Give it away

By Shane Solanki

Collectively, we’re starting to question what we value. We’ve started to realise en masse that it’s not just money that makes the world go round. From gift manifestos to transition initiatives, we’re all putting into place systems which encourage us to be nicer to each other, and the world around us. 

Transition initiatives are community-led responses to the challenges of peak oil, climate change and economic stagnation. They’re based on the assumption that we all experience a life disconnected from the land, the environment and our communities; that we’re running out of things like oil and coal; that we can use our creativity, ingenuity and adaptability to solve or current crisis; that it’s up to us to act now, not the government or “someone else”; and that “if we collectively plan and act early enough there’s every likelihood that we can create a way of living that’s significantly more connected, more vibrant and more in touch with our environment than the oil-addicted treadmill that we find ourselves on today.” Totnes in Devon, and Brixton in South London, are two examples of transition towns. Both have their own currency, redeemable in local shops and businesses, helping to reduce “food miles” while also supporting local firms.

Should we be dusting off our socks and sandals? Ask the New Economics Foundation, an independent think tank which increasingly works with partners like the UK government on issues like social policy, democracy and participation, moving towards a fair and equitable banking system, and addressing the very real prospects of climate change, rising sea levels, over-population and over-consumption.

All very well, you might ask, but what can I do about this? Grass roots movements start, effectively, in your pocket, and how you choose to spend every penny. You could be like Burning Man festival goers, forgo money, and barter or gift your way through life. You could be like No Impact Man, and decide to completely eliminate your personal impact on the environment for the next year. Perhaps you don’t need to be so intense; you could buy slightly less meat, purchase fair trade products, try and make a trip to a farmers market once a week instead of a supermarket. You could swap your car for a bike, or, like these fine fellows pictured at Ambient TV, you could make the most of your local canal network by starting a water taxi service. The fare is a conversation. Not too much of a price to pay, huh?

Viva happiness!

By Andy Marks

We’re back again after a long break and wish you all happiness in this newest of years.

Yes happiness is what we want and what we reckon you will get by joining any one of the grassroots movements featured here on VivaCity.

But happiness can sound a bit wishy washy and clearly means different things to everyone of the nearly 7 billion of us on this increasingly urban planet.

Never fear for some people are tackling the issue of happiness head on.

Take Action For Happiness. They intend to provide a heap of ideas depending on your appetite for happiness and energy levels. They want to help groups form (very VivaCity), get people to talk about happiness preferably with a smile on their face, and they are even launching Action For Happiness week on April 11. Good luck we say!

And we at VivaCity are happy chappies for a host of reasons. For starters we have bolstered the ranks of contributors and happily welcome Chris Speirs, Anokhee Shah and Sue Shaw – watch out for their forthcoming posts. Oh happy days!

And talking of happiness, fellow contributor Shane Solanki, aka Last Mango in Paris, will shortly cut the ribbon for VivaCity on facebook.

And I am happy to say that, in this century of the city, instead of wallowing in frustration and complaining about overcrowding, pollution, overly powerful corporates, environmental degradation and much much more, there are more and more positive activists™©®☺ doing something about it, and making the world a happier place.

Easy as pie

By Dagmar Hoogland

Pies and Alabama; it’s a winning mix. This is what a group of young graphic designers thought when they opened a pie shop in the middle of Greensboro, an underprivileged part of the US where about one-third of the children live in poverty.  Their mission was to give a positive impulse to the community and the problems within by…sharing pie. 

In 2002, The Birmingham News called the Black Belt “Alabama’s Third World.” How could the baking and serving of pie help tackle entrenched social and economic ills?

Project M aimed to answer just such questions. Part of what has become known as the “design for good” movement, Project M was established by a designer named John Bielenberg. Based in Belfast, Maine, it functions as a kind of idea incubator, where young designers are invited to two-week programs to generate solutions to social problems and enhance public life.

They started with the one thing that has been bringing people together for as long as mankind exists: food. Their first project was Free Pie Day, On May 1 of this year, during which Project M members stood on a Belfast street corner and handed out slices of pecan pie, pumpkin pie and apple pie to passers-by. The idea was to spur community and conversation, one slice at a time. Free Pie Day turned out to be an example and similar efforts took place in Washington, Brooklyn and elsewhere. Most important, it inspired PieLab.

“PieLab provides a neutral environment in a traditionally segregated town where people from every race and class are welcome to sit together and talk candidly about whatever is on their mind.”

It’s a low budget affair. Made from reclaimed building materials and thrift store finds, PieLab cost near to nothing to produce, yet already has a devoted following sometimes with 25 or more customers a day. “We already have some regulars,” says Jones. “People will stay for hours to sit and talk with us, giving Project M invaluable insight into the community’s needs, personalities and politics.” 

It is these insights that became the start of change and provided new opportunities. Scott Hamilton, a local resident who comes in almost every day to draw, is the living proof. He has never taken an art class, but has an incredible talent for drawing. He told the PieLab crew that he dreams of going to art school and one day making movies, so they photographed his work and built a Web site to help him apply for scholarships and college. Perhaps he will become the new Hirst or Coppola; gaining worldwide recognition, inspiring generations of art students or instigating a new global movement in art. And it all started with a piece of pie.
 

What’s mine is yours 2

By Julian Broadhead

When we wrote recently about the power of sharing, it sparked a great deal of discussion with family and friends. This simple strategy is seemingly on the rise, precisely because it can help us realise the many benefits of interaction, economy and efficiency. It seemed only seemed fair then, to spread the word to VivaCity followers of even more ways to share.

Where the previously highlighted Streetbank focuses on encouraging sharing and interaction within local communities, Ecomodo is a more commercially minded, transaction based system. Here, goods and services can be offered for free (similarly to Streetbank), for a fee or for a contribution to charity of your choice. All this is facilitated through the Ecomodo website, with insurance and the taking of deposits also available in order to provide assurance for all involved. The result is that although Ecomodo members do provide things for free, they are also prepared to offer the use of high-value items, which in other circumstances they might not do - you can rent or borrow anything from a candy floss maker to a dehumidifier or even a thermal imaging camera.

Another example is more obvious. First appearing in Paris, where it is known as the Velib, then as Dublinbikes and most recently as London’s Barclays Cycle Hire, the proliferation of communal bike schemes clearly points to sharing initiatives gaining traction. To use them, individuals pay a small daily, weekly or annual fee to join and can then use the bikes for short journeys (up to thirty minutes) for free or pay additional rental fees for anything longer than this. In all three cases, the schemes have been a great success, with the sight of citizens furiously pedalling identical two wheeled machines becoming ubiquitous.

That is not suggest that the schemes have been without controversy however, most notably in London, where the bikes’ association with polarising mayor Boris Johnson, and the prominent sponsorship (including naming rights) afforded to Barclays Bank, have been widely criticised. Such superficial issues though, should not distract from what is a fantastic way to get about. 

So VivaCity readers, we encourage you to go forth and share!

What’s mine is yours

By Julian Broadhead

Amazingly, despite being only seven years old, Freecycle, the international network that facilitates the giving away of unwanted items, has over seven and a half million members. This astonishing growth is not only testament to the strength of the central idea but also demonstrates that one man’s junk is indeed, another man’s treasure. But what happens if you push the model a bit further, to things that you can’t or might not want to just give away? Is it possible, like children during their first days at school, we could learn to share?

That’s the thinking behind two new schemes in the UK, the first of which allows private car owners to rent their underutilised vehicles to other members of the public. Called WhipCar, the idea is that it should work like a local, neighbour to neighbour version of a traditional car club, with all the benefits of reduced vehicle numbers and more efficient use being enjoyed within the community.

The second, Streetbank, is even more ambitious, encouraging people to share something, anything, with their neighbours. Whether it be giving an object away, lending a particular item temporarily or even just helping out in person, all Streetbank members must offer at least one thing to those living within one mile of them. In return, they too can avail of goods and services offered in their area.

There’s a lot to be said for sharing. Not only does it mean that resources can be used more efficiently, it also encourages us get to know our local community, two ideas close to VivaCity’s heart. The question is though, what else could we share with those around us?

Feast of strangers

by Shane Solanki

The 21st century is deemed to be the age of communication, and yet people seem to be becoming more and more isolated.

Why? Professor Theodore Zeldin has an answer. “There is less and less time, and a great hunger for conversations that are not superficial,” he tells us. That’s why every year, Zeldin (born in Palestine in 1933, educated in Egypt and Oxford, French government advisor and author of ‘An Intimate History Of Humanity’) has a birthday party with a difference. For starters, he likes to invite as many strangers as he can to the party. He sits them down, partners them up, and offers them a menu of conversation. The menu lists topics and questions through which feasters can discover who sits opposite them, prompting conversation which explores intimacy, love, fear, sensuality, tolerance and many more delicious morsels which make up the meal we all are. Within minutes, shyness dissipates, curiosity is engaged, and you might find yourself telling a stranger what you really really want, what you’re afraid of, and who you’d like to be.

The Feast of Strangers is coming to a town near you soon. Look out for feasts in Europe, South America and Asia over the next year; we’ve heard of feasts being organised in Bangalore in December, and Sao Paolo in April. You could even organise one yourself, and if you contact us directly, we’ll put you in touch with Theodore. If all of us start talking to each other, regardless of age, occupation and belief, who knows what conversations, relationships and communities we can build over the coming generation.

Dancing in the streets too

By Shane Solanki. Picture Briony Campbell

The folk at VivaCity love a party, and who can blame us? We recently covered Streets Alive and the party held in a structure made from umbrellas, the Bucky Bar. This time we celebrate  The Big Lunch a UK-wide campaign to get as many people having street parties on a single day as possible, with the intention of getting neighbours to hang out with each other and rediscover a sense of community spirit.

This year, we got together with our neighbours, and had a party. We hand-delivered flyers to each of the two hundred homes on our council estate, introducing ourselves and explaining the ethos behind the Big Lunch.

We constructed a children’s den and made home-made bunting, from African fabrics at our local market. We had a bike surgery, a juice bar, a parkour workshop, and a competition for the best dish (we’d asked all of neighbours to bring dishes representing their heritage). There was Nigerian jolof rice, Bengali pakora and Brazilian pão de queijo to eat.

A local musician and busker kept us entertained for hours with his double bass, getting us all to sing along to classic tunes in the sunshine. The children (of all ages and stages of hair loss) played inside the magical den.  A girl who cartwheeled perfectly invoked an impromptu forward roll competition. Lots of kids helped us dig and water a patch of communal ground, in which we planted herbs, which we intend to keep expanding as a community herb garden.

We cooked, eat, drank, laughed and played until the sun went down.

The Big Lunch is a remarkable initiative, which works. None of us want to grow up alone, separate from our neighbours, and afraid of the places we live in - and none of us have to. By breaking bread with our neighbours, by sharing our stories, our food, our cultures and our lives, we can build a sense of community; a sense of pride in our local neighbourhood; a sense of belonging.

Now, we’re all starting to smile at each other and call each other by our names. We’re knocking on doors, sharing news, cups of tea, cans of beer, and even risottos, curries and pies. We’re sitting out on our front porches and greeting the people who walk by, as their attention is caught by the sunflowers which line our front gardens (which our neighbours didn’t ask permission to plant, and yet which the council now smile at too). Even the guy in the CCTV van which sits outside our estate has started to say hello.

Life for all of us is changing. Neighbours who used to say, “it’s not what it used to be round here,” are now saying, “it’s like the old days, when we all knew each other!” Newer neighbours, who have just moved in, are starting to get comfortable and get stuck into the process of building community, not being afraid to bring their diverse cultures and experiences to the table.

Life can be sweet. All it needs is each of us to take the initiative. The Big Lunch will be even bigger in 2011, so find out how you can start making the place you live into a brighter, warmer, more beautiful community. If you live outside the UK, why not start your own initiative using The Big Lunch formula. It’s fun to break bread with your neighbours, and it might just make this world a nicer place to live in.
 

VivaCity birthday honours list - part 2

By Julian Broadhead, Dagmar Hoogland, Andy Marks and Shane Solanki

Welcome to the second instalment of the VivaCity birthday honours list, where we select our favourite movements which are changing the way we see and use cities for the better. Feel free to surf, bowl, bomb, flash, plant, eat, discuss, inspire and honour in your neighbourhood…

Ghost Bikes 
Showing the difficulties of a rising bike culture in a car driven world, this initiative is daring and controversial, as its not always appreciated to point out the painful reality. Deserves credit as it takes a difficult subject head on, in a beautiful haunting way. Dagmar

Couch Surfing 
Your sofa isn’t just a place to plonk your butt and zone out to an episode of Lost / Madmen / The Wire / Desperate Housewives (delete as appropriate). It is a place for folk from around the world to seek shelter, be entertained, entertain, share food and life stories. Andy

TED 
The worlds most exciting platform for discussion and new ideas that’s bringing free knowledge and inspiration to the global community. From some of the world’s most inspired thinkers - believing that the power of ideas are the start of any change, TED’s the place to be. Dagmar

Seed Bombs 
One of the most ubiquitous instruments of conflict, reinvented as a means by which to enhance and bring a little bit of nature back to those neglected areas of the urban landscape. Julian

Flash Mobs 
The flash mob is not that new but this spontaneous action shows the collective fun of a crowd, it shows guts, action, and surprise turning to delight. Our example starting on the beach by an enthusiastic boy in red speedo’s embodies the VivaCity spirit. Dagmar

Urban vegetable gardens 
Transforming the way we relate to energy, consumption, food and public space, planting stuff (be it vegetables, fruit or flowers) in the city is the most blatant example of how grassroots movements are spearheading the changes that will affect all of us city dwellers through this century. Shane

Speakeasies 
Underground dining or Speakeasies - no rules, no sky high bills and no time slots, this is a private affair for foodies who love to meet people and welcome each other into their most private part of life: their home. It reflects a playful and social attitude towards food and food sharing. Dagmar

Midnight Cricket 
This most formal of games played spontaneously under the yellow glow of street lights.  What’s not to love? Julian
 

Sofa so good

By Andy Marks

What’s your sofa like? Is it wide and spacious, and firm enough to offer a good night’s sleep? Have you ever dozed off safe in the knowledge that long spells aboard your sofa are a decent alternative to your bed? If you answer yes, then you could make a great host.

Do you love travel, but find staying in hotels too expensive and more importantly too disconnected from the people and the cultures of the place you are visiting? If you answer yes, then you sound like an ideal surfer.

We are talking CouchSurfing, an international non-profit network that connects travelers with locals in over 230 countries and territories around the globe.

It is a beautifully simple idea. People offer their sofa to travelers, with some planning and vetting beforehand to try and get a degree of compatibility and hopefully make everyone’s experience as good as possible. The people who set up CouchSurfing realise the connections and bonds you make, either as guest or host, increase the number of interesting people and possibilities in your life allowing you to learn about other cultures and perspectives. And bringing down the cost of travel allows more rich connections to be made. 

With nearly 2 million successful surfs or host experiences in thousands of cities around the world, it is considerably more than a directory, as one of the seasoned surfers testifies “CouchSurfing is the best thing to happen to travel since the airplane. I’ve stayed in well over 100 homes of complete strangers through this site and have had the time of my life.”

So pick a city, pack your bags, and ride the wave.

Ideas worth spreading

By Shane Solanki 

If you haven’t heard of TED (http://www.ted.com/) by now, the chances are you soon will. It began as an invitation-only conference held in California, where speakers delivered lectures on technology, entertainment and design.

But now, TED speakers wax lyrical about all manner of subjects; you can find lectures on science, arts, politics, education, culture, business, global issues and development, amongst many more topics. The best lectures are available online for free (http://www.ted.com/talks). We at Vivacity think they’re much better for you than soap operas!

The organizers state, “we believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we’re building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world’smost inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other”.

Like any hungry virus, it’s beginning to spread: conferences have now been held in the UK,  Tanzania, Mysore, and India. Interested? Get in touch! (http://www.ted.com/index.php/pages/view/id/20) Perhaps you can recommend speakers, suggest organizing a TED conference in your local ‘hood, or even model your own event on the TED prototype… at the very least, check out their site – we’re sure you’ll find it one of the most inspiring sites you’ve ever encountered.