A new report by the Knight Foundation explores the potential for innovative media to encourage civic engagement. It's clear that we now live in a network-centric world, but how can nonprofits harness the power of informal online networks to strengthen communities? "Connected Citizens" identifies five promising network-centric practices: consulting the crowds, designing for serendipitous connections, bridging differences, catalyzing mutual support, and providing handrails for collective action. Read the full report for insightful lessons, case studies, and resources.

Watch a video summary or read the full report here.

Interested in architecture and design high school programs? Don't miss this webinar on May 19, "Designing a Diverse, Inclusive Profession through the Development of Architecture and Design Community Schools." Hear first hand from representatives of the Charter High School for Architecture and Design in Philadelphia (CHAD), the Design and Architecture Senior High in Miami (DASH), the John Hay High School for Architecture and Design in Cleveland (JHHSAD), and the Build San Francisco Institute (BSFI) on how to successfully develop an architecture and design high school.

Click here for more information and to register.

AAO warmly welcomes our newest members: Susanne Schnell from Chicago,  Marianna McJimsey from Colorado Springs, and new organizational member the Architecture Center Houston (ArCH).
Learn more about AAO membership.

Archeworks, a miltidisciplinary public interest design collaborative, is seeking emerging and mid-career architects, designers and planners to address the greatest urban challenges in today's cities. Apply now!
Click here to learn more about the Archeworks 2011-2012 program.

In other member news, the Columbus (IN) Area Visitors Center will open Saarinen's Miller House to the public in May, in partnership with the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Congratulations on the great spread in Dwell and all the other press attention!
Click here for a sampling of the Miller House press.

Interest in the field of urban design is growing among young people. This year, Parsons The New School for Design launches the nation's first undergraduate degree in urban design. Coming out of high school, more and more students want to learn how design can address increasing urbanization. This program offers a mix of design and theory so that students can better understand and intervene in their surroundings. In an insightful interview in Urban Omnibus, Victoria Marshall, the program director, shares her thoughts on what "urban design" actually means and how to go about teaching it.

Learn more about Parson's BS in Urban Design here.

Read the interview with the Parson's program director here.

Most of us spend our days making architecture more understandable to the general public. If only architects' websites had the same mission. Unfortunately, their flashiness (and flash software) often hinders communication with the public. When Studio Gang Architects decided to redo their site, they turned to the expertise of Bruce Mau Design (BMD) with a simple design challenge: create a unique site based on user-friendly web conventions that also looks striking. In "Bruce Mau Design: 3 Conditions That Set The Stage For Blinding Insight," BMD's Paddy Harrington discusses the value of immersion, friction, and delirium in achieving insight during the design process.

Click here to read the FastCo article about Studio Gang's website.

Interested in an AAO discussion group on Digital Learning? Let us know!

2011 Conference and Call for Proposal Announced: October 9-11 in Philadelphia

Save the date! AAO/A+DEN is partnering with the Association for Community Design (ACD) for our next annual conference, which will take place in Philadelphia from October 9-11. This year we turn our attention to collaboration, focusing on the ways architectural organizations, community designers, and educators work together to best promote and advocate for quality design in our communities, investigating how our projects - big or small, traditional or experimental - speak to one another and illuminate the larger aims we share. Registration opens in July.

Email us with your ideas for conference speakers by May 1.

Interested in speaking? Click here to submit a proposal by June 1.

Film screenings, film series, film festivals...many architectural organizations are creating programming around films. In case your group is thinking about film programming (or if you're working on your own Netflix queue), consider these popular films on contemporary architecture. This list covers everything from Sydney Pollack's Sketches of Frank Gehry to The Power of Ten, one of the 75 films by Charles and Ray Eames included in a six disc collection of their work.

View the list of 12 contemporary architecture films.

Due to its popularity, we've compiled another monthly listing of architecture and design exhibitions that have recently opened. See how your peers approached specific topics, gather inspiration for your next exhibition, and find opportunities to connect about shared programming. We've also included select press responses to the exhibitions, so you can see how architecture is being talked about across the country and around the world. For instance, read about the traveling exhibition "Anne Tyne: Inhabiting Geometry," pictured at left (currently at the Graham Foundation), in the Chicago Tribune.

See our listing of April architecture and design exhibitions here.