(2003-10-18) Thackara Spectacle City

John Thackara on the Post-SpecTacle City. Hearing about these storytellers reminded how much we have lost, in the "developed" world, of the un-mediated, impromptu interactions that once made cities (Urban Design) vital. We now design messages, not interactions. The world is awash in print, and ads, and billboards, and packaging, and spam. Semiotic pollution. Brand intrusion at every turn. Our buildings are now about one-way-communication, too. Sports stadia, museums, theatres, science and convention centres. Such buildings do an accomplished technical job: they deliver pre-cooked experiences to Passive crowds. And whom do we have to thank for this semiotic pollution, for the catatonic spaces that despoil our physical and perceptual landscapes? The "CreativeClass". That's who's responsible. In the same way that mill owners optimised Mass Production, the creative class has optimised the society of the spectacle... Sophisticated Paris, in its bid for the Olympics, says that (Spectator Sports) is replacing culture as an attractor in urban regeneration. "The role that investment plays in the Games of the 21st century will be comparable to that played by industrialisation at the end of the 19th century", burbles their bid. Claude Bebear, chairman of the Paris Olympics Committee, does not think of sport as kicking a ball around a field. He thinks about twenty million dollar sponsorships, and the well-being of the people who provide the spectacle... Spectacles may be spectacular, but they are low bandwidth. "I believe that a desirable future depends on our deliberately choosing a life of action, over a life of consumption. Rather than maintaining a Life Style which only allows to produce and consume, the future depends upon our choice of institutions which support a life of action". That was Ivan Illich, in 1973. Thirty years ahead of the rest of us, Illich argued for the creation of convivial and productive situations - including our cities. A sustainable city, Illich understood, has to be a working city, a city of encounter and interaction - not a city for the passive participation in entertainment. What matters most in a post-spectacular city is activity, not architecture. (follows up with ideas about WireLess connectivity improving the ability of people to connect in the city)