New Urban Mechanics
As the City's civic research and development team, we pilot experiments that aim to improve the quality of life for Boston's residents.
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The Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics was formed in 2010 as one of the first municipal innovation offices in the world. Our research and design projects tackle a range of topics — from civic engagement to city infrastructure to education. Our team comes from a diverse array of backgrounds and our work comes in many different flavors.
Ultimately, we believe that civic innovation is more than just increasing government efficiency. It is also about improving the experience and well-being of our residents and visitors. A democracy is sometimes messy, unpredictable, and playful — all for good reason. So we ask:
How can we make civic life more meaningful for more people?
We work across departments and with the community to ask and unpack that question.
Contact
1 City Hall Square
5th Floor
Boston, MA 02201
United States
Monday to Friday, 9am - 5pm
Office Hours
Do you have an innovative idea to improve the City? Let us know through email or in person during our office hours: Tuesdays, from 2 - 5 p.m.
We Are Public Space Cadets
Credit: New Urban Mechanics
Nigel Jacob
Co-Chair, Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics
Kris Carter
Co-Chair, Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics
Susan Nguyen
Chief of Staff, Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics
Sabrina Dorsainvil
Civic Designer, Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics
Stephen Walter
Program Director, Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics
Jaclyn Youngblood
Program Director, Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics
Michael Evans
Program Director, Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics
Kim Lucas
Civic Research Director, Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics
Ilona Kramer
Program Director, Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics
Roy Chan
Program Director, Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics
We explore, experiment, and evaluate civic innovation projects across departments and throughout the city. Our work spans many topic areas and approaches, and no two projects or approaches are ever exactly the same. Below is a semi-arbitrary sample of how some of our most recent work breaks down. Below that, you will find a list of all our projects in no particular order.
News
Apr 27
Children's savings account program Boston Saves awarded $150,000 grant
The funding will help support a financial incentives program that encourages families to save for their children's future.
Here are some pieces that have been written about New Urban Mechanics and our way of working.
- Politico: Boston, Theres an App for That
- Boston Globe: New Urban Mechanics, keep tinkering
- Fast Company: Boston Does Digital
- MIT Review: Cities Find Rewards in Cheap Technologies
- Governing: Will Urban Innovation Teams Outlast Political Change?
- Susan Crawford, Dana Walters: Citizen-Centered Governance
- Living Cities: Guide for Embedding Innovation in Local Government
Autonomous Vehicles: Boston's Approach
Our plans for testing autonomous vehicles and their potential future in the City of Boston.
Boston Saves
The children’s savings account program makes saving for college and career training available to all Boston Public Schools kindergarten (K2)
Participatory Pokémon Go
A city-wide, youth-led challenge to create new PokéStops around Boston for the popular app, Pokémon Go.
Boston's Safest Driver
A mobile app that measures safe driving performance and turns it into a game.
Boston Civic Media Consortium
Advancing civic media research, teaching, and practice in Boston.
Smart Streets
Using technology — like cameras and sensors — to learn more about how people navigate and interact on and with the City’s streets.
BOS:311 App
One of the first municipal reporting apps in the world.
Performance Parking Pilot
Circle less and park easier in Boston's busiest neighborhoods.
City Worker App
The City Worker App is a Public Works companion to BOS:311.
SafeBoard
A tap card system for Boston Public Schools (BPS) buses.
Street Bump
A mobile app that gathers data about Boston’s streets using a smartphone’s built-in sensors.
City Hall to Go Truck
Inspired by food trucks, our bright and friendly mobile City Hall truck is about serving City residents where they live, work, and play.
Smart Parking
Providing drivers with real-time parking information.
Design Action Research with Government
Design Action Research with Government (DARG) is a guide for creating civic innovation projects.
Hub2
A virtual reality game for engaging residents in community planning.
Vehicle Side Guards
Protecting cyclists with vehicle sideguards.
LED Street Signs
To make streets safer for pedestrians at night, we experimented with the use of street name signs lit by LED lights.
Streetscape Innovation Fund
Through this $1 million fund, we experimented with new ways of designing and equipping City streets.
Participatory Chinatown
We built a character-driven virtual world that allowed residents to explore Chinatown for a master planning process.
Adopt-a-Hydrant
The tool allows residents to partner with Boston Fire to make sure a specific fire hydrant is cleared of snow.
Block Quotes
A public art initiative designed to inspire communities through inspirational quotations.
Discover BPS
A web app that helps parents find which available schools might be the best fit for their child.
Community PlanIt
An online game for more engaging community planning.
Where’s my School Bus?
An app that allows parents to track the arrival and departure of their child’s bus.
Neighborhood Slow Streets
A new approach to traffic calming requests in Boston.
Soofa
A solar-powered seat that can charge smartphones and collect data on the environment.
Twitter Tree / Menorah
Our interactive tree and Menorah change color when people tweet a color using the hashtag #WickedCoolTree.
Pulse of the City
A playful project at the intersection of public art and public health.
Parklets
Parklets are sidewalk extensions which occupy parking spaces, creating community spaces to hang out on, much like front porches or stoops.
Boston Area Research Initiative
The Boston Area Research Initiative connects university professors and students with community groups and city officials.
Project Oscar
Project Oscar is Boston’s 24-hour community compost pilot program.
Summer Fellowship
The New Urban Mechanics Summer Fellowship is designed for entrepreneurial graduate students interested in working in public service.