PROJECTS & LABS NEWS
I LOVE ATINA
CLEAR VILLAGE is excited to announce our findings for the first phase of our co-creative work in Atina, Italy!
Atina is a typical small town facing many of the typical challenges of a rural location. It suffers from an ageing population and an economy that is overly dependent on seasonal tourism. In addition it is a fractured community, divided into an old core which is a place of agriculture, heritage and culture and a more recent part which is industrial but has been declining for decades.
Together with the Municipality of Atina and additional partners, including Fabiana Panetta, Artur Moustafa and Angela Koch of ImaginePlaces, we have co-created a placemaking roadmap to a thriving community.
You can take a look at our report or readmore about the project and roadmap via this link to our website.
EVENTS & TALKS
“DID YOU SENSE THAT!?” A CLEAR VILLAGE, HUMAN CITIES AND UIWE WORKSHOP AT THE HUMAN CITIES SYMPOSIUM 2012 – RECLAIMING PUBLIC SPACE
You might wonder why the senses are important in relation to public space. The background idea was that public space is a common good for urban dwellers; it belongs to everyone and is everyone’s responsibility. Thus the way public spaces are managed and operated expresses a great deal about the societal drivers, civic ownership and sense of belonging in a city. But how can the secrets of public space be unlocked?At the 2012 Human Cities Festival, CLEAR VILLAGE held a live-experiment workshop to test how humane the city of Brussels actually is. We invited Human Cities Symposium delegates and members of the public to a sensory exploration of public space. The workshop consisted of a small series of exercises that opened the mind and prepared the senses with introductions to each sense and a tour in the public space guided by our field-specialist facilitators.
With a human-centric approach, we introduced sensory perspectives of public space and engaged all participants in on-site exploration. The experiences were documented, and we later analysed the human quality of the public space and the involvement of the public in the making of public space.
You can also review our findings report here, and learn more about this exciting workshop here.
OUT & ABOUT
HIGHLIGHTS FROM PARTICIPATORY EVENTS AND WORKSHOPS DURING THIS EXCITING OLYMPICS YEAR!
FESTIVAL VILLAGE
Festival Village & Festival of the World, hosted by our friends from Tilt, will be opened by one of the Creative Directors of the Royal Festival Hall, who presented a juicy collection of initiatives including “The Museum of Social Change” and “Mark the Site Out” to mark the Olympic year.
RETHINK GAMES
Great ideas coming from gamification! Alice snapped this gem at the London Games Lab by Rethink Games. For more information, take a look at their website: //www.playrethink.com/
CITIES OUTLOOK 2012
Cities Outlook 2012, a report by Centre for Cities was launched by Greg Clark MP, Minister for Decentralisation & Cities on the 23 January 2012 — at London’s Living Room, City Hall London.
OCCUPY WORLD STREET – GLOBAL ROADMAP FOR ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL REFORM
Left to Right – Ross Jackson, founder of Gaia Trust, was joined by Craig Bennett, Policy and Campaign Director at Friends of the Earth, and Caroline Lucas, MP and Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, for the launch of his book: “Occupy World Street: A Global Roadmap for Radical Economic and Political Reform” — at Royal Society Of Arts.
MEGACHANGE
“We think about the future, because its FUN!” says Stian Westlake of NESTA during the “Megachange: The World in 2050” book launch event. Left to Right – Oliver Morton from The Economist and author of “Author of ‘Eating the Sun: How Plants Power the Planet”, John Andrews, co-editor of “Megachange”, Stian Westlake of NESTA, and then Philip Coggan from The Economist. — at NESTA.
WELCOME NEW TEAM MEMBER
ALAN REITSCH
CLEAR VILLAGE welcomes Alan Reitsch as our new Chief of Technology and Communications. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest in the United States, Alan studied Behavioral Ecology and Anthropology at Reed College and received his Bachelors of Science degree in Marine Ecology from the pioneering, inter-disciplinary Evergreen State College. Following his years of Field Biology researching whales, dolphins, and sea birds around the world, including Antarctica, Alan embarked on a career in Information Systems and Technology. He worked his way from technical support engineer to Software Engineering Director and Lead Application Architect at the world’s largest online auto-sales company and to CIO at Africa Aid, a medical mobile network non-profit based in San Francisco, California. Alan has had many successes working with some of the world’s top marketing organizations, and is passionate about film as a writer, director, and editor. Alan is thrilled to unite with the co-creative placemakers at CLEAR VILLAGE to help solve tough challenges faced by global communities.
FORWARD FOCUS
NPPF – CLEAR VILLAGE POSITION ON NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK
CLEAR VILLAGE is excited to see the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) published by the government this week. We fully support policy focus on sustainable development,… localised co-creative planning, and quality design placemaking. CLEAR VILLAGE looks forward to engagements with local communities and authorities to support planning efforts for a better living environment.See our full review here
SVENSK SCENKONST – SWEEDISH STAGE ARTS
This coming month the Svensk Scenkonst, the national guild for music, dance and theatre in Sweeden, has invited Helsingborg City Theatre and CLEAR VILLAGE to present the HCT Dynamic Dialogues during the association’s annual 2012 conference! We’re excited to join our Dynamic Dialogue collaborators Max Granström, CEO of Helsingborg City Theatre, and Artur Moustafa, Outreach Coordinator of Helsingborg City Theatre, for the presentation and will conduct a mini-lab for members to inspire new approaches for engaging their communities!
Click here to learn more about Svensk Scenkonst.