultural event spotlights all things design from architecture to interior design, fashion to product design, textile to graphic design. It’s a journey exploring exhibitions, workshops, studio tours, lectures, special events and product roll-outs that inspire, engage, excite and delight.

Philadelphia is a center for education, and boasts a diverse network of academic design programs, colleges, and universities as well as a thriving and nationally recognized professional design community. Through showcasing the extent of designers and retailers, professional offices, museums, and galleries, DesignPhiladelphia aides the city’s retention and attraction of young designers and creative professionals. DesignPhiladelphia is instrumental in raising the national reputation of Philadelphia as a city of change and innovation.

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Gwen Shaffer
One Web Day
September 22
http://onewebday.org
http://my.onewebday.org/group/phillyowd

The Worldwide Web belongs to everyone.  Because it is built on a principal of openness and interconnection, every person and institution that goes online to connect and create experiences fundamental changes and makes a contribution to the ever growing, evolving One Web that is transforming society. The Web a vital shared resource, but most people are not empowered to take part in defining the direction of this now indispensable resource. Some take it for granted, some cannot breach the barriers to access, and some relinquish control to authoritative institutions that are all too happy to fill the void of public leadership.

OneWebDay changes all of that. For the last three years, OneWebDay has attracted a global network of partner organizations and individual activists committed to broadening the public’s awareness of Internet and Web issues while deepening a culture of participation in building a Web that works for everyone.

Help raise awareness about the need for reliable and affordable Internet access in Philadelphia with a citywide event for One Web Day on September 22, as well as a week of service leading up to the celebration.

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This event is sponsored by our friend Edwin Watkeys of Betafab: Providers of nimble product design, branding, and development services.

Please join us for a happy hour on Monday July 6th at Triumph Brewing Company in Old City!

First time to Refresh Philly? Come meet the incredibly creative and dynamic community of Refresh! Share your ideas about what kind of events you’d like to see in the coming months and maybe catch up on some of the projects and initiatives that have already been brewing.

This event will be partially sponsored by nclud, a creative web design agency based out of Washington, DC.

Refresh Philly July Happy Hour
Monday July 6th @ 6pm
Triumph Brewing Company
117 Chestnut Street [map]
Philadelphia, PA
RSVP on Facebook

See you in July!

Please join us for a special Refresh Philly at the Comcast Center on Monday June 1st at 6pm.

Bring your ideas and the tools of your trade to help brainstorm to make Philadelphia a more open and amazing city.  Laptops, post-it notes, sketchbooks, markers, butcher paper, prototypes (digital and paper) are all fair game.

We will have some great community members sharing their favorite brainstorming methods:

Jonny Goldstein
Visual Sketchnotes!
http://www.envizualize.com/
http://philadelphia.vizthink.com/

Livia Labate
IA Games!
http://livlab.com/thinkia/

….and more to come!

Get ready, this is going to be an awesome event!

Note: You must RSVP to gain access to the Comcast Center. Please reply here or email refresh@refreshphilly.org!

Please join us at the Comcast Center on Monday May 4th for the next installment of Refresh Philly. Doors open at 6pm for social/networking time, speakers begin at 6:30. You must RSVP to get on the list for the Comcast Center. RSVP on Facebook or email us: refresh at refreshphilly[dot]org.

UX & the City

User Experience practitioners Kellie Carter and Dave Cooksey will lead a spirited discussion on user-centered design and ways in which to improve Philadelphia. We’ll follow up with a brainstorming activity intended to flesh out ways to act now to make change in our city.

We will have a special guest at this meeting of Refresh, Allan Frank, the CIO of phila.gov!

We can make real change, we hope to see you there!

Speaker Information

Dave Cooksey is chair of PhillyCHI, an interdisciplinary academic and professional group interested in Human-Computer Interaction, User Experience, Usability, and other related disciplines. Professionally, Dave has vast experience in information architecture, user research and strategic planning.

Kellie Rae Carter has a PhD in Rhetoric and Communication where her research areas included human-computer interaction, anthropology/ethnography, science and technology studies, and postmodern theory. After many years as an academic, Kellie made the leap to the world of industry where she brings her love of theory into real world applications.