City Eco Lab
In the words of John Thackara....
“If you know of another event about city-regions and design that includes permaculture, mushrooms, spin-farming, fritzing, open money, peak protein, alternative trade networks, dry toilets, sustainable urban drainage, alternate reality games, watershed planning, seed banks, de-motorisation, and VeloWalas – go to it. That way I won’t suffer remorce for my encouragement of long-distance travel. Otherwise, here are highlights of the encounters and presentations planned for the event”
Aimed at encouraging visitors to think about ways to interface with a sustainable world, the event will run from 15-28 November in St Etienne.
If you’re passing through the ‘Massif Central’ area of France you could do worse than check it out. For more info: biennalesaint-etienne.citedudesign.com
There is still a sense that sustainability is this ‘otherworld’ which we need to be forced into making a connection with. To some extent that’s understandable (ideas about Permaculture have ‘only’ been talked about for the past 30-40 years), people obviously take a little while to take new ideas on board.
I hope that the exhibition activates a positive change in the visitors who experience it. I also wish for a parallel approach that actually puts the knowledge and tools in peoples lives. Is it a dream to imagine a real life strategic project to promote social change, along the lines of Jamie Oliver’s ambitions to instigate change in the way society eats, but more successful than that. Aren’t we in danger of perpetuating the issues of sustainability as a freakshow, something which is put on display and shown to be ‘different’.
Perhaps I should just go and check it out, I might just find something new there, who knows.
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