Up up and away

By Julian Broadhead

‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’, is unfortunately a phrase I often hear quoted about friends’ inexplicable and suspect love choices. But like all good sayings, it’s relevant because it’s true. So much is dependent on our perceptions and opinions, as individuals and a society. Luckily for us, our perceptions are not fixed but instead exist in a constant state of flux, evolving and adapting to the ever changing world around us. The result is that the unimaginable can soon become second nature.

Our attitudes to waste in modern society provide a relevant example because, in recent times, we have gone from giving little or no consideration to how we consume and dispose of goods, to a greater questioning of this behaviour and renewed emphasis on the opportunity for recycling and reuse. The latest embodiment of this is the growth of upcycling; where recycling means re-creating  the original raw material (such as paper, glass or metal), upcycling involves taking ‘waste’ and using it to create a product or material of greater quality and value. 

Driving this reassessment has been the opportunity for creativity. Where recycling is generally a specialised, industrial process, anyone can upcycle. Influential blogs such as Inhabitat are full of great ideas that you almost think you could do yourself and in fact, sites like the fantastic Instructables will show you exactly how. Nor is that all, the latest potential source of inspiration is WeUpcycle.com. Started by two students from Vienna, the original aim of the site was to profile 30 ideas in 30 days but it is proving so popular that they are now extending the life of the project by a day for every concept submitted. 

Anything can be upcycled, it just depends on your perception; I for one have been taking vast amounts of retired luxury hotel bed linen and turning it in to beautiful bags. So next time you find something you like but aren’t sure what to do with it, just try looking at what it could be rather than what it’s not.

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