#49 new ideas on the ground
listen: soundcloud
https://soundcloud.com/cjsw-90-9-fm/space-place-49-new-ideas-on-the-ground?in=cjsw-90-9-fm/sets/space-place
This episode of s+p we cover periodicity with Oslo Pilot, a creative think tank embedded in municipal government called Laboratorio para la Ciudad, and a pedestrian strategy in the making.
A pilot project researching a format for future art events in public space is called Oslo Pilot. Commissioned by the Oslo Agency for Cultural Affairs, Oslo Pilot is a series of artworks in public space but also workshops, talks, and even a publication. Curators Per Gunnar Eeg-Tverbaak and Eva Gonzalez-Sancho are heading the two-year research based initiative. Seeking different channels to explore public art as it meets public space, the work includes seminars, exhibitions and a magazine that will launch in the spring with an editorial team  of architects, poets, and artists.
We move into the pedestrian realm with a discussion on a new Pedestrian Strategy that in response to a Municipal Development Plan and a Transportation Plan putting walking as top billing, we catch new developments in The City of Calgary’s Pedestrian Strategy from Project Manager Andrew King. A final information session will be held on November 24th here.
Our final interview is with Laboratorio para la Ciudad, a new think tank embedded in the Municipal Government in Mexico City. A collection of artists, architects, designers, economists and urbanists, they’ve taken up a desk in city hall in order to catalyze a different way of connecting citizens to their government. The Lab’s director, Gabriella Gomez Mont, explains how Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera approached her to start up this innovative approach to civic innovation. Part of their work is dedicated to improving the pedestrian realm, something deemed important in a city where 14 million commuters take the bus daily. Two weeks ago Mexico City closed down an elevated highway for the first time. The Lab was integral in kickstarting a sense of belonging on the street.
images: 1/ Oslo Pilot focus, image courtesy of Oslo Pilot. 2/ Image courtesy of Laboratorio para la Ciudad. 3/ Image courtesy of Laboratorio para la Ciudad.Â












