What happens when citizens take on urban innovation in the wake of a state wide budget cuts? After a successful run in Oakland of tenant improvement through the Department of Economic Revitalization the program was cut at the state level. Much of the bustle and snaz of Uptown can be attributed to this program which matched funds of up to $50,000 to building improvements by new businesses over the last five years. Brian Kendall is the man behind the program and was instrumental in securing us our initial grant from the city to launch our initiative in Old Oakland.Who funds urban renewal in CA now? Can one crowd-fund neighborhood revitalization? We are trying to find out. Join us in a grand experiment to further the success of popuhood through donating to our kickstarter. We would like to replicate our project through creating an online toolkit to share what we learned and how we did it. If you are local join us this Thursday to meet with us and hear about plans. We would love to meet you.
A wonderful evening to mix and mingle with the Bay Area's biggest supporters of Urban innovation. As a thank you for donating $25 dollars or more to our kickstarter campaign enjoy complimentary Tequilla provided by Arte Nom. Talk to the founders, learn about plans to replicate popuphood's success in Oakland and beyond, and take a self guided tour of the popuphood shops (open 12-7pm).
The goal is to raise $25,000 and there are only 10 days left! Be a part of incubating small businesses and revitalizing neighborhoods!
We can't wait to see you, Sarah + Alfonso
Please visit our Kickstarter link to donate. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/popuphood/vacant-to-vibrant
We will also have volunteers to assist you with on the spot donations throughout the evening.
With your donation of $25 dollars or more you will enjoy complimentary drinks by Arte Nom tequilla and Hors d'oeuvres by Tamarindo. This is in addition to the awesome popuphood stationary you receive with you donation.
I am excited to participate in the upcoming conference in New Orleans: Remaking America for the 21st Century, Engaging the Next Generation of Community Advocates. Recently I had a chance to speak with the fellow panelists and I am looking forward to meeting them and continuing the dialogue. Some themes quickly emerged from our quick phone chat. Jenga Mwendo started Backyard Gardeners Network Her comments about not wanting to wait for government agencies to address food justice in her community resonated instantly. As a citizen-led initiative we started popuphood with the same sentiment. Another comment Jenga made rang true for all of us: that people create a sense of place. This deceptively simple statement underscores a radicle shift in urban design as we move forward in the 21st century. I like how Edward Glaeser articulates this notion in his book, Triumph of the City. When talking about Detroit: “For centuries leaders have used new buildings to present an image of success...instead of trying to attract smart, wealthy entrepreneurial people, mistaking the built city for the real city...people not structures really determine a city's success."Dominic also shared his work at CenterState and I had so many questions for him that I know our panel is going to be just the beginning of a long dialogue. This will be my first time to New Orleans and I am looking forward to learning about the challenges, ideas, and innovative solutions that are taking shape. I will keep you posted here, of course!-Sarah
Here are the details of the panel as they appear on the site:
Friday, June 22 • 10:45am – 12:15pm
Young community advocates are organizing and engaging their generation to create more equitable and sustainable cities. What are their tactics? Who are their partners? And how have they empowered people outside the establishment? By sharing first-hand experiences and individual objectives, this panel will discuss how cities can benefit from the energy and ideas of the next generation of local leaders.
Speakers: Ariella Cohen, Next American City; Sara Filley, Popuphood; Jenga Mwendo, Backyard Gardeners Network; Dominic Robinson, CenterState CEO
| This morning we had Oakland Pride for breakfast!
Thank you to the Downtown Oakland Association for honoring us with the Spirit of the District award at the 3rd Annual Breakfast.
Everyone there was celebrating what's right in Oakland. Congratulations to the amazing folks also honored this morning, including our partners in popuphood, Peter Sullivan Associates and Maritin Ward!
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popuphood is going to Venice! We are thrilled to be selected to participate in the most prestigious architectural event in the world.
It is an honor representing the U.S. and we are proud to represent Oakland, CA!
Participating in National and International conversations about urban innovation is personally rewarding. It is also essential to nurture, share, and support these new ideas so they can get traction, so we don't have to invent the wheel, so we can learn what aspects of the hyper local solutions to cities in the 21 century are universal and what aspects are specific to the communities which fostered them. This is the opportunity, to both brand Oakland as a place where innovation thrives, and to contribute to the international dialogue of disruptive innovation.
We are looking for sponsors to assist us in attending in August, 2012. ($5,000) This support will go toward a one way ticket and stay for 4 days. It also allows us to report our findings and bring the conversation home tying into local and national publications, and local events.
Below is information from the Urban Design Institute website, all images and text credited to their brilliance.
About Spontaneous Interventions: design actions for the common good is the theme of the U.S. Pavilion at the 13th International Venice Architecture Biennale (Fall 2012). In recent years, there has been a nascent movement of designers acting on their own initiative to solve problematic urban situations, creating new opportunities and amenities for the public. Provisional, improvisational, guerrilla, unsolicited, tactical, temporary, informal, DIY, unplanned, participatory, open-source—these are just a few of the words that have been used to describe this growing body of work.
Spontaneous Interventions will frame an archive of compelling, actionable strategies, ranging from urban farms to guerilla bike lanes, temporary architecture to poster campaigns, urban navigation apps to crowdsourced city planning. These efforts cut across boundaries, addressing architecture, landscape, infrastructure, and the digital universe, and run the gamut from symbolic to practical, physical to virtual, whimsical to serious. But they share an optimistic willingness to venture outside conventional practice and to deploy fresh tactics to make cities more sustainable, accessible, and inclusive.
The Venice Architecture Biennale is the most prestigious architecture event in the world. Now in its 13th edition, the Venice Architecture Biennale was formally established in 1980 and is held every other year (alternating with the Venice Art Biennale, which was first held in 1895). For the 12th edition, held in 2010, 53 countries participated in the Biennale, which was attended by 170,000 visitors.
The 13th edition will be held from August 29 to November 25, 2012 (press preview August 27–28). On December 27, 2011, British architect David Chipperfield was appointed the director of the Biennale, and he outlined the theme Common Ground at a meeting of commissioners held in Venice on January 17. Representatives from 41 countries attended the meeting. Organizers The U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Biennale is presented by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State (ECA), which supports and manages the official United States participation at selected international exhibitions. Following the recommendation of the Federal Advisory Committee on International Exhibitions (FACIE), convened by the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. State Department selected “Spontaneous Interventions: Design Actions for the Common Good,” proposed by Cathy Lang Ho teamed with the Institute for Urban Design, to be featured in the U.S. Pavilion. The U.S. representation at this global event ensures that the excellence, vitality, diversity and innovation of the architecture in the United States are effectively showcased abroad, and provides an opportunity to engage foreign audiences to increase mutual understanding.
Since 1979, the New York–based Institute for Urban Design has served as a central platform for debate among architects, planners, policy-makers, developers, academics, journalists, and urbanists. The Institute operates as a think tank and advocacy group, drawing on the collected experience and knowledge of its large fellowship to bring important issues into wider public debate through lectures, events, and publications.
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