| |
KRAX* is a project
that investigates and connects social creativity present
in urban planning conflicts at the local level, in the city
of Barcelona, and at the international level. It is a reflection
on how urban planning because of its market-driven dynamics
ignores the social aspect and becomes the source of conflict.
Because citizens find themselves unable to intervene in the
production of space, through their own initiatives they set
up new means of participation. KRAX empowers this creativity
through the compilation and circulation of the strong experiences
that stem from the struggle and practice of participation.
By social creativity we understand the energy, ideas, and experiences
that arise from citizens. Social creativity makes conflict
visible, strengthens the sentiment of belonging to a community,
and opens the possibility of creating viable alternatives.
For that reason, we consider it necessary to value and support
these initiatives confirming their role within the transformation/construction
of the city.
The
KRAX Conference is
the first meeting of different groups active in areas of
various cities in the process of urban
transformation. We focus on three urban conflicts in Barcelona
and their creative answers (Plaça Lesseps, Barceloneta
and Raval), and we invite similar groups in other cities
(Seville, Tokyo, Brussels, Mostar, London, Caracas, Malaga,
Buenos Aires…) to participate. These groups will learn
of their experiences through reflection, organisation, and
action. The meeting is an exchange and discussion about the
importance and necessity of social creativity in the process
of city transformation.
The itinerary for the KRAX Conference consists of debates,
workshops, presentations given by the invited groups, guided
visits of the areas, meetings with local civic groups, and
the Documentation Center (the KRAX Zone), which contains
the material gathered throughout the investigation. |
|
| |
PROGRAM
:::
»» Guided Visits: Conflict Spaces.
Three neighbourhoods of Barcelona will be visited accompanied
by first-class guides... the residents themselves. Come and
listen to their story. We will also eat in the neighborhood.
» Thursday
26th April: El RAVAL neighbourhood
is situated in the historic part of the city. Its outward appearance
has changed a lot in recent years: the administration’s
next step is the implantation of yet another luxury hotel,
a new building for the film library and a large avenue. For
over 10 years, speculative practices responding to a particular
city model are altering the social structure of the neighbourhood
and changing the daily life of its residents in an aggressive
way. All these changes have repercussions on the social tissue,
transforming a popular area into a big commercial surface tailored
to tourists.
» Friday
27th April: LA BARCELONETA is
a popular fishermen´s neighbourhood founded in 1753.
In 2006 a transformation plan was presented that involves the
installation of lifts in its century-old buildings. Works can
only start with the agreement of 50% + 1 of the owners of buildings.
Conflicts between neighbours, uncertainty and suspicion of
speculation add to concerns about the way the transformation
will take place, in particular since local residents have not
(yet) been consulted.
» Saturday
28th April: PLAÇA
LESSEPS was until now a no-man´s land. In 2002
the City Council presented a closed Rehabilitation Plan to
local residents. Their opposition to the project was almost
immediate. After several protests, a dialogue was set up with
the City Council which with the help of a group of experts
led to the creation of a whole new project. Now, the neighbours
are guarding the works.
Reservations:
To participate in the guided visits, send an email to krax(a)citymined.org
or call 93 301 5873 before the 20th of April.
»» Debates:
» Thursday
26th April: Talk: “The
implication of social creativity in
urban transformation”
Moderated by an expert in Civic Participation, and with interventions from the
guests.
» Friday 27th April: Workshop:
Networks / L-ATLAS.
-Networks:
starting from specific experiences, opinions on networks are exchanged:
possibilities, necessity and strenght for social participative movements: (in)visibility
of the movement, (inter)relation with other groups, communication...
-L-ATLAS: aims at setting up
a way to allow participants and persons interested in the KRAX Meeting to stay
in touch to share ideas and experiences. L-ATLAS
is a new digital tool enabling connection and visualisation of the KRAX network.
This workshop will be lead by Peter Brownell aka Greenman.
» Saturday 28th April: Theorical-practical
presentation of creative tools.
With the goal of sharing practical experiences, several groups will show useful
tools, ready for direct action and re-use in other contexts.
Proposal of tools: Cartographies, mental maps;
Artivism for the expresion of the community; Communication Guerrilla, or how
to subvert/reuse the official messages; Collective Memory: archives, oral history,
guided visits; recuperation/reappropiation of public space.
»» Guests presentations
We invite several initiatives
from other cities to show their work and practices, sharing
ideas and experience in terms of organisation, communication
and dialogue..
1) Save the Shimokitazawa, Tokyo,
Japan.
Shimokitazawa is a district in Tokyo with a high population
density and maze-like layout. It is the alternative and
bohemian neighborhood of the city, one of the only parts
of the city that survived the Kanto Earthquake (1923),
and was spared by World War II bombings. A plan by the
municipal government to “redevelop” the area
has initiated very creative responses from local groups,
including a week long global workshop in June 2006, which
was attended by more than 130 participants from Japan and
the rest of the world. Local residents together with a
colorful bunch of architects, artists and activists proposed
alternatives visions for Shimokitazawa, and in the process
devised a new model for public involvement in megacities.
http://stsk.net
http://saveshimo.com
http://urbantyphoon.com
Presented by Kazuho Kimura and Matías
Echanove.
back to calendar»
2) Abrasevic Cultural Youth Center,
Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
In a city destroyed by the war of 1992-95, and where
culture has been divided along ethnic and political fault-lines,
the Abrasevic Cultural Youth Center was created in 2003.
Surpassing physical, mental, and ethnic boundaries, this
centre is the result of the youth’s struggle to
recover a city symbol, in order to create an open and
self-guided place where culture can be experienced and
expressed freely.
http://okcabrasevic.org
Presented by Asmir Sabic.
back to calendar»
3) Olympics Forum, London, England.
Mega-events have become a central stake in efforts
to revitalize cities. In July 2005 London beat Paris,
New York and Moscow in the race for the 2012 Olympics.
Inspired by the “regeneration of east London,
cross-city transport improvements, training and jobs”,
Londoners were told that 16 days of sport would bring
50 years of well-being for the Lower Lea Valley. Unfortunately,
even the UK’s inclusive urban planning strategies
seem unable to include grassroots needs and wants in
the creation of the Games Infrastructure. Rather than
stopping the ‘juggernaut’, Londoners want
to use the experience to show that ‘planning
consultation’ is not the apex of inclusive democracy,
and to inform residents of future aspiring host cities
of the reality of the costs.
Presented by Stefanie Rhodes
and Jim Segers.
back to calendar»
4) Micronomics.
Quartier Nord, Brussels, Belgium
As part of an investigation into the impact of urban
interventions on more inclusive development of cities,
City Mine(d) Brussels has been looking more closely
at the rickety state of the economy. Economy could
be seen as the set of strategies to achieve a higher
level of well-being; well-being as wealth (material
prosperity) and/or as happiness. Developing these strategies
requires a sense of creativity, and the power to implement
them. After a year of workshops with groups and individuals
'new' in economy, together we are currently exploring
in do it yourself networks, and different interventions
are now under construction in the paradoxical Quartier
Nord/Brabantwijk.
http://citymined.org/micronomics
Presented by Sofie Van Bruystegem
and Ludo Moyersoen.
back to calendar»
5) Núcleo de Desarrollo Endógeno
Cultural Tiuna El Fuerte, Caracas, Venezuela
“Tiuna El Fuerte” is a recovered area in the neighbourhood of the
Valley. Although the area was first focused on music, it has started to open
its activities to attract local residents in need of a place for discussion.
This is why circus, graffiti, camera editing and handling, dance or hip-hop workshops
were created. The members of Tiuna are conscious that music and the arts in general
can be good options for youth to get off the streets. Also, Tiuna is changing
the manner in which Caracas perceives culture as a tool for social and political
transformation.
http://eltiuna.org
Presented by Piki Figueroa and Luis
Díaz
back to calendar»
6) La Alameda, Sevilla, España.
In the historic part of Seville, specifically in the
popular neighbourhood of Alameda of Hercules, an advanced
displacement of people in correlation with a rise in
real estate is occurring. For about 10 years, residents
have tried to avoid their displacement with creative
practices and activities. El Peatón Bonzo, the
KSU (Kit to Urban Survival), poems and “Solemnes
Via Crucis” are some of their actions.
http://elgranpollodelaalameda.net
Presented by members of the publication "El Gran Pollo de La Alameda".
back to calendar»
7) RallyConurbano, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Rally Conurbano proposes different urban routes, in
public transportation, to make visible the particular
problems of the borders of the city, and simultaneously
practice alternative answers and creative proposals
to escape the municipal monopoly of urban policies.
RallyConurbano tries to act before urban transformations
making visible aspects or conflicts hidden in the city.
Along with its routes new ways in visualizing and utilizing
public space appear, collectively fabricating a place
for public discussions.
http://rallyconurbano.com.ar
http://rally-conurbano.blogspot.com
Presented by Martín Di
Peco.
back to calendar»
8) Baños del Carmen, Málaga.
Los Baños del Carmen were inaugurated approximately
100 years ago. This spa is located very close to the
centre and is integrated in the urban tissue; it is
characterized by its tranquillity, rich ecology, vast
eucalyptus forest, beach with natural sand, and its
rich cultural history. In the past years, the baths
have suffered a complete abandonment, “forgotten” by
the authorities and private companies. In the new General
Plan of Urban Order (PGOU), the utilization of this
zone will change, in order to construct a leisure harbour
as the “new centre of the city”, continue
maritime promenade (in reality an urban highway) and
cut down the forest… As a result, there has been
a rise in different associations proposing an urban
plan for the baths that would better value its potential.
Through autonomous cultural activities they aspire
to depict the historical, cultural, and social importance
of the spa and impede the urban plans of the city council.
http://rizoma.org
http://hackitectura.net/escuelas/tiki-index.php?page=balneario
Presented by Jorge Dragón
from Rizoma.
back to calendar»
9) La Tabacalera a Debate, Madrid.
The old building of Tabacalera (the cigarette factory)
has been part of the history of Lavapies neighbourhood.
It had a big impact on the outward appearance of the
neighbourhood, as well as on the way it is inhabited,
confrontational and noisy. Nowadays, it is the only
big public building left in Lavapies. Spain´s
Culture Department is planning the Tabacalera building
as the site for two new museums. This project breaks
with the creative tension of the building and the neighbourhood:
another example of the spectacular city where we have
to live and accept, with no trace of live culture,
of social heterogeneity of classes... The network “La
Tabacalera a debate” aims at a public debate
on the future uses and function of the building.Observatorio
Metropolitano, heir of these debates, has a double
purpose: promote research and critique on the city,
and to develop cartographies and discourses useful
for social movements.
http://areaciega.net/index.php/plain/observatorio
Presented by members of Observatorio Metropolitano
Madrid.
back to calendar»
10) Movement for Justice in El
Barrio, East Harlem, New York, EE.UU.
East Harlem, more commonly known as “El Barrio/Spanish
Harlem” has more than 100.000 residents, half
of whom Latinos. More than 40% of the residents of
El Barrio live under the poverty line. In this context
arose the Movement for Justice in El Barrio (MJB),
with a direct reference with the Zapatistas. Although
the MJB started in 2004 as a resistance group against
property owners, they have extended their scope to
fight for social justice and against any type of oppression
in El Barrio. By adhering to the Sixth Declaration
of the selva Lacandona of EZLN and “The Other
Campaign”, MJB has been able to gain the support
of the residents of El Barrio. The last campaign of
MJB, inspired in The Other, is “The Consultation
of El Barrio”: through the process of hearing
the residents, holding meetings, going from house to
house and organising a ballot at neighbourhood level,
consultation about the issues took place, and solutions
are being developed.
Presented by Juan Haro of Movement
for Justice in El Barrio.
back to calendar»
»» Krax Zone:
This Documentation Centre, physical as well
as web-based, is compiled of materials from all sources within
urban conflicts. In order to offer an integral vision of
the processes, we documented the creative tools produced
by the actors, as well as the reflection and opinions that
are generated by these media, and even the original information
from the institutional sphere.
In the KRAX Zone, all of the archived and catalogued material
can be found (newpapers, text, audio, photographs, maps,
graphics…etc.). During the Meetings, the KRAX
Zone, on 13 Paloma Street, will be open allday for consultation,
copying, and adding material.
back to calendar»
»» Details contact:
Local + Zona KRAX
C/ Paloma, 13
08001 Barcelona
phone: +34 933015873
Mail: krax@citymined.org
................................................
RAI
C/ Carders 12
08002 Barcelona
phone: +34 93 268 1321
http://pangea.org/rai/
...............................................
|
|
