Developing more effective and innovative urban solutions requires a deep knowledge of the local context and local people. Ethnography offers a range of tools to develop a rich understanding of contemporary urban challenges.
Ethnographers pay close attention to their surroundings because one never knows what kinds of unanticipated processes or practices she will uncover.
BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES CITY INNOVATIVE TEAMS
A collaborative and innovative initiative with ethnographers from New York University and Brown University and consultants from Bennett Midland, LLC. The project team, which was hired and directed by Bennett Midland, designed an interactive workshop for 50+ members of the Bloomberg City Innovation Teams (from 15 cities in the US and abroad) entitled "Ethnography for Public Policy Innovation."
Through this workshop, I-Team members learned about ethnograhic case studies, strategies for ethnographic observation and interviewing, and visual methods through hands-on exercises and simulated "fieldwork" activities around New York City. The goal of this workshop was to help municipal employees learn the tools to effectively identify urban problems and design more lasting solutions.