The following interview by Michel J. Crosbie of Prof. Ashraf Salama has been republished with the authorization of those involved and Common Edge Collaboration's director Martin Pedersen.
Prof. Ashraf Salama is a long-time contributor to Architects for Peace and its editorial committee.
(Above) role play and character development at our recent introductory workshop Image credit: Free Theatre
'Clearance
by Cappuccino' is a collaboration between Architects for Peace and Free
Theatre using the mediums of dialogue and theatre to re-imagine the notion
of affordable and diverse housing for everybody. We feel it is important to invite discussion into one space, bring the community together with architects, planners, urban designers, policy makers and more, to share perspectives on how housing affordability and housing stress involves and affects us all.
We
are calling for people interested in taking part in a dialogue based
performance as cast members. No prior acting experience is required. An interest in the topic is essential! We are looking for 5 - 6 cast members to form an ensemble. Free Theatre will host a series of workshops and expose participants to the dialogue theatre methodology in the lead up to a public performance. Each cast member will have an opportunity to develop their character, and through this, develop a unique position on housing affordability.
Contact Nicole Mechkaroff at nicole@architectsforpeace.org for further details.
New Urban Agenda Standing Conference Affordable Living in Sustainable Cities:
Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda
Newcastle, 1-2 November 2018
The 2nd international inaugural congress for Implementing the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals will be held in Newcastle on 1-2 November 2018. This year's theme will focus on Affordable Living in Sustainable Cities: Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda.
Architects for Peace is pleased to announce it's participation in the conference.
For further information or to reserve a place please visit:
"It is hard to imagine how any individual can be
at peace when their health is poor, their children are regularly sick and their
general living environment miserable. To make any positive change in this cycle
is difficult but essential." Paul Pholeros at Architects for Peace, 2008.
It is with
great sadness that we inform our community of the death of distinguished
architect and activist Paul Pholeros, who left us at the early age of 62. Paul
was an expert and an activist for the right of quality housing for indigenous
people in Australia. His participatory approach resonated not only at home but
also in the rest of the world, where indigenous rights to achieve dignified
housing and towns has not yet been achieved. It is not surprising then that his
passing was announced by the national press and also, among others, by the Guardian
in UK.
Los peatones y ciclistas son reyes indiscutidos de estas joyas del buen criterio urbano característico de la vieja Europa.
Ellos ya vienen de vuelta. Sus historias son difíciles y han determinado a los demás continentes. Luego de tanto ensayo y error hoy Europa nos parece sabia en varios aspectos, donde destaca la urbanística.
Ciudades inteligentes que privilegian los derechos ciudadanos y la belleza. Ya sin preocuparse de la venta de comodidad individual a alto impacto ambiental, no han trepidado en ordenar la prohibición de la circulación de vehículos motorizados por algunas ciudades.
Éstas, más que anhelar el futuro tecnológico del consumo moderno, se han esforzado por conservar un estilo de vida particular, que en su seudo onírica aparición en la escena del mundo se transforma en un destino turístico con redituables consecuencias.
This is a complicated and strange story, but it is worth following as it could have a major impact on small nations with frowned upon economies. This is an attempt at a very condensed version of the events that almost led to a private city of "peace, prosperity, happiness, and well-being" in Trujillo, Honduras.
In 2009, Hondura's democratically elected government was thrown out in a coup d'état by the military. Since then the new Honduran National Congress has been pushing the idea of setting up three segregated private city states ("charter cities") on under-utilised land. The future cities all occupy and extend various afro-indigenous towns along the Caribbean and Pacific coasts with what is an extension of the "special economic zone" concept, or "Aynrandia", depending on who is talking.
The modern Charter City concept can be easily traced back to Paul Romer's website. For a 10 minute insight into what he espouses, watch the following TED video. It also talks about the early reception of his concept in Honduras.
In Romer's talk, these new cities will give 700 million potential migrants the ability to migrate to a free trade zone close to home... rather than to the United States. It's all about free choice - as long as you don't mind not being able to vote. Others see this as a form of 21st Century colonialism, taking U.S. cities to where the cheap labour is. The concept of the charter city is well-supported by free market libertarians, including reason.com, who last week wrote:
For the last few years, libertarians and other futurists have gazed upon this misgoverned mess of mountainous jungle and imagined a clean slate for innovations in political and economic growth. Honduras, they believe, can become a laboratory for creating wealth-producing institutions that can then be replicated worldwide. The only catch: To become a 21st-century trailblazer, Honduras—or at least a small territory within it—must become, well, not Honduras.
[ Here is the long version of the article quoted above. ]
In 2011, preparations were made. The constitution of Honduras was amended, and an area at Trujillo on the coast was cleared for a cruise ship development. Global Research has reported what this meant at ground level:
The cruise ship dock and mega-tourism project ... are annihilating the Garifuna community of Rio Negro, which has literally been bulldozed away, and the families were resettled in a “model community” outside the neighboring Garifuna community of Cristales.
Romer's run with Honduras' government came to an end last September when the government side-stepped the Transparency Commission they'd asked him to set up (though that's now denied), and awarded the contract for the first city to little known Grupo MGK. CEO Michael Strong previously founded the Free Cities Institute, and more recently the Flow Project, which promotes radical social entrepreneurship as a way to find peace through commerce.
The FLOW Movement combines freedom, voluntary exchange and enterprise from the classical liberal tradition with love, compassion, social and environmental consciousness that is championed in the human potential movement in order to create an inspiring, integrated vision. [ link ]
The next month, Honduras' Supreme Court quashed the constitutional amendment in a four to one vote amid concerns about sovereignty. This was remedied by firing the same four judges over another issue. As of this January, the development has another green light.
While Strong believed his utopian libertarian city is the peaceful solution to global poverty, the current inhabitants of the sites might disagree. Grassroots International reported in February that a peasant revolt was occurring, and that nine people have been murdered so far this year, adding to the 79 killed since 2010.
Strong recently left Grupo MGK and is thinking of concentrating on the U.S. domestic market, particularly Detroit.
For a recent perspective on what is happening with Honduras' charter cities, watch this 25 minute Inside Story from Al Jazeera.
The following summary is based on an article of El Mercurio, Manuel Valencia (29.09.2012) entitled “El constructor chileno de Haiti” (The Chilean builder of Haiti). Brief and translation by Beatriz Maturana.
Photo: El Mercurio, Guillermo Rolando
As director of the Fundación América Solidaria (Solidarity America Foundation) and having spent two years in Haiti, Guillermo Rolando assisted a military contingent sent from Chile to Haiti to provide humanitarian aid during the stabilization period that followed the 2004 military coup against President Bertrand Aristide.
Most recently, while serving as Director of the Division of Housing Policy of the Ministry of Housing (MINVU, Chile) and moved by the devastation left after the Haiti earthquake (2010) that flattened the capital and killed about 300,000 people, Guillermo accepted the responsibility for the creation of the first Ministry of Housing in Haiti. Six months later, this newly formed Housing Ministry of Haiti, modelled around the Chilean Ministry of Housing, is approaching its first program for housing subsidies and plan for permanent residencies for those affected by the earthquake. This is certainly not a small task for Guillermo Rolando in America´s poorest country and one of the poorest countries in the world.
We ended 2011 debating the role of
corporations towards social interventions – I along with my partner in crime
Kamil went down to Footscray for the Footscray Community Luncheon to see
firsthand exactly what these big corporations were giving back to society. It surprised
me when the large corporations I was expecting didn’t materialise – but instead
a whole host of local institutions and businesses were lending their hand for
such a note worthy course.
A wide ranging group of businesses
and institutions donated their time, money and facilities to put on the event.
There were the big institutions such as Victoria University, City West Water
and the Western Bulldogs who provided the location and their staff with the support
of the primary sponsor, The Melbourne Wholesale Market who provided the food.
In addition there were local businesses such as Burnham real estate agents and
a local patisseries all of who either provided their time and or their
services. Each one of these entities has something different to gain from being
involved in this event, but one thing they all have in common is that they are already
established within the local community. Each one of these businesses has strong
roots within Footscray and the broader western region of Melbourne. This was
something that did surprise me as my initial expectations were for
organisations from outside of the region to be more greatly involved. In past
years, organisations such as Grocon and the St George Bank have provided
valuable support for this cause, which lead me to believe that more
organisations that wanted to create a greater profile within a new target
market but didn’t have a specific dialogue with the local community would seek
to participate in this event.
During my time at the function, I
spent time talking to the various people that volunteered their time to get an
understanding of why they participated and what relationship they had with
either the Maribyrnong City Council or Western Region Heath Centre. I noticed a
couple of key points, namely that:
Volunteers
that participated form large organisations tended to be from the marketing
or social departments
Many of
the smaller organisations came with all their staff
Nearly
everyone said they wanted to be there because they wanted to give
something back to their community
‘There
are a number of social and moral reasons why individuals volunteer their time
and money towards charitable causes, but do those same reasons motivate corporations
towards social responsibility.[1]’ From my experiences here, I believe
the institutions involved didn’t provide their time or services for any
specific moral reasons but rather for social and institutional reasons given
that the majority of the staff were required to be there as part of their
employment requirements.
However in a number of ways the
reason why an institution provides its time and resources for such a function
is not important. What is far more
important is the relationship and dialogue between institutions and their local
community (community and not only patrons) being established where both parties
are mutually benefiting. In previous blogs, I have spoken about the economic
definition of ‘Value’ which can be broken down in to two key concepts, Return on Investment (ROI) and Utility … hence to put it into simple terms ROI is a measure of
economic value whilst utility is a measure of happiness[2]; when such a relationship is developed between two
parties there is a measurable ROI for the institution, whilst and a visible
utility for the staff and community. By being part of such a function,
individual participants can provide a ‘meaningful, positive impact on the community, meet a
diverse range of people, create motivation and sense of achievement amongst
other things[3]which all have long term implications for the social
health and wellbeing of the staff and in turn the institution. For the local
population there is an opportunity to be part of something bigger without
feeling like being at a function imposed on them, or specifically highlighting
them because of their strata in society.
The economic value to an
organisation on the other hand can be broken down in to short term and longer
term gains – some of the short term gains include the welfare of their staff
and increased morale within the working environment. However there are
significant gains to be made long term.Institutions such as City West Water, The Western Bulldogs and Victoria
University need to be seen as willing participants within their local
community; the same applies to smaller companies such as Barnham Real Estate.
All the institutions involved have a close affiliation with the West of Melbourne,
and by engaging with the community they increase the chance that both the
institution and the community has of success.Survival of a number of these organisations is based on economic growth
– economic growth is directly related to increased patronage – increased
patronage is directly influenced by increased wealth within the community. In a
catchment area such as Footscray increased wealth of the community can be
achieved in two ways:
Change in
the demographics of the population by increasing the number of wealthier
individuals
Increase
the collective wealth of the existing population
Basic economic theory suggests that
by increasing the wealth of a society, the most marginalised members and
members from a lower socio-economic background will have greater access to
social services , which will help break the cycle of social issues. Whilst this
concept is debateable, if we take this position it becomes critical for
business and institutions to be seen to be part of their community and develop
a long term relationship with their community. Ultimately as the collective
wealth of a community increases the more relevant the institution needs to be;
this could potentially mean a larger market share or decreasing the potential
for competition deteriorating any market share.
So for Footscray the big question
is where do we go from here? In my past blog, entry I spoke about the exciting
times ahead for the area and all the investments earmarked for the regeneration
of the area. One of the biggest challenges facing regeneration of this
magnitude is what happens to the lower socio-economic groups? The biggest
threat to any form of regeneration is gentrification that will put more
pressure on marginalised groups. As the collective wealth of a community
increases so does property and asset prices; which in turn forces a change in
retail and business uses. So the milk bar on the corner now becomes an organic
grocery store. The danger of such a change is that services that are normally
accessed by people of a lower socio-economic background are forced away because
these services are no longer viable. This is where the relationship between commercial
organisations and their community is critical. By having a pro-active co-operative
approach between commercial organisations and their community, marginalised
groups stand a better chance of increased economic prosperity without becoming further
marginalised.
Part 1 of this series was
first posted on 15 December 2011; the follow up Part 2 video of the event was
first posted on 28 April 2012.
Find below a PowerPoint presentation and a link to the complete PDF article. This presentation has been published with the consent of its author Patricio Jara Tomckowiack (In Spanish).
Titulo: Aplicación del concepto de Hábitat Residencial al ejercicio académico-profesional: Modelo de autogestión para el desarrollo integral de comunidades mapuche de la comuna de Freire, región de La Araucanía.
Resumen
El “Modelo de autogestión para el desarrollo integral de comunidades mapuche de la comuna de Freire, región de La Araucanía” es una investigación aplicada, desarrollada por el Instituto de Estudios del Hábitat de la Facultad de Arquitectura de la U. Autónoma de Chile y financiada por INNOVA-CORFO, cuyo objetivo es diseñar e implementar una propuesta replicable, participativa, integral y con identidad, para el desarrollo territorial de 34 comunidades mapuche, aledañas a los terrenos donde se construye el “Nuevo Aeropuerto de La Araucanía”.
