Can you Crowdsource a City?
10 MAY 2012 By: Vanessa Quirk
A screenshot of the Video for the City 2.0, the 2012 TED Prize Winner, which aims to usecrowdsourcingtechnologyto rebuild our cities. Photo via Atlantic Cities.
,” “
” “
” (That‟s lighter, quicker, cheaper for the
unfamiliar).Urbanisms of the People have been getting awfully catch-phrasey these
days. What all these types of DIY Urbanisms share is a can-
do spirit, a “
”mentality: people are taking back their cities, without any “expert” help.
Unfortunately, of course, this mindset creates an anti-establishment (often, anti-architect) antagonism that would render any wide-spread change nigh impossible.Yes, the DIY movement, facilitated by the use of technology, is excellent forgetting people involved, for encouraging important, innovative ideas
–
in the
short-term
.As Alexandra Lange recently pointed out in her
post “
” technology is not a “magic wand,” and crowdsourcing initiatives often
fall short in the day-to-day, nitty-gritty work of a large-scale, long-term urbanproject.But while technology certainly has its limitations, its potential to facilitateconnection and communication is unparalleled. What is vital, however, is that thetechnology enhance,
not replace
, our physical relationships. Instead of using onlineplatforms as divisive or purely conceptual forums, they must becomes tools of transparency and trust-building, mediators of a conversation that invests andconnects all parties on the ground.
Image of Constitución after the 2010 Earthquake. Image via Brickstarter.
From Catastrophe, Co-Design
Allow me to take a somewhat unusual angle here. To understand what technology
can do for us, let‟s first take a look at the incredible feats you can accom
plishwithout it at all.February 27, 2010. 3:34am. An 8.8 magnitude earthquake,the third largest in
history, hits the city of Concepción, Chile, moving the city 10
to the West. Triggering a tsunami, the earthquake leaves devastation in its wake.Rodrigo Araya,of Tironi Asociados,is faced with an enormous challenge: to
facilitate the planning of a similarly damaged city, Constitución.
In 90 days
. How
does he do it? “As
„s Dan Hill explains in a
“By pivoting the
entire masterplan process upon citizen participation, with co-design as the
organising principle.”
One of the resulting plans for Consitución, this one for a Theater.
What does this mean, exactly? It involves something known as “hybrid forums.” In
a small structure in the middle of the city, members of industry, government, andthe community met in a series of intense debates to express what theyneeded/wanted from their future city. Meanwhile, architects AlejandroGutierrezof Arup and Alejandro Aravena of ELEMENTAL were on-site, adjusting
their proposals in response, essentially shaping the plans in real-time.Vitally, the citizens were always given priority in this process, displacing thepoliticians and businessmen (the funders) from their traditional place of control. The result of this transparent process was not just a plan,but the
community‟s
trust
in the plan.In earthquake-ravaged Constitución, the internet was not a possibility; thus,anything from radio channels to megaphones on roving cars were used to spread
the word. But Araya‟s principles –
the focal forum, the strict timeline, the feedback loop, the constant rhythm of meetings - all seem perfectly suited to a virtualimplementation.
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