We have heard much good words about you, Augusto, since yor are featured in Edgeryders video presentation. Great project!
Interesting... We can seethat you probably had an influence on the concept of Edgeryders.
Also using similar approach to missions, Four years ago (13,769 commitments made), and Intent (128,487 intents, 25,005 intents accomplished), However, Edgeryders seems to be the first government project to experiment with this approach. It is very innovative, andthe results and experience will probably serve for futureprojects.
By encouraging participation, your project provides structuresandconditions favoring theopportunity for participants to develop theirpower to act as membersof a community.It also develops the ability to optimizeforces ofthe community. Communitycapitalcreatesa community ofmutual aid andmobilizationonbroadersocietal issues,fuelingthe sense of belongingand a sense ofcitizenship.
I wonder if such initiatives could happen outside Europe. In America, for instance, we do not have a strong (historic) sense of belonging or relating to piazza, piazzetta, or public places, as there is in Europe. Thisis probably differentin large U.S. cities,butwhen I think ofMontrealorToronto, for instance, many beautiful public spaceswith nice public art and landscape design, arequitedeserted, except forthe homeless.Everything is also more compact andcozyin Europe.
Projects such asthis onebring life. I like the expression ‘urban transformation’. Hey, Transformers!
Hey guys, there’s one called MakeSense from France focusing on the creation of social businesses as defined by prof. Muhammad Yunus. I met them last year, they are a group of 3-4 very young, fresh and energetic!
What I think, Augusto, is that you have come a long way. You play down your theoretical thinking, but your work may have long ranging consequences for the way we think about policy on commons. Most people think about this issue in terms of tragedy: how to avoid the Tragedy of the commons? The implication is that, if you leave people alone, they will destroy, appropriate and exclude. So, we spend a great deal of energy ring-fencing, restricting, forbidding.
Is this the right approach? Sometimes it will be. But other times, no. On the Internet, online community managers steer by little drops of wisdom like “assume good faith” and “if you design your system for trolls, your users will be trolls”. It seems that, at least in this case, you can just leave open access and deal with abuse on a case by case basis. Criticalcity Upload happens not online, but on the street: and yet, the same dynamics seems to apply. People don’t need to be controlled much: they actively care for the cities they live in, and they strive to improve them and protect them as a community. At least in your case, commons are built spontaneously, by people that love their urban spaces and love each other in the context of theor urban spaces. The real tragedy happens when they are forbidden to do so!
Maybe this is just me and my idée fixe, but CriticalCity Upload implies policy as enabler. In this case the management of urban public spaces can happen not by making decisions like “let’s put a fountian there”, but by giving people like you and your community the freedom and the tools to improve them, making more sociable, safe, beautiful and fun.
Tell me, what do you think of the role of art in creating the cutural commons - there’s something about the excess, the amazingness of places like Burning Man which seems to be key to the opening of the vision which lets people see each-other as friends…
The link between art and commons is one of the field that I’m interested in.
As you’ve written, I think that the art gives the opportunity to live some places in a unusual way and so it makes possible a new vision of the places and of the people, like CriticalCity, but I believe also that a fundamental element that links art and commons is the urgency to defend them.
Some days ago I’ve published a mission about a bottom up production (700 co-producers) of a film documentary to block drillings in a large sicilian area recognized by Unesco in the World Heritage List.
But I’m thinking also to the series of occupied theatres in Italy to block the closure or to restitute them to the community (Roma,Catania, Napoli). In particular the occupation of the Valle Theatre in Rome is a very interesting experience because it continous from about 1 year, with a numbers of interesting activities, and the occupants are forming a foundation to mantain alive the theatre with the partecipation of the community also to write the statute of the foundation
The next week I should interview in Venice one of the Lavoratori dell’Arte (Art workers), the movement from which are coming all the theatres’ occupations. He has worked for the occupation of the Theatre Valle and I want ask him a direct contact with someone in Rome.
Hy Hexayurt, i’m Matteo, i’m also part of the CriticalCity work team) i take the opportunity from your question to also talk about an issue that has mentioned by Alberto.
When you talk about great vision as a driving force made me turn a light bulb (i’m not sure that is the correct translation), in this speechJane MCGonigal tells many things, but one - essential to create a better world - is to have a big vision, an epic meaning.
In our game the epic meaning is do things you’ve never did before, and, the implicit meaning, is change and “conquer” the public spaces.
To achieve that is necessary what you define “see each-other as friends” that also Alberto describe, and for me also in primary, the concept of community (in italian we have the possibility to use the word comunità, when is in the real world, differentiating it from the word community, that is predominantly online) in Upload the community is real, is a comunità.
Before reaching the public spaces we must reach the reliance on the other people, have a sort of “social curiosity”.
The use of art, that we translate on creative missions (everyone is creative) is a key part of the game: do things, get their hands dirty, put yourself into action, helps you to fell alive (too poetic?) and is a thing that is able to free many energy, and to change the world is necessary a lot of energy! (Epic ending)
I’ve already tell you how great is your project and now I repeat here that it is genial!
I know that CriticalCity in the past had the financial aid of a Foundation and I’d like to know if also the last edition of the play has had the same support or you are working with other finance.
and, If I am not too indiscrete, I’d like to know if you and how many others of the team can live with this project.
Right now this project (and other urban games related projects) are paying the wages of me, Matteo and another collaborator. This is not easy and we need to find each day new opportunities, but until now this is working
I’m really sad when I spend time in leeds… while there are great events and communities tucked away in private spaces, the city centre is super finance trendy with shops and restaurants for a yuppy corporate world. it makes me feel cold and lonely! i’ve never heard of anything like what you’re describing - do you know of anything, in the whole of the uk even?
my name is Chara and I have met Giacomo in the mini conference of Edgeryders this March. I am working at the Hub Vienna and recently we hosted a 48hours Game Design workshop which went very well and we created innovative ways to explore the city and get more engaged with it! These days we are talking about having one workshop every month in order to create awareness and involve more people
I really liked your ideas and the way the platform works… I think it is more constent than a workshop… I would like to know if you are thinking of scaling it more. For example, as I am orginally from Athens, I think it would be a great idea to have something like that there… I know there are initiatives starting for urban games but as you have already the knowledge and the technology of the platform maybe it would be easier …
Hi Luna, your initiative sounds really interesting!
At the moment we are not yet ready to scale CriticalCity Upload to an European level (we would need to find more funds and the right people), but this is something we would really like to do!
