So Jung Rim reports on flourishing social enterprises and cooperatives in Seoul neighbourhoods, and Martin Stewart-Weeks explores how digital technology is supporting Sydney's local social life. Zoe Spiliopolou tells us about how Athens' community institutions and markets are holding communities together in a time of austerity and political crisis. Bjarne Stenquist documents Malmö City's work developing new ways of thinking about regenerating Sweden's suburbs. Marisa Novara reports on placemaking in Chicago. Maryanna Abdo explores new models for educating children living in poverty in Mumbai. Lucia Caistor tells us about protest against the demolition of older neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires. Douglas Cochrane looks at the experience of Nakuru in Kenya where activism has evolved out of necessity, and the young people's cooperative Hope and Vision, at first refused loans from banks and micro-finance agencies, has now been named best Youth Cooperative in Kenya by the Kenyan government. Our collection of stories - first serialised on Urban Times - opens up street views on urban innovation. Through research, practical projects, and dialogues with communities and institutions in different cities, we are looking at new, small-scale and citizen-led approaches to innovation from around the world. Our first city partners are Malmö and Chicago. This is the first publication from the Social Life of Cities collaborative, a partnership between Social Life, Cisco and the Young Foundation. Everyday life of city streets and neighbourhoods gives us a perspective on cities, social change and the radical variety of urban life, that is dramatically different to conceptualising a city as an intelligent network, an economic system, or a conglomeration of different infrastructure. We believe that looking at a high street, a neighbourhood park, or a local café can tell us much about the health and resilience of a community. To highlight the energy and creativity that drives neighbourhood life in cities, Social Life has published a collection of essays about city life. The answers to these questions often lie in the detail of how urban residents, and communities, get by, deal with change, and take action to improve their lives and challenge what they don't like. These are the questions that often don't make it into debates about urban policy, yet they are exactly the kinds of questions that prompt new ways of thinking about the challenges that cities face. What is it like to live in a particular city if you are six or sixty, a long-term resident, unemployed or homeless? How can understanding community dynamics and the history of a place shed light on why one neighbourhood struggles and another thrives? What are the implications of the starkly uneven distribution of power and resources in our cities? Nicola Bacon and Saffron Woodcraft set out why it matters that we pay more attention to the way that individuals and communities are shaping their cities, and why this is the focus of the first publication from the Social Life of Cities collaborative, ten stories of urban innovation from cities across the world.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |