Taking back the City: Newmindspace

People often lose sight of the fact that our cities are public space, not just an infrastructure to get you from store to workplace to home but something that has been designed for pleasure, culture and enrichment of our lives. Lori Kufner and Kevin Bracken of NewMindSpace get this.-

- they organize subway partieswhere everyone gets on a particular train- "People had decorations, costumes, congo drums, guitars, drumsticks, bubble-makers, Hawaiian shirts, a mariachi sombrero, and tons of joie-de-vivre".

They set up monstrous capture-the-flag games that cover the entire business district or the University grounds where hundreds show up. This past weekend they pulled off the ultimate- a pillow fight in a downtown public square where hundreds showed up.

We find this so inspiring- No guns, no burning cars, no riot squads- just people having fun in their city on their own terms. Keeping cities vibrant is key to a green sustainable future-they are built at a density where you can live without cars, get by with less space and consume fewer resources. Toronto doesn't have the mountains and ocean of Vancouver, the beaches of Sydney or the culture of Barcelona but it has Lori and Kevin- we should be very thankful. ::Newmindspace