I had the great pleasure of travelling to Detroit in the later half of May. I say pleasure because it has been a dream of mine for a hot minute now, and though I was predominantly there for Movement Electronic Music Festival, I also made time to take in the sights and sounds that are the motor city.

I’ll start by saying that I was completely captivated. Yes, everyone always talks of the extremeness of Detroit, the ultimate urban decay and the full city blocks that are abandoned with only glimpses of a human soul. They speak the truth, but what I also felt and saw was the immense opportunity that stands before all those who are willing to take a chance on Detroit and help it to succeed. I for one am angling to get back there and will stop at nothing to make that a reality.

I want to take a moment to highlight some of the most beautiful things about the city that has been so often referred to as dead. Though the state may have taken over the government functions of the city, it is the small micro projects and the not so secret large private investments that are shining a new light on this forgotten urban centre.

On an afternoon stroll to Lafayette Coney Island (a must when visiting), I stretched my gams a couple extra steps to an innercity oasis, where vegetation of all sorts was being grown thoughtfully for the residents of the city and public art was alive and well. (See below photographs) This being just one example of the micro projects that are popping up around the city, I was instantly intrigued to do a little more digging.

That same afternoon my tour guide took me on a long drive up and down Woodward Avenue, Detroit’s Yonge Street, and I was flabbergasted at the state of the city. I laid my eyes upon some of the most beautiful art deco buildings that were hauntingly empty, saw some of the most palatial estates, situated directly next to burned out buildings, travelled down some questionable streets only to see beautiful human smiles in the presence of such strife.

What I saw was large swaths of land waiting for redevelopment, almost calling for urban farming initiatives and triggering my fast growing desire to be a part of the change that I feel is imminent. Whether it be in the form of attending the Wayne State University Detroit Revitalization Fellowship program, or through packing up all my belongings and going it rogue I will do something with that city and its people.

Mark my words, “you ain’t seen the last of Urban Synergies yet Detroit!”

Have I told you lately that I love what I do? Cause its most definitely true. In the latest instalment of things I have been up to (may actually make this a regular thing), setting a up a pop-up think tank has most assuredly been the most interesting.

An off-shoot project of YouthfulCities , 30Network, the think tanks official title, is a temporary amalgamation of 30 young influencers, across 30 sectors, who have all come to the fore of their industries. The purpose of this particular brain trust is to take a more in depth look at what makes a “youthful” city and to move from ideas to action. Broken in to 4 sessions over 16 weeks the participants will be investigating the notion of youth and how it applies to city-building, collectively creating a vision for what they would like to see take place over the next 10 years and then developing action items that will look to launch with the YouthfulCities Index in the later part of this year.

I, along with the help of the participants themselves and my colleagues have compiled  really interesting group of individuals who range in profession from “Food Ideator” to Arborist. I for one am really looking forward to conversing,concepting and developing new ideas with these folks and of course sharing it with you. So take this as a warning, some real interesting content to come, along with some visual stimulation. Gotta have something to look at right?

Till next time.

As I focus my work more and more in to the public realm I am realizing 1. there is no shortage of things to learn and explore and 2. there is so much that can be done and I very much intend to do it. Have to start somewhere though, so when my colleague over at Hermann & Audrey sent me an email about a talk OCAD was hosting with artists regarding their experience putting together various public art pieces I jumped right on board.

We headed over to OCAD last night for this panel discussion and while it wasn’t without its hiccups, I learned a great deal from the artists, audience members and moderators alike. In our company were: Nestor Kruger, Jennifer Marman + Daniel Borins, Carlos Cesta, Fastwurms and Olaf Breuning, as well as Rina Greer of the Toronto Sculpture Garden and Catherine Williams (Catherine Williams Fine Art ConsultingInc.).

Being that the talk took place at an art and design school the subject matter and style of presentation was very much mired down in the eccentricities and jargon one could expect from artistic professionals, with Fastwurms really stealing the show with their hilarious take on concept development dry humour. Where it got really interesting was in the discussion period, where audience members question ran the full gamut from an exploration in to the world of art consultancy and its role in the planning of public art, to the specificities of ownership of art in the public realm. Luckily Jane Perdue, the public art coordinator from the City of Toronto, was amongst us and fielded quite eloquently the planning related questions.

All in all the talk was a success and allowed the patron to gain some great insight in to the process that goes in to creating art for the public realm. However I do believe that we have a far way to go as a city before we are able to hold ourselves in the same regard as cities who are at the forefront of public art provision. I for one would love to see pieces that pushed the boundaries of traditional art and started to explore more the new media route that so many artists are toying with today. Here is to hoping (and/or doing).

And as always, OCAD as a backdrop is always the diamond in the rough. A simple structure showcasing the change we are slowly realizing.

So as you may have read in a previous post, I am involved in this great new initiative called YouthfulCities. The purpose of the venture is to rank the top 100 cities from a youth perspective in an effort to proactively engage youth to become a positive economic, social and political force, as well as engage youth, civic leaders, brands and the media to build awareness and action towards better cities. Cool, right?!?

We are in the process of building out our Toronto team and we currently looking to fill the following two positions:

Public Relations Intern

Web Design Intern

Could this be you???? If you think you want to be a part of this great new global social venture take a gander at the two postings below and get at me. We want YOU!!!

YC -Public Relations Intern Posting

YC -Web Design Intern Posting

Back in November of 2012, I had the pleasure of attending a lecture at U of T’s “Daniels School of Architecture, Landscape and Design,” as part of their B.E.S.T. lecture series. Titled “Symbiotic City,” the evening’s speaker was Craig Applegath – architect, urban designer, and futurist – he used this venue to introduce the idea of the Symbiotic City, which he presents as the next stage of the city’s evolution; re-defining the metropolis as a smart, regenerative and resilitent entity.

If you missed the lecture, here it is in its entirety.

Toronto is a city that pushes a fairly strong claim to value the arts. When in reality we have fallen behind in our spending on arts and culture in comparison to other North American and International cities. The importance of the cultural sector is seen through its ability to attract tourists, residents and potential investors and the sector contributes roughly $9 billion to Toronto’s GDP. Evidently it is an important engine in the city’s economy. In addition to the more traditional take on economics, municipal cultural investment can also act as a  facilitator of social engagement and better health.

Reality is the City’s arts funding has remained stagnant at $19 per person for the last ten years, placing Toronto last among the five largest metropolitan cities in Canada according to the Municipal Cultural Investment in Five Large Canadian Cities) report of 2012.

Source: Municipal Cultural Investment in Five Large Canadian Cities (Kelly Hill, Hill Strategies, January 2012)

Step in a group of art activists who have taken a stand and spearheaded the Beautiful City movement, aimed at exposing the value of investment in cultural infrastructure. Headed by Devon Ostrom and championed by a variety of people working both within and outside the arts world, it has taken the form of  a twelve year battle  to convince council to share their vision of a creative city. This came on the heels of the City’s culture division  working to update Toronto’s cultural strategy for the future and the birth of the Culture Plan: Developing the Creative City. The Culture Plan saw Council declaring their intention to increase cultural spending a mere $14 per capita to $25 per capita, and was passed by Toronto city council in 2003. Fast forward to 2011: City Council unanimously passed a follow-up report, Creative Capital Gains, again committing to that $25-per-capita level of investment in the arts.

All of these movements by Council culminated two weeks ago at City Hall, where a four-year plan was approved to boost the City’s investment in the arts and subsequent programs by $17.5 million per year – thus increasing cultural funding to the $25 per-capita mark.

Sure! It sounds nice on paper.

But how will the cash-strapped city realize this vision?

Two words:

Billboard taxation.

This is what the Beautiful City movement has been saying from the beginning.

Traditionally, billboards were seen as a blight on the urban landscape, but instead of outright banning them, art activists saw these large visual distractions as an opportunity – an untapped source of revenue. This tax on billboards aims to enhance the arts and art programs, while at the same time helping to balance the visual blight  that billboards inflict on our public spaces.

Toronto is not necessarily a pioneer in this movement.  There are currently six other jurisdictions in North America that have imposed a billboard tax and it’s only a matter of time until other cities follow suit and profit on their existing advertising infrastructure.

The base funding that this form of taxation will provide  is poised to increase by $6 million in 2013, and by a total of $11.5 million in the three years after that. By 2016, Toronto will be spending the allotted $25 per capita on arts programs and grants, a target that council has endorsed three times since 2003 but failed to live up to until now. We can only hope to see the fruits of this additional funding in Toronto’s arts and culture events over the coming years and will keep our fingers crossed that movements of this kind will aid in engaging citizens around the city in the great cultural events for generations to come.

Found this time lapse video of crowd control for the Comiket market in Tokyo, Japan. I was first struck by the immense crowd that the market draws and then the ballet like nature of the movement of consumers. Wish we had something like this in Toronto helping us to support individual publication and artistic expression.

“The Comic Market (Comiket) is a marketplace where individual can offer their own self-produced creations to a community that appreciates and supports such creative personal activities.  Comiket primarly focuses on acting as a communal exchange place for self-published books, known as Dojinshi. Japanese dictionaires define Dojinshi as self-published material aimed toward likeminded individuals and the Comic Market invites any publication (books, music, films, software, et.) published by individuals that are not available through standard commercial outlets.”  - Comiket Website

Hey all you savvy social media peeps out there. It has come to that moment where we have realized we need one of you on board to make Urban Synergies really zing in the social media world. Could this be you? Are you interested in urban planning, public space, community engagement and the like? Do you have a burning desire to flaunt your talent in the online world? Or maybe you just want a chance to exchange knowledge… Any which way you chop it we need you! If you are interested in applying please see the job description attached and send your cover letter and resume addressed to “Amy Peebles” at urbansynergies@gmail.com.

Job Description -Social Media Internship

Stumbled across this amazing video by Cut Maps of a laser cut map of Toronto, in the process of being made. So fascinating!

I have had the great pleasure of starting work on a new initiative being championed by DECODE called Youthful Cities. Youthful cities is a global social initiative that looks to rank the top 100 cities from a youth perspective in an effort to inspire new ways of engaging millions of young people and civic leaders to live, work and play.  At current, 52% of the world’s population is under the age of 30 (U.S. Census Bureau), and 51% of the population lives in urban areas (Population Reference Bureau). The convergence of these two global trends, as youth migrate en masse to cities, has immense implications for the economic, social, and political landscapes of these urban arenas. Youth constitute a growing force in shaping cities and in determining their relative success. In anticipation that such trends will intensify, there is a strong imperative for cities to understand and account for what is important to young people. Conversely, youth stand to profit greatly from understanding how well their city caters to their highly diverse needs. Existing research, however, reveals a critical dearth of knowledge on cities from the youth perspective, which is one void that the Youthful Cities initiative intends to fill. Through generating a rich and comprehensive reservoir of youth-centric knowledge, Youthful Cities seeks to empower and engage youth and civic leaders in the process of building better cities.

In our first round Youthful Cities will be looking at 25 cities, across 5 continents. The cities included in the first round include:

Sao Paulo

Bogota

Lima

Buenos Aires

Mexico City

New York City

Los Angeles

Chicago

Toronto

Houston

London

Paris

Moscow

Berlin

Istanbul

Tokyo

Mumbai

Seoul

Manila

Shanghai

Cairo

Lagos

Johannesburg

Kinshasa

Nairobi

Within these cities (and the following 75 at a later date) we are looking to recruit a set of “Urban Decoders,” whose role will be as as the local on-the-ground point person and lead representative for your city.  They will be responsible for the following tasks:

๏ Building, Managing, Developing relationships on the local level

๏ Liaising with a global network of 24 other Urban Decoders

๏ Providing valuable insight in framing, forming and directing the initiative

๏ Participating in finalizing the YouthfulCities Indicators that measure a city’s youthfulness

๏ Managing the coordination and collection of Youthful City data

๏ Documenting the process & collecting stories of what youth want in their cities (there’s room to get creative)

๏ Hosting local events

๏ Finding organizations, businesses, agencies that are youth friendly

๏ Participating in a global summit of your finding

The posting is a 6 month commitment @ 3 days/week. So my question to you is do you live in any of these cities and does this type of work sound like it could be up your alley? If so, take a closer look at the pdf attached and APPLY, APPLY, APPLY! Deadline for submissions is December 10th. Please send a copy of your resume and cover letter via email to Sonja Miokovic at sonja@youthfulcities.com.  Please write URBAN DECODER – Your Name and City in the subject line.

Good Luck!

YouthfulCities_Decoder_Recruitment_Dec10_2012

YouthfulCities is a global social initiative that aims to rank the top 100 cities from a youth perspective. The thought being that 25% of the world’s population is between 16-­29 years old and 50% of the world’s population lives in urban areas. Youth are becomingly increasingly urbanized, but most cities see youth as a liability. They are linked to common perceptions of violence, unemployment and laziness. In the developed and developing world alike, cities will increasingly need youth to create a competitive edge, stimulate development, and find new solutions. Which cities will take advantage of this positive economic, social and political potential?

What this initiative is working towards is creating an YouthfulCities index that will allows us to rank the top 100 cities in order to provide information to youth about the cities they can live, work and play in more prosperously. In a larger sense YouthfulCities is  looking to proactively engage youth to become a positive economic, social and political forces, as well as engage civic leaders, brands and the media to build awareness and action towards better cities.

My responsibilities include: Community Outreach & Promotions Coordination

Join Us!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/youthfulcities

Twitter: @YouthfulCities

Google +: YouthfulCities

Instagram: Youthful Cities

Sometimes an altruistic opportunity presents itself and you jump at the chance to be a part of something you know will only have positive change on your existing environs. Step in work with Jason Bruges Studio. As of October 2012 I have taken on the role of Canadian representative for this amazing studio, alongside the wonderful Jacquelyn West of Hermann & Audrey.

Jason Bruges Studio, formed in 2002, design and build interactive installations across 3 key sectors. These sectors include architecture, art and brands. Though the studio is located in London, U.K. they work globally and have recognized Canada as a new and emerging market. The multidisciplinary team is made up of creative architects, lighting designers, electrical engineers, programmers, industrial designers and mechanical engineers. This team works together to produce innovative and engaging spaces that connect people with their environment.

My responsibilities include: on-going business development with a particular focus on finding Section 37 opportunities.

If you would like to learn more about the work of Jason Bruges Studio please feel free to contact me to set up a presentation or meeting.

Contact: amy@hermannaudrey.com

All images courtesy of Jason Bruges Studio

If you are big in to comedy, you have most likely spent a few minutes or hours watching Mr. Shaun Majumder doing his thing on Just for Laughs of This Hour has 22 Minutes. This year Majumder started a social enterprise in his hometown of Burlington, Newfoundland focused on tourism oriented economic and community development. This initiative, brought together under the organizational name of BSM Manor, encompassed four components: Hummocks View Greens, a greenhouse dedicated to growing produce for local consumptions; the construction of Majumder Manor, a five star eco-luxe inn; the construction of remote cabin accommodations; and the Burlington Community Business Initiative, whose purpose is to administer micro-loans to entrepreneurs in the Burlington, Smiths Harbour and Middle Arm communities.

In celebration of the grand opening of Hummocks View Greens, the great team on the ground and I (in partnership with the Director of Hermann & Audrey) organized a 3 day back to the elements celebration entitled THE GATHERING: Fire, Food & Music. The festival involved well-known chefs and musicians from across Canada participating in an intimate music and dining experience that brought together the three surrounding communities and was attended by 1200 people. Some of the chefs and musicians involved included: Jacob Sharkey Pearce (URSA, Toronto), Todd Perrin (Roots, Rants and Roars, Newfoundland), Rob Hojilla (Woodlot, Toronto), The Once and Sherman Downey.  Activities included chefs hikes where participants learned cooking techniques using the elements, intimate cooking and dining experiences and acoustic jam sessions where local and national musicians played alongside each other.

My responsibilities included: development of a marketing and sponsorship strategy, coordination of marketing and sponsorship efforts (resulting in over $16,000 in in-kind sponsorship, and $2700 in personal donation) and assistance in coordination of logistics.

In reflection of my experience working and living in Guyana, I collaboratively wrote and published an article for the winter 2011 issue of Plan Canada. The article speaks to my experiences developing and implementing community planning processes and systems in Guyana for the Central Housing and Planning Authority, as well as the current planning realities that Guyana faces.

My responsibilities included: development and revision of content.

Planning Abroad Article – PlanCanada 2011 Winter Issue

As part of the 2012 edition of Doors Open Toronto, I helped put together an installation with the Department of Unusual Certainties, entitled “Timeline of Currency.” The installation, commissioned by Diaspora Dialogues and displayed in One King West’s bank vault, was a factual look at how currency has evolved over time. In its physical form the installation took the shape of a three-walled acrylic structure with over 15,000 facts about currency printed on pads shaped to be the size of the Canadian $20 bill. On the back of each pad was a part of an image of a central bank, starting with the first central bank in history, the United Kingdoms. Patrons were encouraged to take a fact a way with them, and as facts were taken an amalgamated image of the central banks through time was formed. The installation, though only open for the weekend, saw over 4000 patrons.

My responsibilities included: research to inform content, concept development and installation.

All images courtesy of the Department of Unusual Certainties

As part of the 2009 Manifesto Festival of Community & Culture I coordinated a pan toronto art project that saw artists and arts organizations from each of the 44 wards of the City working together to create a piece of work. An artist or arts organization in each ward of the city was given a ward shaped size of wood and allowed to rework it however they pleased. Once completed the pieces were placed together and displayed in the city hall rotunda from September 16-20th as a 18 1/2 ft by 10 ft map. After the installation the pieces were distributed to the councillors of each ward in an effort to remind them of the vibrancy of arts in the city.

My responsibilities included: project coordination, event planning and management, media outreach and marketing content development.

I had the great pleasure of working on a community planning document for the Parkdale Residents Association and Parkdale Liberty Economic Development Corporation in 2008. As part of a team of 12, we put together an inventory of all land uses in Parkdale and collected statistical information to conduct a widespread analysis of the current planning realities to influence planning efforts moving forward. Aside from the technical aspects of putting together a document of this style, the immersion our team sought out within the community allowed for a great understanding of the area and created endless points of inspiration. The end product was a document that showcased the physical and social sides of one of the most demographically diverse and unique communities in the city of Toronto.

My responsibilities included: liaison between public and private sector officials and the community, collection and analysis of data, development of written and photographic content.

Plan Parkdale, 2008

From September 2010 to March 2011, I was posted in Georgetown, Guyana working as a Community Development Planner for the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA). I was placed there as part of the Canada-Guyana Partnership for Community Planning, a partnership forged between the Canadian International Development Agency and the Ministry of Housing & Water, in which Canadian professionals are tasked with creating and implementing processes that will guide community planning. As part of this my team and I put together a community planning toolkit that now acts as the guiding document for community consultation for CH&PA.

My responsibilities included: development of community consultation processes and systems and development of content for toolkit.

Community_Toolkit_FINAL_May2012

As part of the fifth annual MANIFESTO Festival of Community & Culture, 13 Scion dealerships across Toronto and the GTA partnered with 13 visual artists to create original artwork on automotive hoods. Following creation, all hoods were brought to the ALL STYLES dance event on Friday September 23rd at 99 Sudbury to be auctioned off in a fundraising effort for Manifesto. Visitors to the ALL STYLES dance event were encouraged to vote on their favourite artist’s hood. The top 5 hoods, as voted on by the public, were displayed at Yonge and Dundas Square on Sunday September 25th where voting continued during the Festival main event.

My responsibilities included: project coordination, event planning and management, and social media and website content management.