a systems view of people and their issues
Just like nature, people operate within dynamic and interconnected systems; But our senses, our culture, and our habits tend to hide this simple fact. If we are part of a system, a neighborhood, a city, so, too, are the daily issues we face.
What is Sense LA
A program that aims to change the way government and society communicate with each other by helping people understand their place within their community, how communities can build a stronger voice, and how governments can become more inclusive and flexible.
How we work
Sense LA works with government agencies and residents to convene gatherings called creative assemblies, drawing on individual experience to facilitate explorations of local issues and their interdependencies. This methodology enables individuals to identify and address problems of mutual interest, and visualize them in ways that facilitate new understandings of the intertwined relationship between individual and collective. The program’s methodology, called PREPARE, was created by Gabriel Kahan and mechanical engineering professor Alexander Slocum at MIT.
Developed at MIT, Tested in Cities and Schools
Learn to use a leading-edge method developed at MIT to help random groups of people build high-precision tools, like robots and turbines, adapted and enhanced for use in understanding everyday problems and situations of mutual interest in our neighborhoods.
Benefits
Attract new people to your Neighborhood Council or Organization
Tackle root causes and interconnect neighborhood experiences and problems
Guide longer-term decision making
Anticipate, explore big issues
Break entrenched thought patterns, behaviors, and inspire dialogue
Learn to use art and deep thinking to understand complex problems