Slides from Talk at La Rencontre de Fingal, Dublin, March 2013, about cultures of sustainability and the increased responsibility of culture as transition leaders.

1. Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability
- thoughts on spaces, agents,
neighbourhoods and cities
March 8th, 2013
Les Rencontres de Fingal
Oleg Koefoed, Ph.D, Action-philosopher; Cultura21
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities

2. A new role for culture?
The economic model has changed
: from patronage to industries
Avatar Explosion of number of agents
: birth of the creative classes
Dismantling of disciplinary borders
SurvivalKit, Riga : art in culture in neighbourhoods
in cities in projects – in policies?
How can culture lead the transformation?
Couros / Guimaraes 2012
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities

3. What is prototyping?
Well-known design approach
Breaking through in urban projects
Dome of Visions, CPH Creating unfinished microcosms
– testing elements
Engaging dialogue and reflection through practice
Case 1: prototyping Copenhagen 2025
Case 2: lack of coherence in Guimaraes 2012
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities

4. Why Prototyping?
”...we need to give patient, sustained
attention to the activity of confusion,
rather than attempting to promote
creativity directly..”
(David Bohm)
= Fail fast, fail early,
fail often,
learn better!
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities

5. Klimakvarter Skt Kjelds,
Copenhagen
Copenhagen 2025
targets
Områdeløft –
regeneration
2012-2018
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities

6. Klimakvarter Skt Kjelds,
Copenhagen
Integrating / transversing
the 4 pillars
Space, engaging citizens,
environment, climate
change
Culture (after all) as lever
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities

7. Sustainability/sustension
= transdisciplinarity
The pre-sens(c)ing of infinity/future
Sensitivity to dynamics (patterns)
Complexity at the heart
Sustainability is a mindset
And a capacity to allow for emergence
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities

8. Art-Culture-Science-Activism
= transversality
”cultures of sustainability (in Bateson's terms,
sensitivity to patterns that connect) is a
transversal phenomenon that cuts across all the
fields or pillars, and evoking the relation between
future, present and past choices and options”
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities

9. Couros, Guimaraes
Guimaraes ECoC 2012
Sustainability is
highlighted (?)
Culture as lever for
change (?)
OR
Fragmentation, branding,
lack of funding
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities

10. Couros, Guimaraes
Lack of integration of art
and sustainability
Nice projects, with
insufficient support
= some sustensivity
Ambitions of longevity
Re-connection to be
followed..
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities

11. Reflections from the Baltic Sea
A myriad of projects
Multitude of
approaches/methods
Lack of knowledge of effects
Lack of visibility among agents
Lack of cross-fertilizing
More transdisciplinarity and
transversality needed
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities

12. Obstacles..
”sector-based politics may very well be one of the
greatest obstacles to sustainable development, as
the understandings of sustainability in varies
across sectors.”
(Katrina Soini, coordinator of COST IS1017 on
Cultural sustainability)
Deep challenge: the rational modern scientific
model integrated in business and politics – far
away from the fabric and materiality of the world
(Oleg Koefoed, Kulturkraft)
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities

13. ..and opportunities
A need for new ways to connect across
crises!
Re-connecting to patterns that connect:
aesthetics of sustainability?
Re-connecting regional and urban strategy
with the multitude of local transversal
projects?
Cities leading the way ahead?
A new philosophy of action through
prototyping?
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities

14. ..the pioneer's voice
”The idea that action should only be taken after all the answers and the
resources have been found is a sure recipe for paralysis. The planning of a
city is a process that allows for corrections; it is supremely arrogant to
believe that planning can be done only after every possible variable has
been controlled.”
(Jaime Lerner, former mayor of Curitiba)
So: how do we embrace uncertainty?
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities

15. Ressources & invitations
Thematic issue ”Cities, Cultures, Sustainability”
Workshop and project: The Baltic Sea Region
Kagan: Art and Sustainability booklet
Koefoed: Kulturkraft (forthcoming)
8/3-2013, Fingal Oleg Koefoed: Prototyping Cultures of
Sustainability in Spaces,
Neighbourhoods and Cities