Digital Graphics Competition in partnership with Karla Perez
PURPOSE: Use the power of representation to critique the existing city and create an imagination for the future city.
CHALLENGE: produce an A2 visual representation along with a short written manifesto that imagines the future of the cities.
SCENARIO: Nature and the city.
Some of the earliest cities were a result of surplus agricultural practices. It demanded modification of waterways and the organization of extensive labor to carry out the massive civil project of canals and dams. The question of nature in the city at the same time becomes intriguing and challenging to answer.
At one level, cities modify the existing natural conditions to reconfigure and create a new nature; on another level, cities in many parts of the world destroyed the earlier rhythms of nature.
Can you imagine the relationship between the city and nature in the distant future? Where are we headed? Is there hope, or are we trapped in a vortex of a downward spiral?
The Submission
Some see me as a parasite on their land but I know better.
My people take pride in me, and I’m often all my people have to turn to for survival.
I am bolstered by my people’s creativity and ingenuity. I am resilient.
I will grow and provide more for my community as they invest in me.
I am the future to many.
Favelas
From the outside, these communities seem not worth helping or servicing, although, all across South America more and more people are born and raised in these communities. Favelas, ciudadelas, barrios bajos, or slums, are all built and replicated by people who had nowhere else to turn. Developed from scraps, these communities were built with the intention of survival. They struggle with poor infrastructure, health, and education systems, pushed to the side and generally un-serviced by outside urban cities. Pushed to take what little they have and make of it what they can, these communities often implement systems like community gardens, green roofs, innovative sewage systems, and other sustainable systems that benefit both their community and the environment. Now they are bolstered by programs seeking to better their health and infrastructure, while also maintaining the spirit and creativity that makes them who they are. The spread of favelas across South America are inevitable, and with the help of elevated sustainable practices, better infrastructures, and the use of recycled materials, these unique communities can develop, grow, and cohabitate within all cities. Favelas are the future utopia.
