presentation

1. In the Bubble
Designing in complex world
John Thackara, 2005

2. Introduction
-Locality is not about returning to simplicity, it
involves dealing with more complexity, not less.
-Locality matters not just as a place to sell, but as
a medium of innovation.
-Treating the city as a commodity and to build it.

3. Societies of the Spectacle
-I believe that a desirable future depends on our
deliberately choosing life of action, over a life
of consumption. Rather than maintaining a
life-style which only allowed to produce and
consume.
-Tourism kills the toured, too much
culture-as-spectacle dilutes diversity and
desolates its host environment. Cultural
“attractions are like genetically modified food:
bland, tasteless, and a threat to the ecosystem.

4. Tasteless Creatives
-A new survey of the boom town in North
America attributes these cities' success to the
presence of the creative class. I have instinctive
aversion to the concept of creative class, mainly
because of the implication that anyone who is
not a“creative”is not, well, creative.

5. It's Alive
-A successful city needs to be complex, heavily
linked and diverse.
-It is not a question of good building, and bad. A
beautiful place may never bring about an
explosion of life, while a haphazard hall may be a
tremendous meeting place. The science of
theater building must come from studying what
it is that brings about the more vivid
relationships between people.

6. From Far to Deep
- Local conditions, skills and patterns are used for
ciritical success.
- Location data and demographic models are
used by McDonalds, Stabucks and Walmart.
- Stores like Walmart should carry 50 percent of
local produce (50km)

7. Participatory Place
- Tokyo“sea of desires”
- Openess is vital if we are to answer an
importnat question: When traditional
industries disappear from a locality what is to
take their place?
- ...success factors in design-for-locality projects,
the most important partare a real-world
context.

8. Design-Free Zone
- Europe
- Too much of our worlds is just too designed.
- City acts like a wild garden.

9. Conclussion
- Ecological footprints of cities appear to be unsustainable.
- Indicaitons that constant accelrations is wearins us, and our
institutions, out.
- The cost we incur for spending more time on the move than on being
there
- Malignant impact of place marketing on the identify of regions and
cities.
- Powerful but bland retail chains threatening to turn homes into
clonetowns.
- Local business around the world manage most of the world’s GDP

10. Thank you!