3. Can we talk about the future of cities and avoid buzz words?
4. futurist engineer
artist
urbanist mayor designer assets manager
banker
dog? child?
Can we get different people to work together on the future of cities?
5. City Pulse project by MIT Senseable City Lab
Can we tackle the whole system of the city in just a few hours?
10. Stage 2
Learning a new language
Denotation : “a car”
Connotation : ”interdependence”
Special thanks to David Gauntlett for some pics and giving me the idea of using Lego in the first place!
11. and many more…
Stage 3
Building prototypes of
social innovations “urban rest place”
“chariot-sharing for personal goods transport” “neighbourhood networked windows”
13. This future city:
Stage 5 - links innovations at multiple scales in a fractal way
Building future cities - introduces serendipity and messiness in planning
around the prototypes
14. This future city:
Stage 5 - facilitates networking and citizen empowerment
Building future cities - promotes local citizen-champions
around the prototypes - designs public space to accommodate pop-up or mobile services
15. This future city:
Stage 5 - creates shareable resources and infrastructures
Building future cities - organises new types of public-private-community partnerships
around the prototypes - makes political decision about
some places and services that are regarded as Commons
- develops local alternative currencies to manage the Commons
and support shareable lifestyles
16. The rule was: build something before you talk about it!
Stage 6
Sharing insights and
foresights
17. I CAME TO SOME CONCLUSIONS…
My mother thinks I’m still playing with Lego
while I’m actually doing some proper futures work
(or not?)
18. CONTRIBUTION TO DEALING WITH PRECONCEPTIONS
by using Lego as a new common language
by applying induction rather than deduction
by getting people to speak about what they have built
CONTRIBUTION TO VISIONNING A DESIRABLE FUTURE
by combining desirable innovations
by engaging a diverse audience
CONTRIBUTION TO A SYSTEMS APPROACH
by making something first and then presenting something whole
by linking prototypes together
19. CONTRIBUTION TO FOCUSING ON VALUES AND MEANING
by placing a « common » in the centre of the scene
by asking the « why? » question as well as the « how? » question
by giving people time to think while they build with their hands
CONTRIBUTION TO PREPARING FOR ACTION
by using a hands-on approach and actually prototyping ideas
by working with people involved in their communities
by building a future vision of the city supporting desired innovations
20. BIAS INDUCED BY THE METHOD
Focusing on innovation as main driver towards the future
Focusing on the local before thinking global
Focusing on feelings and emotions rather than facts and figures
LIMITS IN SCALABILITY
Maintaining the momentum (will the fun factor eventually die out?)
Replicating on a large scale (over time and space)
21. Rose Biggin a.k.a. Banksy ;-)
… IT DID CHALLENGE SOME URBAN CONVENTIONS
Emile HOOGE
@ehooge