As the world's population becomes increasingly urbanized, a new nonprofit has been formed to make sure Louisville handles the changes appropriately.City Collaborative describes itself as "an independent design and research laboratory advancing new ideas and developing actionable solutions for cities, their regions and communities." The organization ties together urban-minded organizations and individuals and will have several areas of focus. One will be holding public events to help people explore the city. That includes the upcoming CycLOUvia, when Bardstown Road will be closed to automobile traffic.The group will also help citizens and officials learn more about how the city works.“Looking at web analytics, web maps, making policy briefs around things that might help government make the right decisions," says Patrick Smith of the MapGrapher blog. "Really helping engage the public more in a way that's a really meaningful engagement, working with citizen groups, working with individuals to make sure their voice is heard in a lot of the processes.”The collaborative's director is Branden Klayko, author of the Broken Sidewalk blog.“As we return to the city, we just want to make sure the city is prepared to see the influx of new development, new people and new businesses," says Klayko. "We want to help shape that dialogue and make sure the city's going in the right direction.”The collaborative is not affiliated with Metro Government, though its formation coincides with increased thinking about city issues. Mayor Greg Fischer recently launched his Vision Louisville planning initiative.
