Back to public: rethinking the public dimension of institutional and private initiatives on an urban data platform

Currently, both private and institutional actors are using the most common social networks to promote the public dimension of their work, but only big players can afford large investments for spreading their initiatives, practices or building a participatory process of any kind. The existing social networks have several limitations: they have been modelled on a personalistic logic centred on the individual and on his/her private life. On the other hand, information about initiatives and actions of public interest are shattered in institutional and private websites making impossible to depict what is happening in the city. This contribution addresses the design a public platform for public initiatives, opened to any kind of public players, from citizens to institutions, from non-profit organizations to companies. We present the outcomes of the scenario analysis and the participatory design process, showing how general requirements have been translated in design principles and functionalities available in the platform FirstLife.