Re:Vision: Imagining the Sustainable Community
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 01.23.07
Most of us are pretty good at identifying the actions we can take individually to lighten our environmental impact: we recycle, we shop for local food, we ride our bikes or take the bus. When we consider that large-scale problems we face, it's easy to become discouraged: what can one person really do about climate change, or environmental toxins, or public health threats? One person can't address these problems on their own; they can, however, harness the energies and talents of others to create and implement solutions.
In a nutshell, that the spirit behind Re:Vision, a year-long series of four competitions that challenges architects and designers to develop viable solutions to unsustainable patterns of community life and development. Specifically, the competition asks participants to imagine possibilities of transforming an imaginary urban community into a place where residents thrive in a healthy, clean and connected environment. Stacey Frost, founder of Archiventure and creator of Re:Vision, claims that the beginning of such transformations must start with important questions:
Re:Vision was born out of the belief that each of us has a unique perspective along with a wealth of ideas, energy and resources. Within us lies boundless potential. These competitions are about inspiring innovation, tapping into existing ideas, and using them in new and amazing ways.Designers and architects interested in wrestling with these questions are invited to join the Re:Vision competition. The first stage, Re:Volt, asks participants to focus on energy issues, specifically how can an imaginary city block be powered with new ideas on renewable energy. Later stages address transportation (Re:Route), economics (Re:Store) and the human aspects of community (Re:Connect).Why Re:Vision? It’s about seeing the world in a different way. It’s about seeing yourself differently...full of big ideas and new possibilities. Re:Vision is a place where those ideas are put into action, supported and encouraged by a diverse group of people dedicated to making WHAT IF, WHAT IS.
We have evolved. Our technology can support an entirely different way of relating, of being. The world is now effortlessly connected, ideas easily shared and communicated. While our cities, long a melting pot of diversity and forward thinking, have become toxic places of crowded isolation, conflict-ridden wasted lands, where many fear to raise their children. WHAT IF we came together and pooled our ideas, energy and resources to create a different kind of urban experience? WHAT IF living in a city were a safe, healthy, beautiful experience that enriched both the community and the environment?
As of this writing, the Re:Vision board, which includes such luminaries as Cameron Sinclair of Architecture for Humanity, Eric Corey Freed of organicARCHITECT, and Allison Arieff, formerly of Dwell magazine, were still choosing the date the first competition would launch... it could be as early as today. We'll keep you posted on these developments, as well as the later stages beginning in April, July and October. The final phase of competition, in which designers bring all of there ideas together to create a plan for an actual urban community, begins in 2008. ::Re:Vision
UPDATE: Re:Vision has opened registration. Visit the competition site for details.
From my view in the suburbs, the urban folks have a much easier time lessening their impact because they generally live in relatively efficient apartments, have access to buses and taxis, and often work nearby.
I think some major attention needs to be focused on how to design suburban areas with public transport, water management, and other efficiencies that are simply easier in urban settings.
I know there are a few such areas, like Coffee Creek here in Indiana, but I get sick when driving around places like Chicago, Detroit, and Indianapolis that are surrounded by miles and miles of wastefull suburban copycat neighborhoods.
The real challenge is how to design new or converted suburban neighborhoods with the same goals in mind.