Touristical Commerce, Photo: Heinz-Josef Lücking, Creative Commons by-sa-3.0 de

Its relationship with the Danish government was complicated from the outset. Various administrations tried unsuccessfully to clear this city within a city, to make it into one of Copenhagen’s ‘normal’ districts. In 2011, the residents and government agreed on an amenable handover; those who lived there would buy the land and remain there—even though neither rental contracts nor ownership exist in Christiania. After 40 years, the site was officially handed over on July 1, 2012, to its former occupiers.

The purchase was financed through shares (Folkeaktie in Danish) and a loan from the government. The new ownership, however, did not change the free city’s internal structure. Nearly 1,000 people live in Christiania, governing themselves through direct democracy. Its highest council, a glimmer of government, is the Common Meeting. Here, the general interests of the community are decided upon. It handles relations with the Danish government and budgetary matters. Its decisions are made based on consensus, on the broad and all-inclusive agreement of the entire group.

Bananahouse, Photo: Lars Nordmand

The town has split itself into 15 sectors. In the Area Meeting, all subdivisions gather to discuss smaller matters each month. Other bodies deal with finances, individual buildings and the general economy (more information can be found on the free town’s official guide. It has its own currency, the Løn, valued at 50 Danish kroner. Additionally, the community has developed internal services, like a kindergarten and post office, and its own set of laws; theft, violence, fire arms, knives, bulletproof vests, hard drugs and motorcycle gang signs are prohibited.

Drugs have been a consistent issue since its 1971 founding. Pusher Street is a household name even outside Denmark’s borders; it is an open market for cannabis. This element is not uncontested by some in the community. There has, however, been no complete consensus to change it.

Flag of Christiania, Photo: Lars Nordmand

Over the past four decades, other economic enterprises have sprung up within Christiania’s borders. The largest success story is surely Christiania Bikes, whose cargo bikes are sold worldwide. Alongside it, Loppen is one of the capital city’s most beloved clubs, and a variety of restaurants and cafes invite visitors to linger and enjoy.

Since its beginnings, Freetown Christiania has surely changed. But its founding principles remain alive at its core. Its existence has also altered both Copenhagen and Denmark. One million people visit this vibrant community each year. And for anyone who finds life within its borders a bit too different, the door remains open. As the sign reads, they are free to go back out, into the EU.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLSkf0cuhFs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBqOiOUxDjI

Carefully picked to represent a generation that has lost its overt social relevance, his subjects help to make this demographic visible, noticed, and valued again. To this end, their faces reflect individual lives, stories, and tribulations, just like Berlin reveals its own history in the facades of JR’s chosen canvasses. High up on the wall, his outsized portraits instantly grab our attention, often taking viewers by surprise with their powerful immediacy in a deliberate ploy to initiate communication with passers-by.

Flanking these outdoor works, the artist also has an exhibition at Galerie Henrik Springmann. And while this temporary delight remains on display until May 25th, it will hopefully be outlasted by its gracefully aging open-air and counterpart.

All photos by JR (http://www.jr-art.net/news/the-wrinkles-of-the-city-takes-over-berlin)

A daily three million people navigate this ambling city using the 150 local bus lines — popularly named colectivos. This homegrown form of transportation was born in 1928, when a group of taxi drivers offered set routes and prices to their customers. The service grew, and with it a style of identification and decoration: since the 1930s, each line has used a color combination and a number painted on each bus. While the color combination tends to cover the entirety of the bus, the name of the bus company and the vehicles’ numbers are usually written in gothic letters, painted in fileteado style.

Fileteado porteño is a decorative art that has become synonymous with Buenos Aires and joy. Painter Ricardo Gómez said that if “tango is a sad thought to dance to, then fileteado can be described as a happy thought that gets painted.”

As with most folk arts, fileteado’s 20th century origins aren’t well documented. But testimonies assure that Italian workers developed the aesthetic spontaneously while working in cart factories. Originally, the horse-drawn carts for carrying vegetables, milk, bread and other goods were painted grey. Then, according to the legend, two young boys, helping out with simple tasks at one of the cart factories on Paseo Colón Avenue, added colors to the side panels, maybe just for fun. The owner liked it.

The trend escalated, and soon the designs incorporated strong colors, different backgrounds, and spirals, along with the use of symmetry, plus shading and highlighting to create the illusion of depth. The motifs evolved into acanthus leaves, bells, landscapes and highly stylized flowers, real and imaginary animals like birds and dragons. Patriotic and religious symbols, the portrait of tango singer Carlos Gardel, and the Virgin Mary often accompanied the drawings, adorned by ribbons and filigrees, usually mixed with inventive mottos and aphorisms in gothic and italic letters. Writer Jorge Luis Borges even devoted a chapter of his book Evaristo Carriego (1930) to the inscriptions on the carts, to the wise and brief phrases transported through the city along different delivery routes. This tradition has persisted and now livens the city’s delivery trucks.

For a period of time, however, this style was submerged in complications. Political posturing and regulations in the 1940s were the start of a period of public confiscation and vehicle hiding. When the taken and hidden vehicles reemerged in the favorable political climate of 1952, many of the buses were in dire disrepair.

This, however, began a renaissance for the buses. The old ones were sold off cheaply, and workers from different trades participated in rejuvenating them—prompting the height of fileteado’s use on bus exteriors. The painting made buses beautiful and extolled the pride of the bus drivers.  Some technical changes also occurred in the first half of the 1950s that have remained. In 1951, diesel-fuel started to replace gas and, in 1954, the first Mercedes-Benz buses, produced in Argentina, glided down avenues. They soon became the dominant bus brand in this city.

Again in 1975 though, the use of fileteado style on buses came under attack; a city ordinance forbade it, arguing that it generated confusion when reading numbers and routes. This measure forced fileteado fonts and images to move from trucks and buses to cultural spaces like museums and galleries. In this space, they thrived. And in 2006, the Buenos Aires legislative body declared the style a Cultural Patrimony; its use on buses was again allowed and actively promoted. This inconsistent attitude towards bus exteriors has, however, fostered an inspiringly diverse assortment of decorative styles.  Some lines, like 68, decided to decorate their vehicles with geometric and more contemporary design, prioritizing legibility and handiness over tradition. Others have incorporated lights to highlight the line number. Sometimes, the colored gothic fonts were molded into shiny block letters.

In a display of this story’s cultural resonance, Club Amigos del Bondi (Friends of Bus Club), gathers bus drivers and enthusiasts to celebrate the variety of vehicles, showing off and discussing them. The origin of local buses began as a novel idea at a bar table. In less than a century, though, bus lines have evolved into the main transport means in one of the world’s great cities.

All photos by Lena Szankay.

On May 29th and 30th, 2013, Village Popincourt invites all lovers of beautiful things to come and celebrate creativity and the arts with a street party full of workshops, concerts, performances and surprises.

Our plane touched down at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Airport at 5:50 AM. I’d been traveling for nearly 48 hours and hadn’t slept beyond a couple quick naps. But as we taxied down the runway, I tried to muster together all the energy I could. The next 15 minutes would be the most uncertain part of the entire trip. Months of planning and thousands of dollars were on the line. I’d come to Iran to take portraits of ordinary Iranians on the street. I’d begun organizing the trip months ago. But if I couldn’t get through customs, none of those plans would matter.

A young, solitary American could easily be mistaken for a spy

A bus met our plane on the runway to ferry us to the main terminal. As we drove across the dark tarmac, my mind cycled through the obstacles that awaited me at our final checkpoint. Not only was I an American, but I was also a photographer. I’d been warned that both my passport and photography equipment could give me trouble when trying to enter the country. A young, solitary American traveling with expensive camera gear could easily be mistaken for a spy, or, even worse—an undercover journalist. The official US Travel Warning for Iran spelled out the worst possible scenario:

Iranian authorities have prevented a number of U.S. citizens who traveled to Iran for personal/cultural/business reasons from leaving the country and in some cases have detained, interrogated, and imprisoned them on unknown or various charges, including espionage and being a threat to the regime.

Our bus pulled up to the terminal and deposited us into a small processing room. Here we were divided into two lines: Nationals and Foreigners. Each line led to a processing booth, where a uniformed man checked and stamped each passport.

Sorry for the inconvenience

Almost all of my fellow passengers were Iranian citizens, so the Nationals line was much longer. There were only five or six of us in the Foreigners line. I took my place at the end of the line and carefully watched as the other passengers were processed before me. I was looking for any signs of trouble or suspicion, but found none. The young man checking passports looked tired and bored. He was a far cry from the hyper-alert, fully bearded border officer depicted in Argo. I began to feel relaxed. I reached the front of the line and handed him my passport. He took a quick look inside, and tossed it aside. “Step out of line,” he said. “Wait against the wall.”

I didn’t want to invite further suspicion by having a panic attack, so I did my best to appear unfazed by the special treatment. As I waited against the wall for further instruction, my mind entertained me with horror shows: prison cells, interrogation rooms, toenail removal machines. Nothing seemed outside the realm of possibility. After a few minutes, two soldiers arrived and rescued me from my imagination: “Follow us,” they said, with a curt gesture.

I followed as they led me down a narrow corridor. We took several turns, traveling further and further from the processing room, with its inconvenient supply of witnesses. I did my best to search the soldiers’ moods for clues to my impending fate. Were they angry? Offended? I couldn’t get a read on them. After what seemed like an endless journey, we finally arrived at a small office. They shut the door behind me. “We have to fingerprint you,” they said. “We’re sorry for the inconvenience.”

I exhaled. I had forgotten that all Americans had to be fingerprinted before entering Iran. This was a completely routine procedure. I’d been warned about the fingerprinting on several travel sites, but in my anxiety I’d managed to completely forget. The men asked me several questions while collecting my prints: Why have you come to Iran? Where do you plan to travel? What is your occupation? They casually wrote down my answers, without seeming particularly interested in them. They were just going through the motions. They didn’t seem to be on a mission to catch American spies. They seemed bored. This was just a job for them. A paycheck. I knew then that I wasn’t going to have any problems entering the country. Sure enough, the remainder of my processing was done quickly and systematically.

Those first few minutes in Iran were by far the most thrilling. During the remaining two weeks of my stay, I never again approached the sort of fear that I’d felt during that first trip through customs. That sort of fear requires uncertainty. It required Iran to be a blank slate in my mind. The longer my tour went on, and the more I saw of the country, the fewer gaps remained for my imagination to fill with danger. The remainder of my trip was an exercise in being repeatedly underwhelmed. I was underwhelmed by the danger. I was underwhelmed by the religious fanaticism. And I was especially underwhelmed by the anti-Americanism. Everything that Western media had conditioned me to expect from Iran, I found in far lesser quantities than I’d anticipated. The only thing present in a larger-than-expected dose was normalcy. The entire country was plagued by normalcy. I couldn’t seem to get away from it. Everywhere I looked—on street corners, inside of shops, and even inside of homes— there were normal people doing normal things.

In describing Iran as “normal”, I certainly don’t mean “the same”. Because everything about Iran is different: the clothes are different, the language is different, and the dominant religion is different. What I mean by “normal” is this: the people that live in Iran are the exact same people that live in New York City. They’re just wearing different clothes, speaking a different language, and praying in a different way. During my two weeks in Iran, I stopped well over one hundred strangers on the streets. I asked each one of them for their photograph. During the entire trip, only three people told me “no”. Compare this to New York City, where one out of every three people turns down my request for a photograph. It’s a poetic irony that in a country known for its hatred of Americans, this American photographer received a far warmer response than he ever has in America.

There are distinct currents of thought in every society, but the vast majority of modern Iranians are avid consumers of American culture. They’ve watched the same movies as you, read the same books, and listened to the same music. Their homes are fully supplied with Western ideas and Western art, which flow freely into the country through satellite dishes and social media sites. My photography proved to be no exception. At the end of two weeks, I returned home with 20,000 new Iranian Facebook followers—despite an official government ban on Facebook.

Iran’s government has become one of America’s most hated and feared enemies. A recent Gallup poll showed that 89% of Americans have an unfavorable view of Iran. Clearly, as an idea, Iran is very threatening to Americans. It’s a blank slate on which we project our fears—some founded, some unfounded. But face-to-face, one-on-one, America has no greater friend.

1. What makes you happy in this city?

[local]

Local

I’m happy whenever I look outside the window and can literally see the mountains. There is this hill very close to my house called Olympiaberg; you just need to climb up the hill, and on sunny days the mountains seem very close.You never feel too overwhelmed in this city, because it is just so close to nature.

[visitor]

Visitor

Munich’s special atmosphere makes it so adorable – especially in summer; sitting in the green, fresh grass; laughing with your friends; having a cold beer with a view of the melancholic Monopteros, and the dark red sky at sunset have been some of my favorite moments since moving here.

[question]

2. WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN THIS CITY?

[local]

Local

The great variety of art museums. I like to go to one whenever I don’t know what to do on the weekend. My favorite is the Museum of Modern Arts, as you can see here in the picture. Sunday’s entry fee is only one euro.

[visitor]

Visitor

The most inspiring thing in this city is the architecture. The mix of Baroque, Renaissance, Neo-gothic and modern buildings makes this city so likeable, and makes Munich so charming. It is always surprising and inspiring what you’ll find when walking through the streets and small alleys of Munich. This city is pretty huge, but all the districts are all so close to each other that you don’t get the feeling that you’re in one of the biggest cities in Germany. That’s why Munich makes me feel at home without being lost.

[question]

3. WHAT WORKS FOR YOU VERY WELL IN THE CITY?

[local]

Local

In the middle of the city, we have the “Eisbach Wave”. Even if there is snow—or even more snow—, nothing can stop the surfers from coming here to surf on the Isar river. It is certainly not for beginners, because there are ALWAYS people watching from the bridge. You’ll definitely want to look professional on the wave. Every time I happen to be in the area, it is always nice to go and watch.

[visitor]

Visitor

My biggest problem with big cities is the inability to get an easy overview of the entire space. But in Munich it is really easy and clear. If you are in its center, e.g. at Marienplatz, you can reach the whole city on foot or bike. It is pretty easy to get to the Glockenbachviertel, a casual and cool district—15 minutes walking and only 5 minutes by bike. I always call Munich a big village, and that is why I love this Bavarian city so much.

[question]

4. WHAT WOULD YOU DO BETTER?

[local]

Local

People are just like robots. In general, I feel like the people in Munich never show any positive emotions, especially the staff in fashion stores. In comparison with other countries and cities, I feel like there is not much that can cheer them up. They complain a lot, too.

[visitor]

Visitor

The difference between a big city, e.g. Berlin, and Munich is its “small village” feeling. It is common in other bigger cities to have 24/7 convenience stores and for the bars to stay open till 6 AM. Munich, however, has a lot of strict laws and closing times for bars and restaurants. Imagine working until 10 PM then getting to your favorite spot with your best friend, but only having time for one drink before having to be quiet or to leave. Let’s change it!

[question]

5. HOW WOULD YOU DO IT BETTER?

[local]

Local

Munich definitely needs to do something about their opening hours. When I want to go out at night—not specifially clubbing, but just have a nice coffee—most of the places have already closed at 11 PM. Everything closes very early in Munich. I would like to have coffee shops that are open 24 hours a day.

[visitor]

Visitor

Nowadays it seems that everybody is pretty busy with their work or with running their lives. After a tough day, I love spending the rest of the evening with my good friends, a Hacker-Pschorr radler, and a good burger. Unfortunately, most of the waitresses and waiters are pretty rough and unfriendly. Putting smiley stickers in front of bars, restaurants and shops would be a great idea!

Dressed in their full-body costumes, these young people aged 15 to 22 – often from deprived backgrounds or with previous convictions – serve as agile traffic wardens. And their job is no chore or state-prescribed labor. Far from it: Due to advantageous working conditions, many adolescents vie to join this urban fauna. All “zebras” receive health insurance plus 400 bolivianos – around 57 US dollars – a month; a sizeable sum in a country where the full-time minimum wage hovers under 100 dollars.

A firm fixture in their native city, the zebras have become welcome guests at trade fairs, festivals and events by now. With their tongue-in-cheek approach, they lecture on topics like drunk-driving or introduce primary school kids to the basics of road safety. Locals and tourists alike have come to love these active animals and often pay them – and their humorous performances – more respect than the average policeman on the street.

My first career was in journalism. As a magazine and newspaper writer, my day-to-day was steeped in celebrity/pop culture and urban lifestyle trends. It was a very fun and exciting career, but after a few years I felt a strong pull to go beyond the fast-paced glitz and—very literally—get down to earth.

I took some time off and traveled. On my journeys, I met people who had deep connections with nature, something I never had as a born-and-bred city girl. I started to see my daily choices very differently. I asked myself: what kind of impact do I make on this planet? What choices can I make to help contribute to a better world?

Composting provided me with a powerful connection to nature and the basic cycle of life. It allowed me to slow down and sniff the roses (as the worms munched on them, of course). I had always been a recycler, but never knew I could do anything useful with my food scraps. Learning I could transform my ‘trash’ into a vital soil resource was incredibly empowering.

When did you decide to share this interest with people in New York and turn it into a business?

The idea came to me while attending the NYC Master Composter Certificate Course. I was lucky enough to have the time and flexibility to spend one evening a week for several months taking a deep dive into compost education. However, many busy New Yorkers do not have that luxury. I wanted to create a way to bring this awesome information to people on their terms, at their convenience. I wanted to help individuals and groups develop a compost practice that best suites their lifestyle and needs with the attention and detail that a personal trainer or a tutor brings to their clients.

You also teach people how to compost at home in the city. What are the benefits of this?

The New York City Independent Budget Office estimated in 2012 that the average New Yorker produces three pounds of waste a day. In 2004–2005, The NYC Department of Sanitation did a waste characterization study and found that 29% of NYC’s residential waste was suitable for source-separated composting.
That’s nearly a third of our waste that could be easily diverted from landfills and transformed into an amazing soil amendment—and that’s not taking into account an additional 22.8% of paper/cardboard destined for recycling can be pulled into compost’s equation as well. The potential for good to be done, one household at a time, is staggering.

New York City doesn’t seem like the ordinary place to compost. Why were you interested in setting up your business there?

I am a native New Yorker and New York is my home. People here are becoming more and more interested in finding sustainable ways of living, and they see that they don’t have to live in the country or give up things they enjoy to live mindfully. I’m here to tell New Yorkers they can have their Manolos and their worm bins too!

Do you think people in New York are generally interested in a ‘greener’ and more sustainable life?

For sure! You can see it everywhere you look. Gone are the days of the Hummer and SUVs; the roads are now packed with smaller cars and, most importantly, bikes. Retailers take pride in, and consumers seek out, menus and items that offer locally sourced, reclaimed, and upcycled materials. There are tons of green groups that meet to discuss and live out sustainable building, permaculture, beekeeping, windowbox and community gardening, green tech, green business…the list goes on and on!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsPmdPkGmY

What are examples of green city life in New York City?

Some of my favorite examples of green New York life include: urban beekeeping, a rise in greenmarkets, rooftop farms, CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), bike culture, school and community compost programs, and artists of all kinds who recycle and reclaim materials in their work.
In addition to home consultations and private events, I enjoy doing volunteer community outreach. I have taught young Girl Scouts about composting, and I provide compost information at community events.

Do you think these add to the quality of urban life in general?

Most definitely.

What are the aspects of city life you like most?

I love the passion, drive and vision New Yorkers have to innovate and change the world.

If you had one wish, what would you like to see change in New York, or other cities, to make them more livable?

I would love to see more connection and compassion between city dwellers. It’s very easy to shut out the hustle and bustle of the city and live in a bubble with your eyes down and headphones on. However, small miracles happen with the tiniest acts of kindness. When people begin opening up to each other, they begin to see how every gesture affects the world around them. When that happens, suddenly people start making decisions to help shape the greater good.

Wandering in some city,
sometime,
I notice that something calls me.
Looking about around,
I find;
gently swaying green grasses on a small vacant site behind the main street,
a silver crane reflecting evening sunlight at the top of an uncompleted hi-rise,
a piece of thin blue sky cut by the surrounding buildings,
Then, I feel that I am attracted by this city.

Makoto Sei Watanabe asks: How can a city win your heart?

[answer]

The Impossible Project answers:

Human life is complex, and the emotional experiment to win somebody’s heart is so very hard to understand and explain in a rational way (maybe that’s one of the reasons why I adore Polaroids, being much closer to your heart and emotions than a thousand words). The only thing I can tell for sure is that my heart starts beating faster automatically when it’s confronted with something that has that certain ‘magic’ (even though that something is, again, hard to explain).

This is what happened to me—or shall I say to me and my heart—back in 2005, when I developed my very first Polaroid in my trembling hands. That wonderful, white-framed, real and smelly thing immediately seduced me with its magic. I immediately had to admit that analog instant photography had won my heart. No other kind of photography could be closer to real life than this one; with its unpredictable, tangible, sensual, unique and surprising way, it captures the moments of your life. It becomes a part of it.

A city that wins my heart basically reveals these characteristics and enchants me with them in an unpredictable dance wherein we get to know each other.

In order to not get on the wrong side of each other and to enjoy the dance, I need to have time and patience. Just like an instant photo needs its time for the chemical reaction and to slowly develop from a featureless, but beautiful, blue surface into something with a real character, a city has to slowly reveal its underlying spirit to me.

I love to take my time to inhale a city—starting from the smell when you get off the plane, the feeling of the air, the taste defined by special places and restaurants, the way the people look at you…it is an almost endless collection of small aspects, passionately inhaled with all my senses. The more analog, the more surprising, the deeper and truer a city is—the better.

Staying calm and listening; being ready for the unpredictable and surprising outcomes; accepting things as they are without trying to turn them into something that matches our idea. Once the real essence, the underlying soul and character, the certain something can be grasped, a city has won my heart.

Hakone Playground, photo by Ping Yee from Singapore

Brooklyn-based artist and sculptor Tom Otterness has been creating giant playground sculptures for more than 20 years. He often uses bronze and steel, but his mastery softens the metals; they appear cuddly and cute, rather than monumental. Otterness magnifies playthings to gargantuan proportions so that kids can slide down a doll’s legs and arms, or climb on the backs of giant frogs and insects. Big Girl Playground is open to the public in Yonkers, New York. But other sculptures, such as the playgrounds in Silver Towers, New York, and in Aspen, Colorado, are private property.

Big Girl Playground by Tom Otterness, 2011, Ridge Hill, Yonkers, NY, photo by Seth Lamberton

At Parque Gulliver in Valencia, Spain, all young fans of Jonathan Swift’s beloved children’s book can try out being a Lilliputian for the day. At this giant sculptural jungle gym kids can climb the stairs up Gulliver’s arms and legs, slide down his waistcoat and hair, explore the caves in his sleeves, and climb the ropes that hold him down.

Parque Gulliver in Valencia

Imagination Playground is a play space concept conceived and designed by architect David Rockwell to encourage child-directed, unstructured free play. With a focus on loose parts, Imagination Playground offers a changing array of elements that allows children to constantly reconfigure their environment and to design their own course of play. Giant foam blocks, mats, wagons, fabrics and crates overflow with creative potential for children to play, dream, build and explore. One of the most impressive playgrounds opened to the public in July 2010 at Burling Slip, near South Street Seaport in New York City.

Imagination Playground by architect David Rockwell, photo by Frank Oudeman

Danish design is well known for its clean, yet playful and friendly, aesthetics. No surprise that Monstrum, one of the most successful architectural offices specializing in playground design, is based in Copenhagen. Drawing on their stage design experience, Monstrum founders Ole B. Nielsen and Christian Jensen sew a visual story through their designs. This combination, in tandem with the physical elements they construct, stimulates physical activity, play and fantasy. Some of Monstrum’s highlights include The Pike at Annedals Park in Stockholm and the Rasmus Klump Land at Tivoli in Copenhagen.

The Pike in Stockholm by Monstrum

St. Kilda Adventure Playground is an award-winning playground about an hour drive north of Adelaide, Australia. For the adventurous, a flying fox, spiral slide, and monorail, along with a giant wave slide and maze are sure to keep kids and parents entertained. Its sprawling terrain also has a castle to explore and a ship to captain.

St. Kilda Playground by Matthew Roberts

1. What makes you happy in this city?

[local]

Local

What makes me happy in this city is visiting the Toronto Islands. The Toronto Islands are a small chain of islands just to the south of the city and can be accessed via a short ferry ride. They are the perfect spot for a summer picnic and a bike ride; I love being able to see the Toronto skyline from there. It is very peaceful and you feel very far away from the bustle of the city.

[visitor]

Visitor

I like the photography and art scene here; I have become close to it and the people who love making and looking at images. There are many events happening here like exhibitions, slide show nights, outdoor shows, workshops, or reviews – and all are welcome. The photo scene in particular is not snooty, but imbued with a good feeling of togetherness; we all help each other out.

[question]

2. WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN THIS CITY?

[local]

Local

One of the most inspiring things about Toronto is its public library system because whenever I am feeling stuck on an idea, one of the first things I do is to open a book. Toronto possesses one of the world’s most well-used public library systems and I really do not take it for granted that I can walk up the street or sign in on the website and then enjoy access to nearly any book that I want … without having to pay for it! I have been using this system ever since I was a child and I am still impressed with it.

[visitor]

Visitor

Walking through the streets after dark, Toronto is a wonderful city at night; you notice things that you never actually see in the day. Buildings become alive, lights shine from the windows of houses as people settle in after work. The quietness outside draws attention to the life you see in those split seconds when you walk past their homes. It is almost like a film set: quite tranquil, staged almost. For a big city, Toronto is very quiet, calm, and almost sleepy.

[question]

3. WHAT WORKS FOR YOU VERY WELL IN THE CITY?

[local]

Local

As Toronto is very neighborhood-oriented, and as each neighborhood is distinct and different from the others, I like that I can travel from neighborhood to neighborhood and feel as though I am visiting different cities altogether. One of my favorite Toronto neighborhoods is the University of Toronto campus where I work and where I used to be a student myself. It is very peaceful, yet also quite close to the bustle of the financial district.

[visitor]

Visitor

The city is easy to get around and the water is close by, so I head down there to relax and walk about. I like its industrial side; it is rare to be so close to a working harbor in a large city, to be able to sit and take in the view, a mix of industrial and urban landscape.

[question]

4. WHAT WOULD YOU DO BETTER?

[local]

Local

Something that makes me sad about Toronto is that it is a relatively new city and there aren’t many old buildings that have been preserved. All too often, older buildings are torn down to make way for new structures. I would love to live in a city that works to preserve its cultural heritage and architecture.

[visitor]

Visitor

I would like to see better planning for the construction of condominiums near the waterfront. The first time I visited Toronto, ten years ago, you could see the water from a distance. Now, there is a sea of tall buildings blocking the view. There are some great events happening at the water, but I feel that the city should invest and work harder to preserve the area by perhaps granting building permits that will also complement and enhance the waterfront, rather than the constant concrete structures that create a divide between the city and the water.

[question]

5. HOW WOULD YOU DO IT BETTER?

[local]

Local

As Johan pointed out, there is a great divide between the water and the city. It is so easy to forget that we are situated on a lake because we feel so cut off from it. I would love to see waterways incorporated into the structure of the city. Obviously, this would be a massive and expensive undertaking, but it could have truly beautiful, inspiring results.

[visitor]

Visitor

Anabela brings up a good point: Toronto is a relativity new city and you do notice that many of the old buildings have been replaced by glass and concrete. As a newer city, it does seem to lack an emphasis on protecting its heritage. In future, I would like to see better planning and protection of what is left.

Believing that people should have intense and memorable artistic experiences in their daily lives, Christo creates temporary public interventions on a vast scale, challenging the viewer to compare the hidden or altered object with his own memories.

Christo – BIG AIR PACKAGE – Gasometer Oberhausen 2013(c) Wolfgang Volz

His first solo artistic intervention, Big Air Package, again toys with our visual senses at Gasometer Oberhausen in Germany. The project opened on March 16 and will be running open to the public until December 30, 2013. Inside this cavernous gas tank, Christo wraps our most essential, but invisible, of human needs: air.

Christo again provokes our visual senses here. Inside the balloon shaped installation, the public has to deal with air on a different level. Though still invisible, the element seems to surround the viewer in a surreal manner.

Christo – BIG AIR PACKAGE – Gasometer Oberhausen 2013(c) Wolfgang Volz

Big Air Package is accompanied by an additional exhibition on the ground floor of the Gasometer. It showcases Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s most important projects, like the Wrapped Reichstag and The Gates in Central Park. Large-format photographs, films and sketches revive their fascinating, but always temporary, works of art. Wolfgang Volz’s photographs spotlight the beauty and visionary approach of their oeuvre.

This may be one of Christo’s last installations. And being temporary works, we highly recommend that you experience this powerful piece from one of the most important urban artists of our time before it ends.

BIG AIR PACKAGE
Address: Gasometer Oberhausen, Arenastrasse 11, 46047 Oberhausen
Duration: March 16-December 30, 2013
Opening hours: Tuesday through Sunday, as well as on public holidays,
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed on Mondays.
Admission:
Adults—9 euros
Reduced price—6 euros
More information can be found online at www.gasometer.com

But how is life in this vibrant city? How can design recharge Milan?

We decided to find out – at Milan’s 2013 Salone del Mobile. Bettery magazine invited four bloggers from Germany, Spain and France to join our editorial team for a design tour of ten hand-picked hotspots, recommended by seasoned designers like Luca Nichetto, Giovanna Massoni, Matteo Ragni, Lorenzo Castellini or Claudia Zanfi. To ensure that everyone enjoyed these gems and arrived fresh and relaxed, we gave the participants a mobile boost, courtesy of a smart e-bike.

Covering a huge variety of landmark design inspirations, from inner city oases like Parco Sempione’s La Fontana dei Bagni Misteriosi to design mecca Spazio Rossana Orlandi, the hand-picked destinations covered the city’s impressively varied design scope.

And although the weather gods were less than kind – blessing us with a steady drizzle – everyone enjoyed their e-bike ride through the narrow streets of Milan. As part of the tour, the bloggers not only got to know the town’s most stylish spots, but also each other’s views on design. A welcome shelter from the rain, Cascina Cauccagna provided the perfect picnic spot to exchange design opinions: Transformed into a restaurant, garden and string of covered spaces, this central 17th century farmstead almost made Nabil Nadifi, founder of the blog Hype ain’t sh*t, forget that he was in a metropolis.

At the same time, the 2013 edition of the Salone del Mobile not only featured Italian artists. At the Nichetto=Nendo exhibition, for example, Markus Gogolin (founder of DESIGNSPOTTER) decided to investigate the results of the collaboration between Italian designer Luca Nichetto and his Japanese colleague Oki Sato.

Meanwhile, The Toolbox showcased young, contemporary Belgian designers. Thomas Marecki of Lodown Magazine found himself overwhelmed by the experience.

Intrigued already? Then don’t forget to check out Pablo Caballero’s (Neo2) feature on the Janelli&Volpi shop. This company’s latest project, bespoke wallpaper, lets clients choose their own designs.

For a great overview of contemporary Milanese design, recommended design hotspots and the four gentlemen’s thoughts and impressions, head here to read the assembled reports.

Unlike other mainstream bike trade shows SPIN London sharpens the focus on the urban cycling scene by embracing the most progressive, forward thinking international brands and smaller independent makers in Fixed gear, Single Speed, custom and BMX bikes. Alongside this hardware are emerging cycle fashion brands, apparel and accessory retailers and creative talent from this exciting urban cycling subculture.

Londons’ best emerging DJ talents will be playing music live throughout the show and festival. Cycle-Art Installations, talks, screenings and satellite events will all run parallel to compliment the show festival experience, essentially creating an ad-hoc, subversive, sub-level village for the discerning urban cyclist! Get in your saddle and make your way to SPIN!

But if you can’t make it to Paris this week, read through our own review of the revolution. This article, the travel issue, is the first in Bettery Magazine’s series on the shareconomy.

Vacation season is near, so why not check out how the shared economy can help you see the world, while saving you some money and introducing you to new people?

Airplane home in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica – via Airbnb

Whether it’s a chic apartment in Milan, a beachfront house in Jamaica or a design loft in Copenhagen, social travel platforms such as Wimdu and 9Flats assist travelers in finding private homes to rent. They shave off the hefty hotel bill and offer a more genuine view of different cities and vacation spots. The best-known provider, Airbnb, has generated more then 10 million bookings in just three years. The website even lists boats and tree houses. The generally moderate prices are set by each individual, and—with the exception of 9Flats—the websites charge a service fee ranging from six to12 percent of the final bill.

If you want to travel with free accommodations, homeswapping might be a more intriguing option. Platforms such as Love Home Swap and HomeExchange ask for a small fee, but also offer insurance on your home to enjoy your vacation without worries. It’s simple. You just list your home and search for likeminded people in places you might like to visit. Homeswapping is a great option for families who would usually need to spend a fortune on hotel rooms and apartments. People with second homes or holiday residencies can use this with added ease.

Villa in Pascarosa, Italy – via Airbnb

A community based more on the pay-it-forward concept than direct swapping, Couchsurfing helps you share a home with “friends you haven’t met yet”. Today the friendly community numbers 6 million people who open their couches to travelers in more than 100,000 cities. A similar concept with a different background, Servas is a non-governmental, multicultural peace association aiming to build understanding, tolerance and world peace through hospitality. Founded in 1949, Servas is now a global network run by volunteers in over 100 countries. After meeting a local representative, travelers get a list of hosts from the region they plan to visit. Two nights is the typical duration for free accommodation, but countless friendships and even marriages prove that the encounters have quite a bit of potential for becoming long-term ties.

Castle in Nairobi – via Airbnb

And though a nice roof over your head is helpful in a foreign place, some authentic, local food via Cookening will round off the experience. The France-based marketplace connects people who want to attend and host home-cooked meals, encouraging them to share their culture. Travelers search available tables in the area they are visiting; find a meal; book it; pay the contribution listed, and enjoy.

During your travel, journey or shared meal, be sure to ask questions, listen, learn, and have fun! Et voilà you’re a member of the collaborative consumption movement!

19th Century Chateau – via Love Home Swap

Headerimage by atelier conradi

1. What makes you happy in this city?

[local]

Local

Kunming enjoys a particularly great climate and atmosphere. Its unique light reveals many details of the city and its urban landscape. In China, you would be hard-pressed to find any comparable city with similar qualities and I am very happy to be able to live and work in this city.

[visitor]

Visitor

I am happy to be in China and I love the variety of stunning landscapes, but I live in a city for many reasons – one of them being work opportunities. At the same time, there are few cities in China where one can find blue skies, tree-lined streets and a very gentle climate. Kunming still deserves its nickname “City of eternal Spring”.

[question]

2. WHAT INSPIRES YOU IN THIS CITY?

[local]

Local

In Kunming, I find it inspiring to walk through the city in search of a fresh visual experience. In the past, many old buildings have shaped Kunming’s archetypal identity, but now a lot of these have made way for new buildings. I try to capture and record this particular character before it is gone.

[visitor]

Visitor

Perhaps something that can be seen and experienced everywhere in China – an incredible development that is sad and inspirational at the same time. Most of Kunming’s older buildings (old, not ancient) are definitely in need of replacement. Qiu He, Kunming’s previous mayor, made great efforts to lift Kunming up to a level where, in the near future, it can hopefully be considered an important Southeast Asian hub.

[question]

3. WHAT WORKS FOR YOU VERY WELL IN THE CITY?

[local]

Local

The leisurely pace of the city, the spirit of traditional lifestyle that characterises the city’s daily life as most people still lead a slow-paced life here. I would like to show and share one of the places in the city where this lifestyle is still present and clearly manifests itself.

[visitor]

Visitor

Most of the city still consists of mainly low-rise buildings – up to eight floors high. The vast majority of these buildings have very low power usage and get their hot water from solar heating. This saves a lot of electricity and gas as Kunming gets plenty of sun throughout the year. Despite a lot of new high-rise construction, these solar panels still inspire the use of solar energy and solar heating.

[question]

4. WHAT WOULD YOU DO BETTER?

[local]

Local

The water of the local lake, Dianchi, is seriously polluted and I hope that this can be reversed to improve the water quality. I would like to show the lake in a way that makes the environmental problem visible and easier to grasp.

[visitor]

Visitor

The city is in great need of change and a lot of relatively old buildings were never constructed with the future in mind, nor do they serve as reminders of the past. Nonetheless, China can look back on a great architectural history and Kunming plays host to a large variety of ethnic minorities – all with their own idiosyncrasies. It would be wonderful to see if, apart from all the massive concrete soulless structures replacing a lot of what is beyond saving, some of that history could be kept through creative integration into modern design.

[question]

5. HOW WOULD YOU DO IT BETTER?

[local]

Local

In the past, Kunming has seen the destruction of old buildings and the construction of some new, faux-antique buildings modelled on the original style. Now, more and more people realise the value of the originals – they cannot be copied, so we should protect those that are excellent, worth preserving and representative of the city’s old architecture, like the Yunnan Military Academy. It is all about well-preserved buildings with an architectural style dating back to the 1910s – not richly ornamented, but suffused with the memories of the city.

[visitor]

Visitor

There have been many efforts to clean up the Dianchi lake and billions of dollars have already been spent on the process. Dianchi is both iconic to the city and one of China’s major fresh water bodies. The lake, covering 115 square miles, is very large and situated on the edge of the city with Kunming at its northern end. Its positioning plays a major role as the lake’s beauty once again becomes apparent, which in turn benefits clean-up efforts because they relate more closely to people’s lives. One day, it could once again turn from a major local and tourist attraction into a primary water source for a thirsty Yunnan Province.

Curated by Markus M Schneider of Metroprojects, Beijing www.metroprojects.org.