Location: India
Website: www.sparcindia.org
The Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC) is one of the largest Indian NGOs working on these issues. SPARC supports two people's movements, the National Slum Dwellers Federation and Mahila Milan, in organizing the urban poor to come together, articulate their concerns and collectively produce solutions to the problems they face.
Together, these organizationsknown as the Allianceare active in over seventy cities across India and in global networks spanning over twenty countries, working to improve the lives of slum dwellers in India and around the world.
The Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centers (SPARC) was formed in 1984 and began working with the most vulnerable and invisible of Mumbai's urban poor - the pavement dwellers. SPARC's philosophy is that if we can develop solutions that work for the poorest and most marginalised in the city, then these solutions can be scaled up to work for other groups of the urban poor across the country and internationally.
SPARC began work in Mumbai’s pavement slums, where they formed a network of women’s collectives called Mahila Milan (“Women Together”).
In 1986, SPARC and MM entered into a partnership with the National Slum Dwellers Federation (NSDF), a broad-based organization of the urban poor founded in the mid-1970s. Together we are known as the SPARC-NSDF-Mahila Milan Alliance.
The ultimate aim of the Alliance is to produce urban and development practices and policies that are inclusive of the poor.
Our mission is to build the capacity of organized communities of the urban poor, especially women, in informal settlements to stop forced evictions and develop the skills and confidence to negotiate with the government and other resource providers around issues of housing, land, basic infrastructure and their “right to the city.”
SPARC today provides professional support to its grassroots partners in order to build their capacity to play a proactive role in developing solutions to urban poverty and creates links between the CBOs and formal institutions and resources.
SPARC is not a manager or welfare provider, but a platform and catalyst for community-driven processes.
Showing posts with label Urban Planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Urban Planning. Show all posts
Friday, March 8, 2013
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Atlanta Beltline
Location: Atlanta, GA
Website: www.beltline.org
Here we've outlined the who, what, when, where, why and how! Learn how we're making this project happen and about all the research and work that has gone into bringing it to life!
- The Atlanta BeltLine is the most comprehensive revitalization effort ever undertaken in the City of Atlanta and among the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment and mobility projects currently underway in the United States.
- This sustainable project is providing a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit by re-using 22-miles of historic railroad corridors circling downtown and connecting 45 neighborhoods directly to each other.
- Federal funding for the Atlanta BeltLine is already underway. The Atlanta Regional Commission has programmed $18.66 million of federal funding for use in right of way acquisition and trail construction in the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP).
- Over $4.7 million of other federal funding for streetscape improvements has already been committed to the Atlanta BeltLine. Other considerations include Transit, Transportation,
- TAD was created in 2005 after receiving overwhelming support from the community and votes of approval by the Atlanta City Council, the Atlanta Public School Board, and the Fulton County Commission.
- Importantly, TAD financing does not require a tax increase. It is a means of using future tax funds to pay for investment in the Atlanta BeltLine now.
- Some neighborhoods have continued to prosper with time, while others have fallen into disrepair. New development, new roads, and new realities have altered some neighborhoods, while others have remained virtually unchanged for decades.
- Obstacles, both natural and manmade, have created barriers separating many of these neighborhoods, and the result is a curious hodgepodge lacking a common thread — until now.
- The Atlanta BeltLine represents an extraordinary opportunity for the City of Atlanta. City leaders the world over spend decades seeking ways to upgrade infrastructure, improve housing opportunities, revolutionize transportation services, promote new job growth, and bring communities together. A success story in any one of these areas is worthy of accolades.
- The Atlanta BeltLine accomplishes every one of these elements, and as the project takes shape, it will provide a blueprint for urban renewal that will be envied and followed by cities across the country and around the world.
- There are many different ways for people to get involved in the Atlanta BeltLine. This is a project by the community for the community, and residents have an active role in every phase of the process. Study Groups and Advisory Boards are opportunities to engage in high-level discussion with neighbors, planners, developers, and elected officials tasked with making the Atlanta BeltLine .
- Study Groups are the primary way to participate in planning the Atlanta BeltLine. Created by the Atlanta City Council, Study Groups enable direct input into the planning, design, and implementation of the Atlanta BeltLine. There are five Study Groups around the Atlanta BeltLine (N, NE, SE, SW, W), and they focus on topics ranging from park design to transit planning. Visit the event calendar to find Study Group meetings near you.
- Cotywide Conversations are the primary way Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. introduces the community to concepts unique to planning and implementing the Atlanta BeltLine vision. These forums engage subject matter experts, provide community education, and promote in-depth dialogue covering different perspectives. Concepts introduced to date include transit supportive development, affordable housing, and community benefits.
- Visit the event calendar to find Citywide Conversations near you.Attend our Quarterly BriefingsAtlanta BeltLine, Inc. convenes quarterly for a citywide briefing on its progress regarding planning, design, and construction activities. You can engage the Atlanta BeltLine team and partners one-on-one and in an open Q&A format.
- Participate with Advisory BoardsThe community can serve on advisory groups by appointment from Atlanta BeltLine Inc., City Council, Atlanta Public Schools, Fulton County, the Mayor and others. The two key advisory groups for the Atlanta BeltLine are the Tax Allocation District Advisory Committee and the BeltLine Affordable Housing Advisory Board. Other planning and advisory committees are created for a short term and typically technical purpose.
Website: www.beltline.org
Here we've outlined the who, what, when, where, why and how! Learn how we're making this project happen and about all the research and work that has gone into bringing it to life!
- The Atlanta BeltLine is the most comprehensive revitalization effort ever undertaken in the City of Atlanta and among the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment and mobility projects currently underway in the United States.
- This sustainable project is providing a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit by re-using 22-miles of historic railroad corridors circling downtown and connecting 45 neighborhoods directly to each other.
- Federal funding for the Atlanta BeltLine is already underway. The Atlanta Regional Commission has programmed $18.66 million of federal funding for use in right of way acquisition and trail construction in the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP).
- Over $4.7 million of other federal funding for streetscape improvements has already been committed to the Atlanta BeltLine. Other considerations include Transit, Transportation,
- TAD was created in 2005 after receiving overwhelming support from the community and votes of approval by the Atlanta City Council, the Atlanta Public School Board, and the Fulton County Commission.
- Importantly, TAD financing does not require a tax increase. It is a means of using future tax funds to pay for investment in the Atlanta BeltLine now.
- Some neighborhoods have continued to prosper with time, while others have fallen into disrepair. New development, new roads, and new realities have altered some neighborhoods, while others have remained virtually unchanged for decades.
- Obstacles, both natural and manmade, have created barriers separating many of these neighborhoods, and the result is a curious hodgepodge lacking a common thread — until now.
- The Atlanta BeltLine represents an extraordinary opportunity for the City of Atlanta. City leaders the world over spend decades seeking ways to upgrade infrastructure, improve housing opportunities, revolutionize transportation services, promote new job growth, and bring communities together. A success story in any one of these areas is worthy of accolades.
- The Atlanta BeltLine accomplishes every one of these elements, and as the project takes shape, it will provide a blueprint for urban renewal that will be envied and followed by cities across the country and around the world.
- There are many different ways for people to get involved in the Atlanta BeltLine. This is a project by the community for the community, and residents have an active role in every phase of the process. Study Groups and Advisory Boards are opportunities to engage in high-level discussion with neighbors, planners, developers, and elected officials tasked with making the Atlanta BeltLine .
- Study Groups are the primary way to participate in planning the Atlanta BeltLine. Created by the Atlanta City Council, Study Groups enable direct input into the planning, design, and implementation of the Atlanta BeltLine. There are five Study Groups around the Atlanta BeltLine (N, NE, SE, SW, W), and they focus on topics ranging from park design to transit planning. Visit the event calendar to find Study Group meetings near you.
- Cotywide Conversations are the primary way Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. introduces the community to concepts unique to planning and implementing the Atlanta BeltLine vision. These forums engage subject matter experts, provide community education, and promote in-depth dialogue covering different perspectives. Concepts introduced to date include transit supportive development, affordable housing, and community benefits.
- Visit the event calendar to find Citywide Conversations near you.Attend our Quarterly BriefingsAtlanta BeltLine, Inc. convenes quarterly for a citywide briefing on its progress regarding planning, design, and construction activities. You can engage the Atlanta BeltLine team and partners one-on-one and in an open Q&A format.
- Participate with Advisory BoardsThe community can serve on advisory groups by appointment from Atlanta BeltLine Inc., City Council, Atlanta Public Schools, Fulton County, the Mayor and others. The two key advisory groups for the Atlanta BeltLine are the Tax Allocation District Advisory Committee and the BeltLine Affordable Housing Advisory Board. Other planning and advisory committees are created for a short term and typically technical purpose.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
CEOs for Cities
Location: Nationwide
Website: www.ceosforcities.org
Today, a city’s future relies upon engaged organizational leaders from across sectors with a shared agenda and a coherent voice. With more than 250 partners from over 40 cities, CEOs for Cities is a civic innovation lab and network of urban leaders and change agents from diverse sectors, including business, higher education, economic development, cultural and creative sectors, foundations and government- dedicated to building, advancing, and sustaining the next generation of great American cities
Our customers are Civic CEOs. Rather than be self-limited by our name, CEOs for Cities’ inclusive definition of CEO means not only Chief Executive Officers but also Chief Entrepreneurial Officers, Chief Education Officers, Chief Economic Officers, Chief Experience Officers, and Chief Exploration Officers. In other words, our customers are urban leaders, and we honor leadership where it happens, regardless of rank or sector.
Our theory of change is that at a time when more than half of the world lives in urban areas, strong, successful American cities are more essential than ever to a strong America. And at a time when our federal and state governments too often are dysfunctional, cities are the best scale at which to organize to tackle critical issues. Cities are big enough to make a difference but small enough to make things happen quickly and effectively.
Cities must be connected and engaged - the connective tissue that links and leverages the human, social, and physical capital of a city is the key to its success. Cities must always be thinking ahead and learning from the best ideas and practices from all sectors, leaders at all levels, and cities, regions, states, and countries throughout the world. The world is coming at us a lightning speed, so this will require constant learning, change, and adaptation.
Our value proposition is that we are a platform that serves as a connected, cross-sector, cross-generational, collaborative infrastructure for making cities better and more successful places to live and work - places where you can build your business and love your life. We are a a cross-sector, cross-generational learning network that facilitates online and face to face interaction through national, regional, and city convenings; research; and the collection and communication of smart ideas and practices for making cities successful. Our learning network is a delivery mechanism for cutting edge ideas, smart practices, and lessons learned.
Our mission is to be a strong, deep, and broad global, cross-sector, cross-generational, inter-connected network that serves as a cutting edge online and face to face platform and collaborative infrastructure for making American cities more vibrant, sustainable, and economically competitive and successful, with a focus on investing in the distinctive assets of cities.
Our vision is to be the premier online and face to face cross-sector, cross-generational learning network in the world for creating and sharing smart ideas to make American cities more successful.
We identify first-look trends and opportunities that represent the best opportunities for cities and their residents to succeed.
We take an asset-based approach to cities, because we believe that cities are the solution to a stronger America.
Cross-Sector – We engage urban leaders across all sectors at all levels because we know that none of us is as smart as all of us
We honor leadership at all levels, including both established and emerging leaders
We connect cross-sector urban leaders to powerful ideas and to each other
We recognize that there is no single recipe for city success and that each city must find its own unique combination of approaches for achieving success
We provide data-driven research with a return on investment approach that can be translated into action.
We mobilize urban activists to execute real change in cities, and we do not insist on elusive perfection to the neglect of the achievable good.
We help cities and regions FACE (Frame, Act, Connect, & Engage) their opportunities and challenges:
We Frame and measure work in a way that is easy-to-understand , remember , and use
We Act by motivating, mobilizing, focusing, and accelerating action on memorable short-term goals that demonstrate measurable progress (City Dividends and Dividend Prizes).
We Connect with the latest, up-to-date, cutting edge information from throughout the world about how to make cities more successful, and with the people creating and implementing those ideas.
We Engage by harnessing and connecting cross-sector, cross-generational talent within and between cities for the purpose of improving their city .
City Vitals is our signature research framework:
We benchmark city/regional performance in the four areas most vital to CITY success: Connections, Innovation, Talent, and Your distinctiveness.
We believe that given the complex, interconnected problems that cities and regions face, it is critical to first research, frame, and organize work that puts a focusing lens on the city and region, and helps to see and understand the critical levers for city and regional success.
We believe that framing is critically important, because, as Wayne Dyer has noted, “if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
We also believe that once the issues are framed and the levers of success are identified, it’s equally important to motivate, mobilize, focus, and accelerate action that can show demonstrable and measurable progress on the critical success levers. City Dividends is our signature action agenda.
We focus our action agenda on City Dividends and Dividend Prize competitions, premised on our research and experience that measurable progress, or “moving the needle,” on targeted work reaps huge economic growth dividends for cities, and accelerates movement on important goals. City Dividends is based on what Harvard Professor Teresa Amabile calls the “progress principle”- the single most important motivator and catalyst of positive action is making progress and showing forward momentum in meaningful work.
Finally, we believe that it is important not only to frame and act but also to connect and engage. Cities must always be thinking ahead and learning from the best ideas and practices from all sectors, leaders at all levels, and cities, regions, states, and countries throughout the nation and the world.
The world is coming at us at lightning speed, so this will require constant learning, change, and adaptation. As a 2012 McKinsey Global Institute report noted, “Be connected. Rather than seeing each other city as competition, building strong connections to other cities can become a collective strength…There are potentially large benefits from being able to tap into the experience of other cities.” The cities that will win in the new networked economy are those that make their boundaries porous to new ideas and talent and demonstrate the humility to understand that there is always something more to learn from someone else, somewhere else.
Website: www.ceosforcities.org
Today, a city’s future relies upon engaged organizational leaders from across sectors with a shared agenda and a coherent voice. With more than 250 partners from over 40 cities, CEOs for Cities is a civic innovation lab and network of urban leaders and change agents from diverse sectors, including business, higher education, economic development, cultural and creative sectors, foundations and government- dedicated to building, advancing, and sustaining the next generation of great American cities
Our customers are Civic CEOs. Rather than be self-limited by our name, CEOs for Cities’ inclusive definition of CEO means not only Chief Executive Officers but also Chief Entrepreneurial Officers, Chief Education Officers, Chief Economic Officers, Chief Experience Officers, and Chief Exploration Officers. In other words, our customers are urban leaders, and we honor leadership where it happens, regardless of rank or sector.
Our theory of change is that at a time when more than half of the world lives in urban areas, strong, successful American cities are more essential than ever to a strong America. And at a time when our federal and state governments too often are dysfunctional, cities are the best scale at which to organize to tackle critical issues. Cities are big enough to make a difference but small enough to make things happen quickly and effectively.
Cities must be connected and engaged - the connective tissue that links and leverages the human, social, and physical capital of a city is the key to its success. Cities must always be thinking ahead and learning from the best ideas and practices from all sectors, leaders at all levels, and cities, regions, states, and countries throughout the world. The world is coming at us a lightning speed, so this will require constant learning, change, and adaptation.
Our value proposition is that we are a platform that serves as a connected, cross-sector, cross-generational, collaborative infrastructure for making cities better and more successful places to live and work - places where you can build your business and love your life. We are a a cross-sector, cross-generational learning network that facilitates online and face to face interaction through national, regional, and city convenings; research; and the collection and communication of smart ideas and practices for making cities successful. Our learning network is a delivery mechanism for cutting edge ideas, smart practices, and lessons learned.
Our mission is to be a strong, deep, and broad global, cross-sector, cross-generational, inter-connected network that serves as a cutting edge online and face to face platform and collaborative infrastructure for making American cities more vibrant, sustainable, and economically competitive and successful, with a focus on investing in the distinctive assets of cities.
Our vision is to be the premier online and face to face cross-sector, cross-generational learning network in the world for creating and sharing smart ideas to make American cities more successful.
We identify first-look trends and opportunities that represent the best opportunities for cities and their residents to succeed.
We take an asset-based approach to cities, because we believe that cities are the solution to a stronger America.
Cross-Sector – We engage urban leaders across all sectors at all levels because we know that none of us is as smart as all of us
We honor leadership at all levels, including both established and emerging leaders
We connect cross-sector urban leaders to powerful ideas and to each other
We recognize that there is no single recipe for city success and that each city must find its own unique combination of approaches for achieving success
We provide data-driven research with a return on investment approach that can be translated into action.
We mobilize urban activists to execute real change in cities, and we do not insist on elusive perfection to the neglect of the achievable good.
We help cities and regions FACE (Frame, Act, Connect, & Engage) their opportunities and challenges:
We Frame and measure work in a way that is easy-to-understand , remember , and use
We Act by motivating, mobilizing, focusing, and accelerating action on memorable short-term goals that demonstrate measurable progress (City Dividends and Dividend Prizes).
We Connect with the latest, up-to-date, cutting edge information from throughout the world about how to make cities more successful, and with the people creating and implementing those ideas.
We Engage by harnessing and connecting cross-sector, cross-generational talent within and between cities for the purpose of improving their city .
City Vitals is our signature research framework:
We benchmark city/regional performance in the four areas most vital to CITY success: Connections, Innovation, Talent, and Your distinctiveness.
We believe that given the complex, interconnected problems that cities and regions face, it is critical to first research, frame, and organize work that puts a focusing lens on the city and region, and helps to see and understand the critical levers for city and regional success.
We believe that framing is critically important, because, as Wayne Dyer has noted, “if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
We also believe that once the issues are framed and the levers of success are identified, it’s equally important to motivate, mobilize, focus, and accelerate action that can show demonstrable and measurable progress on the critical success levers. City Dividends is our signature action agenda.
We focus our action agenda on City Dividends and Dividend Prize competitions, premised on our research and experience that measurable progress, or “moving the needle,” on targeted work reaps huge economic growth dividends for cities, and accelerates movement on important goals. City Dividends is based on what Harvard Professor Teresa Amabile calls the “progress principle”- the single most important motivator and catalyst of positive action is making progress and showing forward momentum in meaningful work.
Finally, we believe that it is important not only to frame and act but also to connect and engage. Cities must always be thinking ahead and learning from the best ideas and practices from all sectors, leaders at all levels, and cities, regions, states, and countries throughout the nation and the world.
The world is coming at us at lightning speed, so this will require constant learning, change, and adaptation. As a 2012 McKinsey Global Institute report noted, “Be connected. Rather than seeing each other city as competition, building strong connections to other cities can become a collective strength…There are potentially large benefits from being able to tap into the experience of other cities.” The cities that will win in the new networked economy are those that make their boundaries porous to new ideas and talent and demonstrate the humility to understand that there is always something more to learn from someone else, somewhere else.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation
Location: Cicinnati, OH
x Website: www.3cdc.org
The Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) is a 501(c) 3, tax-exempt, private, non-profit corporation. Its mission and strategic focus is to strengthen the core assets of downtown by revitalizing and connecting the Fountain Square District, the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine (OTR).
Working together with the City of Cincinnati, the State of Ohio and members of Cincinnati's corporate community, 3CDC is committed to establishing a model of excellence and success when it comes to redeveloping and investing in Cincinnati's urban core.
To achieve its mission to strategically revitalize Cincinnati's downtown urban core, 3CDC has the flexibility to function in a variety of roles.
DEVELOPER:
3CDC may directly serve as the developer for targeted redevelopment or new construction projects.
MASTER DEVELOPER:
As a master developer, 3CDC provides comprehensive, strategic, long-range planning.
ASSET MANAGER:
Once a project is complete, 3CDC may serve as asset manager to insure that the goals of the project are fulfilled and outcomes achieved.
LENDER/FUND MANAGER
3CDC loans funds to qualified to achieve its mission to strategically revitalize Cincinnati's downtown urban core, 3CDC has the flexibility to function in a variety of roles.
DEVELOPER:
3CDC may directly serve as the developer for targeted redevelopment or new construction projects.
MASTER DEVELOPER:
As a master developer, 3CDC provides comprehensive, strategic, long-range planning.
ASSET MANAGER:
Once a project is complete, 3CDC may serve as asset manager to insure that the goals of the project are fulfilled and outcomes achieved.
LENDER/FUND MANAGER:
3CDC loans funds to qualified developers for urban redevelopment projects. The funds are drawn from two private equity funds that specifically target downtown redevelopment. More >
In all these roles, 3CDC works collaboratively with funding partners and the City of Cincinnati to bring stability and vitality to formerly distressed urban areas. developers for urban redevelopment projects. The funds are drawn from two private equity funds that specifically target downtown redevelopment.
In all these roles, 3CDC works collaboratively with funding partners and the City of Cincinnati to bring stability and vitality to formerly distressed urban areas.
x Website: www.3cdc.org
The Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC) is a 501(c) 3, tax-exempt, private, non-profit corporation. Its mission and strategic focus is to strengthen the core assets of downtown by revitalizing and connecting the Fountain Square District, the Central Business District and Over-the-Rhine (OTR).
Working together with the City of Cincinnati, the State of Ohio and members of Cincinnati's corporate community, 3CDC is committed to establishing a model of excellence and success when it comes to redeveloping and investing in Cincinnati's urban core.
To achieve its mission to strategically revitalize Cincinnati's downtown urban core, 3CDC has the flexibility to function in a variety of roles.
DEVELOPER:
3CDC may directly serve as the developer for targeted redevelopment or new construction projects.
MASTER DEVELOPER:
As a master developer, 3CDC provides comprehensive, strategic, long-range planning.
ASSET MANAGER:
Once a project is complete, 3CDC may serve as asset manager to insure that the goals of the project are fulfilled and outcomes achieved.
LENDER/FUND MANAGER
3CDC loans funds to qualified to achieve its mission to strategically revitalize Cincinnati's downtown urban core, 3CDC has the flexibility to function in a variety of roles.
DEVELOPER:
3CDC may directly serve as the developer for targeted redevelopment or new construction projects.
MASTER DEVELOPER:
As a master developer, 3CDC provides comprehensive, strategic, long-range planning.
ASSET MANAGER:
Once a project is complete, 3CDC may serve as asset manager to insure that the goals of the project are fulfilled and outcomes achieved.
LENDER/FUND MANAGER:
3CDC loans funds to qualified developers for urban redevelopment projects. The funds are drawn from two private equity funds that specifically target downtown redevelopment. More >
In all these roles, 3CDC works collaboratively with funding partners and the City of Cincinnati to bring stability and vitality to formerly distressed urban areas. developers for urban redevelopment projects. The funds are drawn from two private equity funds that specifically target downtown redevelopment.
In all these roles, 3CDC works collaboratively with funding partners and the City of Cincinnati to bring stability and vitality to formerly distressed urban areas.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
UrbDeZine
Location: Nationwide
Website: www.urbdezine.com
UrbDeZine is a ‘web-zine’ about regional architecture, design, and culture.
Essentially, this site is about the design of your community, whether that is architecture, urban planning, transportation, historic preservation, ecology, or culture. UrbDezine is designed to provide the fastest and most comprehensive information by being an interactive community forum.
UrbDeZine is for people who are passionate about the design of their community. Submit articles & images to info@urbdezine.com, along with a photo (head shot) and professional biography (limit 5 pgs). Your profile and a link will be included in articles/images selected for publication.
The Author Panel is invitation only but if you are interested in being on the Panel, please submit your qualifications. Qualified and committed article submitters may be invited for inclusion on the Panel.
Article writing for UrbDeZine is an excellent way to influence design for the better, as well as an excellent way for design professionals to market themselves through the web and social media, and improve the SEO of their own websites.
Website: www.urbdezine.com
UrbDeZine is a ‘web-zine’ about regional architecture, design, and culture.
Essentially, this site is about the design of your community, whether that is architecture, urban planning, transportation, historic preservation, ecology, or culture. UrbDezine is designed to provide the fastest and most comprehensive information by being an interactive community forum.
UrbDeZine is for people who are passionate about the design of their community. Submit articles & images to info@urbdezine.com, along with a photo (head shot) and professional biography (limit 5 pgs). Your profile and a link will be included in articles/images selected for publication.
The Author Panel is invitation only but if you are interested in being on the Panel, please submit your qualifications. Qualified and committed article submitters may be invited for inclusion on the Panel.
Article writing for UrbDeZine is an excellent way to influence design for the better, as well as an excellent way for design professionals to market themselves through the web and social media, and improve the SEO of their own websites.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Shrinking Cities
Location: International
Website: www.shrinkingcities.org
Whether in the USA, Britain, or Belgium, Finland, Italy, Russia, Kazakhstan, or China: everywhere, cities are shrinking. The dramatic development in eastern Germany since 1989, which has led to more than a million empty apartments and to the abandoning of countless industrial parks and social and cultural facilities, has proven to be no exception, but a general pattern of our civilization.
Shrunken cities contradict the image, familiar since the Industrial Revolution, of the "boomtown", a big city characterized by constant economic and demographic growth. Shrunken cities spur a reconsideration not only of traditional ideas of the European city, but also of the future development of urban worlds.
The drastic changes in cities caused by shrinking thus present not only an economic and social, but also a cultural challenge. Urban shrinking can hardly be affected by city planning, and it brings numerous problems. New types of cities arise; we do not yet have ways of thinking or of using their specific character.
Shrinking Cities, a three-year initiative project of Germany's Federal Cultural Foundation, seeks to expand Germany's city-planning debate - until now concentrated on questions of demolishing surplus apartments and improving residential quarters - to address new questions and perspectives.
The project also places developments in eastern Germany in an international context, involving various artistic, design, and research disciplines in the search for strategies for action.
The emphases of the research and exhibition project, Shrinking Cities, are, first, an international study of processes of shrinking (first project phase) and, second, the development of strategies for action for eastern Germany (second project phase).
Since 2002, four local interdisciplinary teams have been commissioned to study and document urban shrinking processes in the urban regions of Detroit (USA), Manchester/Liverpool (Britain), Ivanovo (Russia), and Halle/Leipzig (Germany).
Each site stands as an example of a specific form of shrinking: In Detroit, the issue is the consequences of suburbanization; in Manchester/Liverpool, of deindustralization; in Ivanavo, of postsocialism; and in the greater Halle/Leipzig region, several of these factors are compounded. People from various disciplines, including urban geographers, cultural experts, architects, journalists, and artists, take part in the work.
The Shrinking Cities project initiates innovative approached to solutions in two ways. First, together with the architecture magazine archplus, the project announced in January 2004 an international, open idea competition.
Second, the two other project partners - the Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau and the Galerie für zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig - gave direct commissions and work stipends related to the theme.
In this way, a selection of potential interventions were emerged that offers exemplary perspectives for culturally dealing with shrinking cities. This will give the respective sites ideas for discussing their new situation and local actors new possibilities of action.
Communicating the work and the results of the project Shrinking Cities is an essential part of the project itself. The project's results were presented in numerous public presentations, three exhibitions, the website, and diverse publications.
The results of the first project phase (the international study) are documented in a catalogue and an exhibition, which was shown in September 2004 at the KW - Institute For Contemporary Art (formerly: Kunst-Werke) in Berlin and in 2005 in Halle (Saale).
The results of the second phase of work were presented in an exhibition in Winter 2005 in Leipzig. In Autumn 2006 the project will be presented in the framework of the 10th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice. It is intended to then show the exhibition in additional international sites.
2002: September kick-off project / form local teams at the four locations to be investigated / begin analysis.
2003: Develop project concept further - carry out comparative international analysis together with architects, artists, urban geographers, ethnologists, journalists, graphic designers etc.
February initial event for the press / 1st International Workshop in Berlin July 2nd International Workshop in Ivanovo November 3rd International Workshop in Liverpool December conclude analysis.
2004: Award commissions and stipends / the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and the Leipzig Gallery of Contemporary Art, as project partners, hold workshops to develop interventions for eastern Germany.
January ARCH+ magazine holds the international open competition / September exhibit the results of the international analysis in Berlin / publish book / judge the second phase of the competition.
2005: Fall present results of the second phase of the project, with exhibition and interventions in public space in Halle and Leipzig / publish second book .
2006: The project is presented in the framework of the 10th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice/ publish second book / publish Atlas of shrinking cities / Exhibitions in New York.
2007 - 2008: Shrinking Cities Exhibition
Website: www.shrinkingcities.org
Whether in the USA, Britain, or Belgium, Finland, Italy, Russia, Kazakhstan, or China: everywhere, cities are shrinking. The dramatic development in eastern Germany since 1989, which has led to more than a million empty apartments and to the abandoning of countless industrial parks and social and cultural facilities, has proven to be no exception, but a general pattern of our civilization.
Shrunken cities contradict the image, familiar since the Industrial Revolution, of the "boomtown", a big city characterized by constant economic and demographic growth. Shrunken cities spur a reconsideration not only of traditional ideas of the European city, but also of the future development of urban worlds.
The drastic changes in cities caused by shrinking thus present not only an economic and social, but also a cultural challenge. Urban shrinking can hardly be affected by city planning, and it brings numerous problems. New types of cities arise; we do not yet have ways of thinking or of using their specific character.
Shrinking Cities, a three-year initiative project of Germany's Federal Cultural Foundation, seeks to expand Germany's city-planning debate - until now concentrated on questions of demolishing surplus apartments and improving residential quarters - to address new questions and perspectives.
The project also places developments in eastern Germany in an international context, involving various artistic, design, and research disciplines in the search for strategies for action.
The emphases of the research and exhibition project, Shrinking Cities, are, first, an international study of processes of shrinking (first project phase) and, second, the development of strategies for action for eastern Germany (second project phase).
Since 2002, four local interdisciplinary teams have been commissioned to study and document urban shrinking processes in the urban regions of Detroit (USA), Manchester/Liverpool (Britain), Ivanovo (Russia), and Halle/Leipzig (Germany).
Each site stands as an example of a specific form of shrinking: In Detroit, the issue is the consequences of suburbanization; in Manchester/Liverpool, of deindustralization; in Ivanavo, of postsocialism; and in the greater Halle/Leipzig region, several of these factors are compounded. People from various disciplines, including urban geographers, cultural experts, architects, journalists, and artists, take part in the work.
The Shrinking Cities project initiates innovative approached to solutions in two ways. First, together with the architecture magazine archplus, the project announced in January 2004 an international, open idea competition.
Second, the two other project partners - the Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau and the Galerie für zeitgenössische Kunst Leipzig - gave direct commissions and work stipends related to the theme.
In this way, a selection of potential interventions were emerged that offers exemplary perspectives for culturally dealing with shrinking cities. This will give the respective sites ideas for discussing their new situation and local actors new possibilities of action.
Communicating the work and the results of the project Shrinking Cities is an essential part of the project itself. The project's results were presented in numerous public presentations, three exhibitions, the website, and diverse publications.
The results of the first project phase (the international study) are documented in a catalogue and an exhibition, which was shown in September 2004 at the KW - Institute For Contemporary Art (formerly: Kunst-Werke) in Berlin and in 2005 in Halle (Saale).
The results of the second phase of work were presented in an exhibition in Winter 2005 in Leipzig. In Autumn 2006 the project will be presented in the framework of the 10th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice. It is intended to then show the exhibition in additional international sites.
2002: September kick-off project / form local teams at the four locations to be investigated / begin analysis.
2003: Develop project concept further - carry out comparative international analysis together with architects, artists, urban geographers, ethnologists, journalists, graphic designers etc.
February initial event for the press / 1st International Workshop in Berlin July 2nd International Workshop in Ivanovo November 3rd International Workshop in Liverpool December conclude analysis.
2004: Award commissions and stipends / the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and the Leipzig Gallery of Contemporary Art, as project partners, hold workshops to develop interventions for eastern Germany.
January ARCH+ magazine holds the international open competition / September exhibit the results of the international analysis in Berlin / publish book / judge the second phase of the competition.
2005: Fall present results of the second phase of the project, with exhibition and interventions in public space in Halle and Leipzig / publish second book .
2006: The project is presented in the framework of the 10th International Architecture Exhibition in Venice/ publish second book / publish Atlas of shrinking cities / Exhibitions in New York.
2007 - 2008: Shrinking Cities Exhibition
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