A small but significant introduction

By Julian Broadhead

It’s fair to say that the movements we’ve featured on VivaCity during our sixteenth months of existence serve as suitably eclectic testament to the many wonderful things going on in the world’s urban centres. Whilst many of them may not have a great deal in common, we believe they all share a crucial sense of positivity and a desire to make things better. With this in mind, it is a great pleasure to introduce Sleeping Bags, a project involving Andy Marks and I, which we hope will make a small contribution to this collective effort.

Sleeping Bags is a social enterprise that was conceived and founded by Andy over a year ago, with the aim of eliminating waste and reducing our dependence on disposable plastic bags. We do this by taking retired hotel bed linen and turning it into beautiful, reusable shopping bags, decorated with designs from leading individuals in the arts and creative industries. Not only that, having committed ourselves to certain guiding principles (despite having a complete lack of experience in design and manufacturing), every element of the Sleeping Bags production cycle happens within the greater London area. Moving forward (and as we hopefully grow), we will continue to employ this ‘local-loop’ model.

So, after a rollercoaster period of development, we are delighted to be officially launching Sleeping Bags, the bags with no baggage. Initially, they can be both seen and purchased at the Zetter Hotel in London (who have also allowed us to create a fantastic installation in their atrium, feel free to drop by and see it) and the online retailer, Lost Values. They will also shortly be available at the St. Martin’s Lane Hotel in London, as well as at a number of other soon to be confirmed locations (both physical and online).

To celebrate this small but historic occasion, we would like to give away a Sleeping Bag to one lucky VivaCity reader. To be in with a chance, all you have to do is email us at info@vivacity.me, we’ll be drawing a winner at the end of the month.

why vivacity

This is the century of the city.

Over half the world’s population now live in cities. This is projected to rise to three-quarters of all people in 2050. With population increases, this means 6.75 billion of us will be city dwellers, an increase of 3.75 billion from today. As the future success or failure of mankind lies in cities, new ways of using them are needed.

The city represents an incredible paradox. We have never been closer together physically, but we have never been further away from each other emotionally. At vivacity we celebrate city movements around the world that change and re-define the way we interact with and use cities. Whilst cities cannot cope with the numbers now and the resultant strain on the world’s natural resources and eco-systems are already painfully evident, we believe that human spirit and endeavor will overcome, as it has done before.

vivacity promotes city movements that are connecting people & creating new types of communities. They are typically low impact, highly sociable, enabled by technology, using public and private spaces in new ways and empowering people to act locally.

vivacity promotes new ways of feeling alive, new ways of being invigorated, and new things to be a part of. We call it grassroots stuff in the city. We hope you get involved and share your experiences with us.

who we are

Andy Marks vivacity founder and editor

Social entrepreneur, lecturer, writer and curator, Andy Marks is an agent of positive social change practicing at the intersection or fault-line of business, society and culture. Andy is the founder of research and consultancy network Salad Worldwide, an advisor to some of the world’s leading companies on Corporate Responsibility and an advisor to a number of non-profit organizations. Andy is an expert on grass roots city movements, and a founding partner of an upcycling enterprise launching in 2010.

Julian Broadhead contributor

With a background in advertising, branding and corporate responsibility, Julian works with blue-chip companies from a wide range of industries and sectors, advising on strategy and new ways of connecting with people. He is currently developing a number of new opportunities in the environmental sector, with a particular emphasis on making environmental action more accessible.

Shane Solanki – contributor/distributor/carburettor/carbon-ara

Artist, writer, performer, producer and director, Shane’s first short film was commissioned by the BBC and directed by Peter Cattaneo. His first record was produced by Mercury Prize Winner Talvin Singh. He worked for years to forge the unique identity of independent record label Ninja Tune. We at Vivacity like to think of him as a grass roots detective, covertly operating under the pseudonym of the Last Mango in Paris; imagine him skulking around the world in a beige macintosh, recording and documenting our shift into a society where social responsibility and public creativity are norms.

contribute

become a vivacity scout

As more and more of us live in urban areas, individuals and communities can feel overwhelmed and isolated by the sheer intense-city of it all.

However we at vivacity believe that human spirit and endeavor will overcome as it has done so many times before. That is why we are celebrating movements around the world that are changing and re-defining the way we interact with the city. We would like to hear from you about grassroots movements or activities that bring people together face to face and use cities in new ways. The more original and imaginative the better.

Please email us describing a movement you would like to see on vivacity using a maximum of 300 words. info@vivacity.me