Design Observer :: Join the Discussion http://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-interventionists-toolkit/24308/ en-us Design Observer Group 2012-02-01T01:17:36-05:00 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0
]]> http://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-interventionists-toolkit/24308/#comments 2012-02-01T01:17:36-05:00 ethan http://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-interventionists-toolkit/24308/#comments 2011-02-25T19:37:47-05:00 lp]]> linda pollak http://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-interventionists-toolkit/24308/#comments 2011-02-15T10:29:27-05:00 I absolutely love this. Thank you. As a consultant who helps implement DIY urbanist programs for business districts, I'm finding this is the easiest and most meaningful way to create livable communities in this economic climate - and just in general, really, given how difficult it is to make lasting positive change in most cities due to poor leadership, bureaucracy and old-fogey thinking. Small, incremental change makes a big difference. Not surprising, right? That's how most change happens.
Cheers!
April Economides
Green Octopus Consulting
Long Beach, California]]> April Economides http://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-interventionists-toolkit/24308/#comments 2011-02-10T00:27:59-05:00 Cloud Collector http://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-interventionists-toolkit/24308/#comments 2011-02-08T20:15:02-05:00
@ethan just a note, the West Oakland Living Room project was done to protect the neighborhood from the forces of gentrification. Because people lingering on the streets reads to real estate agents as too "urban" it is a means to develop a community from within.

]]> mimiz http://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-interventionists-toolkit/24308/#comments 2011-02-04T13:51:46-05:00
http://yuriartibise.com/blog/diy-urbansim/]]> Yuri Artibise http://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-interventionists-toolkit/24308/#comments 2011-02-03T23:44:19-05:00
Interventionism does indeed speak to the fact "that mercantile and institutional structures oppress and distort artists' lives and works." And the life and work of others as well. The doctrine of Interventionism is that there is more, much more, to the world than the pedestrian consumerism that swamps the world.

But there is a cautionary note to be sounded here. Gentrification invariably "comes over" to the side of artists and integrates their creativity. Gentrification is, in fact, to a large degree, an extension of the aesthetic ideology of art. This is the paradox that artists need to get a better grip on.

It is understandable that artists usually recoil in disgust from a bourgeois culture that seems to shadow them everywhere. But try as they may to be activists for the working class, artists are historically inscribed as a bourgeois subculture, and this is a problem. But also a challenge.

It does not surprise me that ... "Although city codes prohibited placing the semi-permanent furniture on the sidewalk, the persistence of neighborhood activists and designers eventually won over the municipal watchdogs."

Damn right it "won them over." They love it! The municipality is always on the lookout for artists with great ideas, and the city will do summersaults for artists if "revitalization" is in the air — be it revitalization of a long-blighted neighborhood, or revitalization of an economy gone south in recent years.

The controversial "Loft Law" that was just passed by the New York State legislature for the third time in 30 years, is a testament to the legal exceptionalism that is extended to artists in all kinds of ways ... because politicians know artists reboot neighborhoods. They also know artists vote. I support the Loft Law and creative urban initiatives like the ones covered so well in this article, from ABC No Rio on out.

But be warned. If you make it cool, if you make it funky, and dude, if you make it awesome ... they will come. Oh yes, they will come.]]> Ethan Pettit http://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-interventionists-toolkit/24308/#comments 2011-02-03T21:45:41-05:00 Michael http://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-interventionists-toolkit/24308/#comments 2011-02-03T12:21:30-05:00
A great example for this is 5750 Dallas. The initiative successfully demonstrates how guerilla tactics can create awareness for the homeless situation in Dallas.

In addition, 5750 Dallas showcases how timing can be exceptionally powerful. The project was deployed on MLK right as Dallas had increased media attention due to the upcoming Super Bowl.

http://5750dallas.org/
]]> Chris Vogel http://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-interventionists-toolkit/24308/#comments 2011-02-02T12:31:54-05:00
Rebuilding blighted blocks, installing pop-up businesses, and implementing traffic calming all in one fell swoop.

]]> Matt http://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-interventionists-toolkit/24308/#comments 2011-02-02T10:30:04-05:00
I have always seen the design process as the way to make things happen...very blessed to have people around me who believe the same thing. When we employ it, things just go smoother...more intelligently and more intuitively. Looove design and all that comes with it...]]> florence haridan http://places.designobserver.com/feature/the-interventionists-toolkit/24308/#comments 2011-01-31T22:11:26-05:00