Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Blank canvas - DETROIT as a role model for the future

Detroit (a project by Jonny Knoxville in cooperation with Palladium Boots) a decaying giant of the past economic era. At least so it seems. Look a bit deeper - just dare.

http://www.urbanophile.com/
Not quite so :-) Everywhere where something is dying there is also lots to grow new. Leave an orchard or field alone (for years) - you will be surprised what unimaginable good will emerge.


The messy and unregulated is often best ground to let the new ideas, actions to get out in the open.

What do you see in your "FUTURE EYE"?

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Now that the regulators have moved on, leaving a mess in their wake, the innovators will rise to create something more sustainable. Collective intelligence always trumps the plans and authority of a few :)

Anonymous said...

Marigo,

You are so right about that! It is this invisible, unseen, force that creates order from chaos that so many in American today don't understand. Consequently, they want to turn their freedoms over to the almighty government, centralize authority into an apex of human ego and incompetence, trusting that this nonsense will bring about a better world.

RalfLippold said...

Marigo, Greg,

Thanks a lot for your thoughtful insights. It is a pretty similar situation over here. 15 years ago, the buildings were kept, even if abandoned. Nowadays the heritage is often torn down. Only to make way to a car park of grass area. The connection with the past is sort of cut off pretty much like you would cut of a hand or leg of a human being (because it seems useless), underrating the impact for the larger whole.

What is troubling city fathers so much, that tearing down is the one and only way (very often)?

RalfLippold said...

Places like Detroit that undergo a major transition have the ability to rebirth themselves. Probably more easily than other cities where their cityfathers hope for the best with what is running already.

When there is "nothing left", and the blank canvas is there the "blue sky" is the opportunity space of the future.

The Project for Public Spaces just recently wrote about it in their blog, http://bit.ly/Yqc6Tt

Happy Easter, and a gorgeous rebirth to all