Is this a model that can build a pathway out of poverty, a new approach to wealth creation for neighborhoods undergoing economic development?

 

GroundSwell:

Celebrating 19 years as New York’s leading organization dedicated to community public art. Youth in our programs have transformed over 450 urban spaces, enhancing the quality of life for thousands of New Yorkers each day.

ANNUAL ART AUCTION AND BENEFIT OCTOBER 20, 2015

 

Berlin has become the first city in Germany in which effective legislation has come into force in a bid to put the breaks on some of the fastest rising rents in Europe.  From Monday, landlords in the capital will be barred from increasing rents by more than 10% above the local average. Such controls were already in place for existing tenants but have now been extended to new contracts.

“The rent ceiling is very important for Berlin because the difference between the rent paid in existing contracts and new contracts is so high,” said Reiner Wild, managing director of the Berlin Tenants’ Association. “The other problem is that we have 40,000 more inhabitants per year. Because of this situation the housing market is very strong.”

Berlin is pioneering the rent cap after the national parliament approved the law, aimed at areas with housing shortages, in March…

 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/01/rent-cap-legislation-in-force-berlin-germany

 

Can participatory urbanism — linking moves toward citizen involvement via participatory budgeting and other innovations — improve how cities adapt to climate change as well as other ongoing socioeconomic pressures?  By transposing these two seminars  I propose that Jane Jacobs’ dreams may come true, thanks to the urgency of rising tides and other urban concerns.

A pair of thoughtful panels discuss the issues, slowly but thoroughly. First, Mike Lydon and friends show how low-cost creative projects, such as pop-ups parks and open street initiatives, are the essence of the tactical urbanism movement. From guerilla wayfinding signs in Raleigh, to pavement transformed into parks in San Francisco, to a street art campaign leading to a new streetcar line in El Paso, demonstrate the breadth and scalability of tactical urbanism interventions.

@ Vimeo:  https://vimeo.com/127221099

and then the Royal Society and William Solecki of CUNY and IPCC discuss flexible adaptation pathways (the panel was yesterday, video is due any minute!) at:   http://securityandsustainabilityforum.org/

Friday – May Day along the East River

http://www.mas.org/janes-walk-walk/united-states/new-york-city-ny/collect-pond-urban-water-walk/

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“Planning is most effective when it is practiced in advance.”

A four-bedroom, two bathroom home in Silicon Valley is going to set you back $2 million.

For that money, you could buy 30 homes that size in Cleveland. Or, as the report notes, 25 homes plus Cavs tickets for 50 neighbors for nine years.

A Child’s Guide to the tectonics of the Cold War:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/the-berlin-wall-fell-25-years-ago/2014/11/06/4d2a900c-5fab-11e4-9f3a-7e28799e0549_story.html

Reusing and adapting old buildings, NYC style:

Historical Remnants inside the AMC Empire 25 Theater in Times Square