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Future Of The City
fabulation session 20131108-9 AltArt, Transylvania. Faciliated by Istvan Szakats
(notes from day 1)
Group – Rarita
Cities – general ideas
• Most population in Europe lives in cities (60%?) – one cannot escape statistics • Surveillance – recent history ante ’89 vs traffic surveillance; to be watched (CCTV) vs, feeling constantly watched; anonymity in public spaces vs rural “surveillance” where you can’t escape getting noticed • City annihilates or amplifies individuality • Sectoral industry cities are different from continent to continent / country to country • Paris as example of homelessness, rats, misery vs tourism mania • Cities have different orientations (industrial, cultural, touristic) • The issue of ghost cities, abandoned or failed cities (ex. Detroit, Chinese cities) • Pathological behaviors in cities • Homelessness – big in capital cities, small or non-existence in small cities • One is always a minority and never the target of everything that is going on in a city. • Sustainability – cities are the least sustainable form • Everything that has to do with cities is a paradox • Every city has a potential for a better path to the future • Rural-urban distinction
Characteristics :
• Lots of people • Crowds • Special districts for all tastes/hobbies – thematic, food, cultural, for specific groups • Concentration yet variety • Cities cluster/marginalize on specific purposes (case of immigrants- rent price control, parking control) • Communities that always “flock together“, small communities • Traffic – the too many cars issues yet cars define social status and become a ”must have” • There is always a chance for leisure activities (running exercise) • Biking is more and more used • Lots of services • Geography / landscape defines cities • Eco-cities and real sustainable cities– can they exist ? • Food – farmers, bio products
Likes – What do a like/love in a city??
• There are communities for everything • Divers population • Safety • Cities are “walk-able” • Multicultural and the challenges to deal with it • History • Multiples, culture crash • Cities are too big to experience • The chance to change cities • Concentration • Gaining anonymity • Variety • Cities as culture magnets • Velocity – speed, access, information, mobility • Variety of foods / cuisines • Connectivity, internet and easy access • Freedom and obscurity • Different cultural backgrounds and different styles • The chance to make choices • Regenerative cities – cities can transform, improve themselves – urban planners, architects , landscape architects can use challenging concepts to transform cities • Love a city that still has/keeps a human size • Changing realities • Friendly people • Interest in marginal groups • Infinite freedom • you can find communities that welcome you • getting the chance not to be noticed
Dislikes – What do I hate most in cities?
• Stigmatization • Racism • Bad urban planning – historical vs new neighborhoods • Lack of forests • Traffic jams • Claustrophobic • Dependence on resources • Distance from nature • Concentration of people that never talk to each other • Loosing anonymity • Social/public spaces that make you feel strange • Intolerance • Getting the chance not to be noticed • Lack of interest of who you are • Distraction • Burden of making choices • Loneliness (an appearance? Lonely groups cancel themselves out) • No place for losers – just for successful people • The social pressure to show you are successful • Hating the city itself because everything manmade is not perfect • Crime ; crime happens if neighborhood structure allows it. • The inhumanity of the city – it does not work on human scale, timeframes, imposes roles, lack of access, • Dependence on resources (ex. electricity) • Bad urban planning.. • Garbage / waste • Ignorance • Many choices but actually trivial • Lack of safety • Crime – riots • Protests , strikes • Pollution, • Strikes • Unfriendly for animals – created for the interest of the supreme human race. • Cities grow without a limit • Sexual violence, sexual assaulting, domestic violence • Ignorance
Others
- Poverty vs richness,
- Rules and slaves,
- Small image, big image,
- City is always on the verge of collapse
- Using more images then before
- Internet – urbanization of mental space
- You have limited time to generate as many identities as you like.