People
John Taylor

Making invisible cities visible | John Taylor | TEDxUbud

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Making invisible cities visible | John Taylor | TEDxUbud

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. John Taylor is interested in people living in areas of physical and social vulnerability, living off the grid, on riverbanks, railway tracks, in poor settlements. They are the core of his work.

Each person is important in a city, each person has a voice and hearing that voice is often difficult. John believes that by helping these people develop, we help all society develop. There is no other way to make our cities, healthier, safer and more prosperous.

John Taylor is half Indonesian and half American, but he was born in Australia and grew up in England. He is passionate about community participation and their involvement in the development of cities and has worked on participatory planning and community development projects for over the last twelve years of his career.

He is the founder and director of the local Indonesian NGO Yayasan Kota Kita, or Our City Foundation, whose mission is to improve participatory planning and budgeting processes by making information available to help citizens understand and take advantage of the opportunities that come with urbanization. Yayasan Kota Kita has worked throughout Indonesia in Makassar, Manado, Pekalongan, Jogyakarta and Jakarta, and is based in Solo.

John has also served as a technical advisor to UN-HABITAT Indonesia, the World Bank, Mercy Corps Indonesia and The Asia and previously worked in Latin America and Africa.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)