25 Questions for Cities

What is the best way for cities to make decisions that shape our collective future?

25 Questions for Cities is a citizen engagement project in both physical and digital space.

The physical installation consists of 25 digitally enhanced objects resembling urban infrastructure. Each station is both a question and a polling station, inviting passers-by to share their viewpoints in public space, with their fellow citizens.

Responses are recorded to show differing opinions over time, with the installation itself showcasing the collective opinion of the most recent visitors. Though a single question is binary, together the collection of questions provide a nuanced picture of a complex decision-making process.

So far, the cones have been installed twice in Copenhagen (Denmark), once in London (United Kingdom), and once in Linz (Austria). A fifth and updated installation was prepared for Melbourne Design Week 2020 (Australia), but in the light of growing concerns around Covid-19, we made the difficult decision to cancel the exhibition in its proposed physical location. Hopefully, we will soon find another chance to showcase in Melbourne.

You can also find all three variations of the questions here online: 25Q for Digital Cities, 25Q for Sustainable Cities, and 25Q for Open Cities. Over time, we hope that the insights generated both from the online survey and the physical installation will develop into a better collective understanding of public opinion and civic decision-making.

We will make all data and knowledge collected available to the public, and we hope that lessons learned can help cities, developers, technologists, designers, and activists make informed choices around citymaking and public engagement.

We will share any news about future iterations and physical installations on this site, so stay tuned for opportunities to visit the installation in person.

This project is always a work in progress.