Small public experiments that make one piece of ordinary life easier, document the real implementation cost, and create something worth sharing.
The first San Diego project should be useful even if nobody cares about the philosophy behind it.
Map free or low-cost places where people can linger: libraries, parks, plazas, recreation, playgrounds, gardens, beaches, markets and other social infrastructure.
Record cost, bathrooms, shade, transit, walking, accessibility, children, opening hours and repeat use.
Output: one neighborhood map + three obvious gaps.
Pick one ordinary route to transit, school, groceries, work, park or daily services. Record shade, crossings, sidewalk barriers, heat, seating, detours and accessibility.
Use the correct official city pathway and publish the response timeline.
City Get It Done ↗Measure pages, forms, logins, duplicate fields, calls, transfers, jargon, elapsed days and active human time required for one low-risk civic process.
Document what was well designed too.
Output: one process diagram + friction receipt.
Run a small discussion/workshop: 5 minutes of Human Scale, 10 minutes of Audit, identify one local friction, choose one experiment, define the receipt.
Verify current room/program policies directly with the library before organizing.
San Diego Public Library ↗Not every issue belongs in a service-request app. Maintenance problems, planning questions, parks, transit, private property, state roads and neighborhood-level policy can have different decision-makers.
Use the City’s current Get It Done channels where the category fits.
Get It Done ↗Identify the relevant community plan and Community Planning Group rather than treating every planning concern like a pothole.
Community Planning Groups ↗Use public library information and current branch policies for meetings, programs, rooms and events.
Public Library ↗One completed San Diego project documented from problem through response or failure.
One evidence challenge or critique from someone outside the original project that changes the work.
One person other than Thomas who helps run, measure or document an experiment.
A library, city channel, planning group, organization or other relevant institution engages the concrete issue.
Followers and impressions can be measured later. Early success is useful participation.