Starting at 35 minutes:
dj_nature soulsearching radio show #633 (michael ruetten) dec 2010
A population supernova
Constant conflict fueled by
the quick unsustainable
depletion of resources
And the global compromise
On cultural and biological
diversity.
As we cope with this massive change
We face a set of new challenges;
The amplified unpredictability of
globalisation, changing climate,
future demographics,
and the complex problems of
providing clean energy, food and
water for all.
Our generation´s challenge is
learning to live peacefully and
sustainably in an extraordinarily
crowded world.
We realise that the CITY may be our
only hope.
How to moderate the impact of
contemporary culture on our
habitats?
How can cities shape the future
society?
How can we all take part in
their conception and construction?
How to balance hedonism and
idealism,
merge ecology and economy,
Fuse the best top-down leadership
with bottom-up intelligence?
How to connect and combine bold
ambition with humble quality,
sensitive responsibility with new
technology,
common sense with elaborate skill,
Complex diversity with enlightened
clarity,
big ideas with intelligent details,
good questions with relevant
answers?
Cities, governments and
businesses that succeed in the
future,
will be those that give people
greater power to shape the
future of their individual lives
and greater capacity to
collaborate.
Individiual and collective
activity
People doing things together
Near other people doing other
things
While building and modifying
their surroundings
Is the essence of urban process.
But how to ensure our designs
Regulations and good intentions
do not inhibit or extinguish it?
Can we create smarter, faster,
livelier and more diverse urban
future for all?
A matrix of plots cut by a
street grid remains the
universal urban syntax.
The plot restricts and
consolidates edges,
but liberates and the conditions
within to be manipulated and
re-iterated in the urban
process.
Every room, building,
neighbourhood or city
Is live evidence of this urban
metabolism – being built up,
torn down, rebuilt, modified,
again and again.
Boundaries for growth and high
population densities enrich
service diversity and support
local, specific and specialised
urban cultures.
In creating urban quality,
sensitive, flexible and
intelligent processes are
crucial.
These may operate in any scale
or timeframe.
Participation drives the
personalisation of services,
products, lifestyles,
neighbourhoods and cities,
all becoming platforms for self-
actualisation.
My actions are to be seen, heard
and felt
In my everyday life, in my city,
in OUR everyday life, in OUR
city.
Self-built and moulded to our
needs and dreams.
Change is constant, yet it
requires both patience and
action.
Present conditions are
irreversible, but always
temporary.
Masterplans don’t work. The city
is never complete.
This house is not finished.
Tuomas Toivonen: Masterplan / 2010 Keys of Life
dj_nature soulsearching radio show #633 (michael ruetten) dec 2010
A population supernova
Constant conflict fueled by
the quick unsustainable
depletion of resources
And the global compromise
On cultural and biological
diversity.
As we cope with this massive change
We face a set of new challenges;
The amplified unpredictability of
globalisation, changing climate,
future demographics,
and the complex problems of
providing clean energy, food and
water for all.
Our generation´s challenge is
learning to live peacefully and
sustainably in an extraordinarily
crowded world.
We realise that the CITY may be our
only hope.
How to moderate the impact of
contemporary culture on our
habitats?
How can cities shape the future
society?
How can we all take part in
their conception and construction?
How to balance hedonism and
idealism,
merge ecology and economy,
Fuse the best top-down leadership
with bottom-up intelligence?
How to connect and combine bold
ambition with humble quality,
sensitive responsibility with new
technology,
common sense with elaborate skill,
Complex diversity with enlightened
clarity,
big ideas with intelligent details,
good questions with relevant
answers?
Cities, governments and
businesses that succeed in the
future,
will be those that give people
greater power to shape the
future of their individual lives
and greater capacity to
collaborate.
Individiual and collective
activity
People doing things together
Near other people doing other
things
While building and modifying
their surroundings
Is the essence of urban process.
But how to ensure our designs
Regulations and good intentions
do not inhibit or extinguish it?
Can we create smarter, faster,
livelier and more diverse urban
future for all?
A matrix of plots cut by a
street grid remains the
universal urban syntax.
The plot restricts and
consolidates edges,
but liberates and the conditions
within to be manipulated and
re-iterated in the urban
process.
Every room, building,
neighbourhood or city
Is live evidence of this urban
metabolism – being built up,
torn down, rebuilt, modified,
again and again.
Boundaries for growth and high
population densities enrich
service diversity and support
local, specific and specialised
urban cultures.
In creating urban quality,
sensitive, flexible and
intelligent processes are
crucial.
These may operate in any scale
or timeframe.
Participation drives the
personalisation of services,
products, lifestyles,
neighbourhoods and cities,
all becoming platforms for self-
actualisation.
My actions are to be seen, heard
and felt
In my everyday life, in my city,
in OUR everyday life, in OUR
city.
Self-built and moulded to our
needs and dreams.
Change is constant, yet it
requires both patience and
action.
Present conditions are
irreversible, but always
temporary.
Masterplans don’t work. The city
is never complete.
This house is not finished.
Tuomas Toivonen: Masterplan / 2010 Keys of Life
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