Vienna

Merisi's Vienna - A virtual postcard

Image: Hans Sebald Beham, 1529, Occupation of Vienna

Rome

The History of Rome is a "weekly podcast tracing the history of the Roman Empire, beginning with Aeneas's arrival in Italy and ending (someday) with the exile of Romulus Augustulus, last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire" by Mike Duncan

Drowned Rome, - enscribed in rock, Pruned

The Narratives of Places

City of Memory :Mapping New York story-telling using rich media

Two chasms: 1 to 1 and (sub) urban first life vs cyberlife

Some thoughts after watching a video presentation which is concerned about the 'dichotomy between cyberspace and real space'. (Urban Informatics: The Internet, locative media and mobile technology for urbanites, Dr Marcus Foth)

The digital chasm in Australia between the 'first world' and interactive cyberspace is gigantic. Governments invest millions in an infrastructure of 'connectivity'. Well meaning researchers attempt to facilitate virtual interaction between households. Local councils aim to encourage community between neighbours.

To lure suburbanites with material incentives (free beer, BBQ etc) to socialise with each other and possibly interact via computer-mediated communication, ends abruptly when the freebies run out.

In Australia, mainstream society, based on individual possessions is organised mostly in an sub-urban form. The attention economy of its dwellers is usually delineated by the privately owned fence posts. The 'out there', the public, civic space is usually the place to off-load the 'externalities'. Rarely do 'neighbourhoods' actively care for their immediate surroundings. In fact, people go to huge expenditures to 'buy' privacy, to seek exclusive refuge in their own 'castle'. There would have to be 'a private gain' to get the property-holder to connect with the many others. Routes of networking are inscribed through tradition: sport, family, work etc.

Civic empowerment and engagement presupposes a common good/concern, beyond the (e-) ballot box. To participate collaboratively in the world via a gestell, a will and literacies are required. Formal and informal learners stuck in sub-urbia would benefit from improving their transliteracy. Top down 'interventions' to connect a 'community' 'face to face' or/and virtually are rarely successful.

Cities, as refuges of creative classes provide productive environments to tap into pre-existing Communities of Practice. Investments in 'connectivity' and interaction design could target and facilitate participatory networks that operate with a social purpose in urban space/s or are virtually distributed.
Links:
Streetsblog, N.Y.
How to build 'passion-based virtual communities'
Wikia, 'the place for communities to come together'
i-neighbors, 'free service that brings you and your neighbors together', ca

Bits about maps, urban art, European cities and civic sites

Place bloggers can now personalise Google maps and incorporate them in their blog. Annotations, images or videos can be added to highlight places (video). Endless widgets can be added such as 'topographic elevation contours' etc.
The possibilities to mark significant places exist for environmental bloggers (note destruction, damaged trees etc). For renters, flats could be marked with price, and dis/advantages to provide counter market information to gain insights into livable habitats.

Barcelona Street Art presents urban art: graffiti,stencils and stickers of that city.

The Academy of Urbanism has added Barcelona together with Amsterdam and Berlin on their shortlist for The European City of the Year in 2008.

In Linz, Ars Electronica arranges an aerial photography on, September 8, 2007. Participants of the event and the city will be the installation for the shots from above.

Developers from My Society build open source websites “which give people simple, tangible benefits in the civic and community aspects of their lives “. One of the projects is Fix My Street where you enter the civic problem and it is then redirected to the council/s to be fixed. Wish it would say on the front page for what regions the site operates. Great idea, every place should get one.

The Center for Neighborhood Technology has many sustainability resources to guide urban communities.

There is also a meet up site by cities and countries
Image: Mural, Berlin

Waves Down Under

As ocean levels are rising, the Opera House and many indigenous artefacts will go under. Australia, belonging to “the world's biggest per capita Greenhouse emitters” of the “polluters club” defies attempts to act on climate change. Instead, the population (of mainly 4x4s) is urged to have their 'Go Bags' ready for the (diy) disaster. They should take the essentials: maps, running shoes, sunscreen and toilet paper and of course their cats. Maybe they will return on some ark and float to a New Found Land. Pity they take their cats with them – a bad new start.australia

Photos of Essen

Michael Wolf is featuring interesting historical photos of Essen portraying living conditions in this German coal mining town.
Architecture of density depicts how populations can aggregate. There are many vivid images of Hong Kong to be seen as well.
Haiko Hebig provides a visul documentation of heavy industries in Germany (and Europe), shifting to China.

Dusseldorf blogging and visualisations

Dusseldorf is soon hosting its 2nd blogger meet up. A nice livable medium size city. Fond memories are rekindled here in this video by dot Atelier



dusseldorf