Join us for Smart Places: a series of illustrated thought pieces and online discussion during May and June.

What do we mean by ‘Smart Places’? It’s a broad theme, but one which we believe should emphasise active citizen engagement and participation alongside new uses of data and technology. The aim? To improve places for people.

So what might this ‘Smart Places’ approach look like in practice? And how might it address some important place-based challenges to help deliver a brighter future?

Launching on Friday 22 May, the Smart Places series includes published thought pieces from a diverse line up of thinkers, practitioners, experts and leaders in this field.

Every week until the end of June we will be publishing one or more of these articles, each featuring a bespoke illustration by a different illustrator to communicate the future vision the author sets out.

Many of these articles will also be accompanied by a live Tweet Up event to discuss that article’s topic, answer questions and share thoughts. The series will culminate in a panel discussion with all the articles’ authors on 26 June.

Don’t miss it! Find the new articles here every Friday on our Medium account, or join us for an hour on Twitter by looking for #SmartPlaces from 3–4pm on Fri 29 May, Fri 5, 12, 19 June and Thurs 25 June. Full schedule and more details available here.