"Improving
the livability of our towns and cities commonly starts at the street,
block, or building scale. While larger scale efforts do have their
place, incremental, smallscale improvement efforts are increasingly seen
as a way to stage more substantial investments. This approach allows a
host of local actors to test new concepts before making substantial
A Centro Social Okupado Autogestionado (Self-Managed Occupied Social Center) or CSOA is an occupied building dedicated to the development of social and cultural activities. They are part of the “movimiento okupa” (“squatter movement”), a label created and circulated by the mainstream press.
Park(ing) day is a community of artists, activist, students and everyday people who, on September 21, every year and across the world, collaborate to transform parking spaces into green and friendly spaces. They invite reflections and discussions on the significance of nature and quality of life in urban areas. Park(ing) day encourages people to take over public spaces, reclaim their space, and imagine how sustainable and green cities can be.
"The Uni Project aims to do one thing and do it well: temporarily
transform almost any available urban space into a public reading room
and venue for learning. We start with the conviction that books and
learning should be prominent, accessible, and part of what we expect at
street-level in our cities." (From site.)
Object Orange (formerly Detroit. Demolition. Disneyland. is an artistic project in Detroit, Michigan which seeks to draw attention to dilapidated buildings by painting them orange.
"It
was important to me to present the whole story in a way that would
captivate people’s attention and make a memorable statement. Making
quilts seemed an ironic solution. Quilts act as a functional memory, an
historical record of difficult times. It
is during times of hardship that people have traditionally made quilts,