chris turner & dan green - booklet

“...between the power of the heliotrope and disciplinary power we can situate a third paradigm of power. This is an anonymous and unpredictable kind of power, without traceable origins or foundations, freely circulating around, much like those immense and elusive clouds of money moving around the financial world in a way that worries so many contemporary economists...”

Ankersmit, F.

06 PLEXUS MUTATION / THE REFORMATION OF POWER

PLEXUS MUTATION / CONTENTS

07 strategic approach polish situation 11 warsaw situation 13 ursus situation 15 mapping power 16 ursus power struggle 18 celtic analysis 23 energetyka + industry 27 clash of land ownership 28 site activity + dereliction 29 defining an approach 31 rubric analysis 32 the individual 45 rubric output 48 aspirations for change 51 logics 53

67 instigating reformation imperatives for change 69 ecological imperatives 71 social + economic imperatives 73 visualising the recovery 74 visualising a new economy 76 creation of a circular economy 79 introduction to network platform 80 campaign 82 mobilisation 86 reformation 90 campaign champions: energetyka 92 campaign champions: academia 94 campaign champions: eu 96 creation of circular economy 99

01 101 scenario testing a way forward 103 traditional agrarian culture 104 resist + reconnect 105 allotment culture 106 regional strategic aims 109 waste as means of production 111 system growth 113 testing of future growth 114 research informed cycles 117 closing the circle 119 future mutation 123

131 appendix rubric thesaurus 134 rubric rules 137 precedents studies 139

149 references

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PLEXUS MUTATION / STRATEGIC APPROACH

10 11PLEXUS MUTATION / THE REFORMATION OF POWER

Embracing of CapitalismSince the fall of communism, Poland has embraced the free-market and the gains that come with it. Productivity has boomed, GDP has grown rapidly, stronger international connections have been made as well as an increase in the opportunities for trade.

Plight of the Individual Under capitalism the plight of the individual has been left out of the system. Large scale privatisation of industry and structural changes to economic strategies have left the polish worker vulnerable to efficiency savings, wealth gaps between the rich and poor, a decline in traditional industrial and agrarian sectors and the dissolution of workers rights and unions.

Agricultural RestructuringPoland has a huge natural biodiversity that is currently under threat by the EU agenda of agricultural restructuring. The traditional culture of small family owned farms has become a victim of savage EU sanitary laws, efficiency drives and competition with global conglomerates that favours mechanisation and commercial farms.

Energy DependanceAt current estimates Poland has enough coal reserves to last its current demands for the next 500 years. However Poland almost entirely relies on Russia and other countries for oil and gas. For political reasons this is highly undesirable for Poland and as such there is a general consensus in Poland that they should seek to create energy independence based on coal and natural gas reserves accessible only by the environmentally controversial method of ‘fracking’. This is of course contrary to EU policies on fossil fuels, as well as current environmental discourses in general.

STRATEGIC APPROACH / POLISH SITUATION

13

Deindustrialisation + Growth AgendaWarsaw is currently in a state of political, cultural and social turmoil. Since the fall of communism, and more recently the joining of the EU in 2004, the cities agenda has aligned closely to those of other western european countries. The growth of the city is becoming reliant on a transition towards an economy dominated by the tertiary [services] sector, with a process of deindustrialisation rapidly becoming the status quo.

Cultural ChangesWestern individualistic and consumer culture has generally been welcomed by the Polish people, especially the younger generation. This culture of individualism, combined with a general paranoia regarding land ownership as a result of the communist regime has led to the diminishing of community within Warsaw and the country in general. An example of which being the increased security measures taken by home owners.

Student CityFueling this transition is an agenda of expansion for higher education within warsaw. The city is home to 300,000 students, leading to a sevre housing shortage for warsaws 1.7 million population.

STRATEGIC APPROACH / WARSAW SITUATION

15

STRATEGIC APPROACH / URSUS SITUATION

HeredityThe Ursus District is plagued by historical problems resulting from the inheritance of a failed factory site. The collapse of Ursus Factory has resulted in 182 hectares of brownfield site with a large degree of disconnection with its surroundings.

ConflictThe void left by the Ursus factory was quickly filled by a number of different players; landowners, energy companies and industrial manufacturing facilities. This has set up a conflict of agendas for the site. Celtic, a large land speculation and development company are seeking to develop the site into an up-market residential enclave for a new ‘creative class’ commuting to the city. This clashes with existing industrial applications currently on site, as well as the extensive on site infrastructure better suited to large scale industrial applications.

ParalysisThe transition to a free market economy has resulted in a complex bureacratic system unsuited to resolving such conflicts. As a result the site has been left in a state of paralysis to collapse and decay.

XenogenesisA new association has been formed by the former factory sites current industrial companies alongside energetyka to fight their cause against land speculation and the conversion of the site to residential and commercial functions. For Ursus to move positively towards a new future, a strategic response needs to be formulated in order to give it a clear sense of direction. ‘Plexus Mutation: The Reformation of Power’ is one such response.


Conflict Within UrsusThe power struggles currently being played out on the former Ursus Factory site are of key importance to the future of its surroundings. To fully engage with and understand how key institutions and private corporations are seeking to gain control over and utilise the physical space, a study of the non-physical power structures and tools being utilised needs to be undertaken.

Untangling the PlexusAn important new concept has emerged in current urbanist discourse, the ‘Urbanism of Negotiation’. Urbanism of Negotiation is a concept describing the way in which a designer will act as a go between for the various stakeholders and actors within a project, trying to get them to talk and negotiate with each other. All the while maintaining a coherent visionary ‘urban plan’ that would be usable for at least 20 to 30 years.

‘This view of urbanism is imbued with the ideology of one coherent democratic civic authority versus a great many incidental private corporate bodies’.

Crimson Architectural Historians

The city is not a coherent organism with all its constituent parts working in tandem. It has no centralised heart and brain pushing it along a linear path of progression.

It mutates, contracting and expanding based on a complex and intricate web of interrelated forces working simultaneously with and against each other. To even have a chance of understanding and untangling these powers we need to define what power is, to what end it is being used and exactly by whom.

Shifts occur when interests converge; on a temporal axes these shifts occur most quickly and more dramatically when momentum is gained quickly and effectively. Recent technological advances have created a new world where social media and

STRATEGIC APPROACH / MAPPING POWER STRATEGIC APPROACH / MAPPING POWER

global connectivity can rapidly create large networks for utilisation within certain agendas.

Mapping PowerNew ways of how the site could be appropriated and utilised for a new strategic transformation of Warsaw and the Ursus Disctrict needs to happen in order to escape its current paralysis. To do this the ‘capacity building’ of the various institutional and governmental actors currently involved in the struggle for the site needs to be mapped.

In order to further their own agendas and create any process of adaption on the site, actors such as Celtic or Energetyka need to utilise various non-physical networks of power. These civita are the collection of organising, regulating, and / or financing structures that govern the hardware [physical]. They may be anything from financial systems, political instruments or cultural exploitation methodologies.

‘To fully understand space we must look beyong the physical. There are distinct levels or urbanity, overlapping in different ways, producing new kinds of nodes and unfamiliar landscapes.’ (Chay, D. 1998).


STRATEGIC APPROACH / URSUS POWER STRUGGLE STRATEGIC APPROACH / URSUS POWER STRUGGLE

23

Percieved Incompatibility: A Spatial ClashAlthough the industry within Ursus has considerably lightened up, in part by having gone at least partially high tech, the production, storage, distribution, repair, and recycling of tangible goods typically generates traffic, noise, or odours that may not be noxious but still annoy and inconvenience non-industrial neighbours.

Celtic: Utilisation of the Aesthetics of Consumer CultureThe sort of work being done inside a building doesn’t count; what matters is how a place appears ‘to the average onlooker’ and, it should be added, to the attending design professionals. In the new urbanism, observes architect Michael Pyatok, labor is trumped by the market driven aesthetics of consumer culture.

Working industry fails the visibility test, a crucial prerequisite of consumer interest. The face presented to the world by industrial enterprise is usually dull, if not unattractive. Moreover, the work of production, storage, distribution, and repair is largely invisible to outsiders, taking place behind the opaque walls of factories and warehouses. This is one reason that active industrial sites often appear blighted to the public at large, and this something that developers such as Celtic are exploiting to push for ‘regeneration’.

“ What disqualifies working industry as an object of consumer desire is not only how it looks but also what it signifies. Virtuoso consumers savour the thrill of personal empowerment that accompanies the act of consumption; the felt affirmation of individuality, however fleeting, underwrites the seductiveness of consumerism. By contrast, operative industry, particularly manufacturing, evokes routine and standardisation. “

Bronstein, Z. 2009

STRATEGIC APPROACH / CELTIC ANALYSIS

25

Pushing for DeindustrialisationAttempts to remove industry in order to subsume land for speculation are often accompanied by reports detailing industrialised areas as ‘brownfield’, sites that are not only abandoned or ‘underutilized’ but also contaminated and in need of detoxification. This is precisely the narrative that has been utilised within the context of the Ursus Factory site by the local government and developers looking to redevelop the site.

The Victory of the SpectacleMartin Jay’s (1992) review of of aesthetic politics identifies a second association of the term aesthetic, illustrating “the seductive power of images”. This form of aestheticised politics indicates “the victory of the spectacle over the public sphere”.

This utilisation of a visual spectacle is precisely the tactic used by developers and governmental departments seeking to develop sites such as Ursus for their own agenda. The potential for any rational debate over public space is overwhelmed by images of a spellbinding yet illusionary spectacle.

The use of ‘polished’ renders showing utopian visions of the site where everyone is part of the new ‘creative economy’ is used as part of a seduction capmpaign to win over the public to the neoliberal agenda.

Utilisation of Governmental OrgwareCeltic and other land owners often have a degree of ‘disinterestedness’ over human life, instead concerning themselves with capital accumulation and growth. Part of this agenda is the utilisation of government orgware - by aligning themselves with the governmental agenda for the post-industrial city they can exploit the strategic goals of house building for a new ‘bedroom city’ where everyone commutes to the centre for work within a service economy.

STRATEGIC APPROACH / CELTIC ANALYSIS

27

STRATEGIC APPROACH / ENERGETYKA + INDUSTRY

Agenda Based on IndustryEnergetyka are seeking to retain and grow the amount of industrial activity on the site. Utilising financial systems, legal civita networks and political pressure they are putting forward an agenda based on keeping industry within the urban core. Key arguments to keep industry within an urban context are that it counters sprawl, it reduces air pollution, traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. By supporting a resilient and diverse urban economy, industry makes cities more appealing places to live and to work. The density of urban life fosters the synergies that are essential to industrial vitality and innovation, as well as providing abundant and accessible public transit making it easier for employees of industrial businesses to get to and from work, especially those who can’t afford to own or drive a car.

Utilisation of Existing InfrastructureAs Daniel Luria and Joel Rogers point out, modern infrastructure and other “productive public goods” attract companies that might well go elsewhere, by making an urban region a more efficient and thus a more profitable place to do business; their presence then increases the chances that such firms will stay.

Static Power and Reliance on ‘Fixed Capital’Energetyka, along with other industrial enterprises within Ursus have power, however it is a static power, invested in its location. This makes it vulnerable to shifting spatial paradigms and the consequences of re-zoning by a local government under pressure from land speculators and developers.


STRATEGIC APPROACH / CLASH OF LAND OWNERSHIP STRATEGIC APPROACH / SITE ACTIVITY + DERELICTION

31

STRATEGIC APPROACH / DEFINING AN APPROACH

Manipulation of the Urb [physical]To develop an understanding of the social, economic, political and spatial consequences the existing Ursus power struggles are causing, it is necessary to gain an intimate understanding of how different civita networks have been able to manipulate Poland’s ‘urb’ historically. Desktop studies suggest [to an extent] the ability of various key civita networks to manipulate the ‘urb’, but without defining power as quantifiable information it is impossible to map this and its consequences.

Power of the Civita [non-physical]If power is relative to the existing paradigm it resides in; it is constructed between current actors and players [not assigned to anyone indefinitely], it is a ‘ polyphonic and complex narrative in which individual threads constantly negotiate with each other to establish their importance and position’ [Nawratek, K, 2012, p.105]. Therefore all major contemporary urban theories [Urban Growth Coalition, Urban Regime, Actor Network Theory] see power defined by the number of relationships each actor has, not on a particular position in social hierarchy [Nawratek,K. 2012, p.50].

Inclusion of HierarchyHowever, when mapping power and its consequences, to ignore hierarchical structure would create falsified results, as civita networks with a large number of connections may not hold a strong position within social hierarchy; thus lack a realistic ability to significantly manipulate the ‘urb’.

Therefore ‘power of the civita’ has been defined as its position within a hierarchical structure [social stratification] combined with the number of existing and potential connections [i.e power based on relationships]. Social stratification is based on the classification into groups based on shared socio-economic conditions. A relational set of inequalities with economic, social, political and ideological dimensions.


STRATEGIC APPROACH / RUBRIC ANALYSIS

Tool Development: Mapping Power Once power is defined [social stratification X number of relationships], civita networks can be mapped to a specific position to understand how, and to what extent, it is manipulating the ‘urb’. The ‘Rubric’ was developed specifically for this purpose.

Incorporation of Three LogicsBy incorporating the three key logics of Poland’s socio-economic development [Agrarian, Industrial, Post-Industrial] and analysing each logic at two scales [local/regional and national], civita networks can be mapped, and their ability to manipulate the ‘urb’ can be quantified as precise data. Key to how this manipulation happens is a further understanding of the ‘orgware’ implemented by the mapped power, i.e. a knowledge of the capacity building of each actor involved, as this is the hardware which will cause fluctuations within the ‘urb’s’ fabric and may impede/enhance the ability of other civita networks [increase/decrease social stratification or relationships].

Mapping at Varying ScalesBy mapping the process at two varied scales, comparisons can be drawn to establish whether the same forces are manipulating the ‘urb’ in the same way and whether the economic logic varies over these scales.

Mapping of TemporalityTemporality is essential when mapping power, as significant events in time may be reflective of issues at both a national and global scale, affecting the power of each civita network. To analyse the effect various civita networks have had on Poland’s ‘urbs’ [regional and national], the Rubric covers from 1750 to present day, dividing this period into ten key historical sections. The results of the mapping process can be seen over the following few pages;

“ True urban change... does not begin with gaining power. It starts with understanding the mechanisms, which will allow restoration of the cities subjectivity and will regain the power to shape the cities own destiny and future...”

Nawratek, K. 2012


STRATEGIC APPROACH / RUBRIC ANALYSIS STRATEGIC APPROACH / RUBRIC ANALYSIS

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STRATEGIC APPROACH / RUBRIC ANALYSIS

Understanding Shifts in PowerThe Rubric analysis allowed for a coherent and clear understanding of power shifts [and the consequences of these] throughout the different logics and varied temporality. Once these have been mapped, key themes can be drawn to understand the current social, economic and political situation within Poland. An understanding of these issues [in particular the specific civita networks and ‘orgware’ initiated] will be key to solving the current on site power struggles.

Linear Shift in Economy Clearly demonstrated within the tool is the linear shift in economies from Agrarian to Industrial to Post-Industrial. Discussions with the Vice Mayor of Warsaw suggested a strong desire to move entirely into the tertiary sector, allowing it to subsume the previous economies. Ed Liu suggests this is an unsustainable vision and that the logical next [and final] stage of economical evolution should be towards a circular economy; one that incorporates agriculture, energy and industry into co-dependency and self-perpetuation [Liu, 2010, p.7].

Historical [In]StabilityPoland has endured significant shifts in complex and influential power civita’s as the country has been subject to a barrage of power struggles and subsumations. This has resulted in a lack of continuity, stability and strategic vision, leaving a trail of inadequate systems currently being exploited [financial, legal, political].

Culture of ResistanceThroughout the manipulation of the ‘urb’ [via various civita networks] a common theme of resistance against the imposed regimes is evident. The underrepresented masses have been constantly exploited and dictated resulting in an autonomous existence.

Limitations of the ToolWhilst being an incredibly useful tool to enable an understanding of power and its ability to manipulate; upon reflection the Rubric has its limitations. In mapping powers it ignores the level of complexity behind civita networks, perhaps over simplifying extremely complex situations and circumstances. As well as this, a level of assumption [at times] was necessary [due to complexity of the task, resources available and time constraints] whilst considering levels of social stratification and position within social hierarchy. A more detailed understanding of these issues may have allowed for a more accurate mapping of powers.


The Underrepresented MassesAn additional failure of the Rubric tool was its inability to identify the effects of the power struggles on the individual, and their specific role within these conflicts. To avoid mimicking this constant political disinterestedness in the unrepresented masses, it is an important exercise to overlay the individual with the Rubric to understand the impact this power manipulation had.

- Hardship under Feudalism.- Russian occupation of Poland.- The individual became tied to a location in a manorial system bordering on slavery.- The whole family became restricted by the system.- Krakow Uprising

- Abolition of serfdom but the individual was still tied to the land through a lack of ability and opportunity to accumulate wealth and climb the social hierarchy.- Foreign culture imposed through oppressive Russian, Prussian and Austrian forces.

- High levels still prevalent of illiteracy throughout the population.- 1st and 2nd Silisian Uprising [against German Rule].- Extreme levels of poverty [result of WWI] throughout Poland.- Culture of evasion as independence of the individual is regained and lost; Poles forced to fight other Poles during the war.

STRATEGIC APPROACH / THE INDIVIDUAL


- Introduction of Communism.- No Political or Social elite within Polish population as many have been killed in the war.- Individual intimidated by overwhelming atmosphere of tension and fear. - Industrial expansion: basic welfare system favoured industrial sector with hundreds of thousands of young/poor peasants uprooted from homes to work in industry with the prospect of improved social opportunities [at expense of agrarian economy and the elderly].

- First Agrarian reform led to the reform of small family farms; giving independence to the individual.- Reintegration of the 3 regions led to a renewed identity for Polish people.- 3rd Silesian Uprising.

- Great Depression.- Production and fall in agricultural prices results in extreme poverty for the individual.

- Cultural Genocide; invasion of German and Russian forces results in a lack of identity for Polish population.- Extreme levels of fear and poverty as approximately 6 million Poles killed during the war; with large numbers exported to concentration camps or for slave labour.


- Collective farms dissolved resulting in a reduction of power abuse.- Improvement in general standard of living with an expansion of economy.- Increased cross pollination of Western culture.- Widespread strikes and protests due to an increase in food prices and everyday items.

- Manual workers felt fall in wages and status [most backwards sector of economy is agriculture] with many working class individuals fearful of joining the European Union. - Civil resistance, strikes and street demonstrations with various occupy movements.

- Continuity of foreign policy due to the dissolution of Warsaw Pact [goal of joining western institutions]- Poland has become a culture of consumption with western culture taking control of the individual [accepted within the population]- Loss of rural/slow way of life as small farms resist EU Policy [labels the farmers organic by default]- Individualistic attitude of population- Culture of resistance



STRATEGIC APPROACH / RUBRIC OUTPUT STRATEGIC APPROACH / RUBRIC OUTPUT

51

Understanding Mechanisms of changeThe study of historical shifts in power achieves a better understanding of mechanisms involved in change. To achieve any kind of reformation or systematic change a detailed understanding of the context in which you are working is crucial.

After analysing power struggles within the region it is clear who has been the most unable to shape and control the logic of the economic systems The individual has become a cog in a system that is working primarily to further the agendas of larger civita structures.

These structures have always remained disinterested in the individual, how they live and the consequences of the implementation their own ‘orgware’.

The current paradigm shift towards a teriary economy in Poland is leaving behind whole sectors of society. Workers outside of the new ‘creative economy’ and corporate elite have no voice in which to gain a platform for resisting the changing conditions.

Development of AspirationsSystematic reform must happen to empower the individual to determine how they want to develop and live. The breaking of a constant assumption that there is a lack of alternatives for the implementation of systematic revolution must be challenged.

STRATEGIC APPROACH / ASPIRATIONS FOR CHANGE

53

Clash of Logics: A Broader ContextThe clash of logics and the current power struggle in Ursus is reflective of a broader argument for the direction of regeneration in Poland, as well as the majority of western european countries. The consequences of this is the growing absence of a national industrial policy, the mobility of capital enabled by deregulation and new technologies; the deskilling of industrial labour as well as the corresponding demise of technical education.

STRATEGIC APPROACH / LOGICS

55

Towards a Multiplicity of LogicsAny strategic thinking for how Warsaw can move forward must be plural; a single unified strategic vision in the traditional sense will be doomed to failure. The plan must be fluid enough to adapt and permeate throughout the plexus.

Pluralism must be applied to any logic of development; the regeneration of Ursus and the advancement of Warsaw must be based on more than than a linear model of regeneration that relies almost exclusively on one sector of the economy.

The current fetishisation of the post-industrial economy and service industry as the holy grail of development and regeneration is setting up an unsustainable future where local economic conditions are neglected. Strategic goals need to be focused on the restoration of the city as an entity where people are put first and new activity based on different logics are layered together to reduce the flow of capital and information.

The individual must be allowed room to develop, to seek to create his or her own way of living against boundaries that are not imposed upon them via a top down methodology based on scientific analysis, data collection and arbitrary consultation exercises that do little more than create legitimacy for pre-determined decisions.

STRATEGIC APPROACH / LOGICS

“...the word ‘utopian’ is more often than not used in the pejorative, pertaining to proposals featuring alternate realities rather than dealing with societies real pressing ills. Such criticism misses the point and dismisses the potency of the utopic vision. Platos ‘Republic’ [400bc], Thomas Mores ‘utopia’ [1516] and Francis Bacons’ ‘new Atlantis’ [1627] were intended as neither fantasies nor blueprins for refication, but reflections on the societies they were written...”

Lim, CJ. + Liu, E. 2010






149 references

0302

PLEXUS MUTATION / INSTIGATING REFORMATION


ImperativesThe current fetishisation of the post-industrial economy and service industry as the holy grail of development and regeneration is setting up an unsustainable future where local economic conditions are neglected. Strategic goals need to be focused on the restoration of the city as an entity where people are put first and new activity based on different logics are layered together to reduce the flow of capital and information. An acknowledgement and understanding of the imperatives currently and subsequently looming on Polish economy allow the vision of what is to come to be avoided. A stance on how to combat these issues can be assumed, with the logic of what should be done subsuming the existing paradigms.

Marginalisation of urban IndustryThe marginalisation of urban industry shows the city of Warsaw continuing its identification with property capital and its inherent drive toward the most profitable development.

Inadequate OrgwareInhospitable land use policies. Businesses that do production, distribution, repair, or recycling are highly vulnerable to market conditions. Industrially zoned land yields substantially lower rents than land zoned for offices, housing, or retail; hence it sells for substantially less, making it extremely attractive to nonindustrial developers. This pressure can reach tipping point if a city does not enforce its industrial zoning laws.

Keeping Industry Urban: An Ecological + Social ImperativeDisplacing industry from the urban core increases sprawl. When forced out of city, industrial businesses migrate to the more affordable edges of a region. But the lorries that carry the goods that those businesses make, repair, recycle, store, and transport regularly travel from the edges to the centre and back, worsening air quality and further congesting already crowded roads, as well as increasing the price of making goods. Industrial displacement also makes it harder for city residents employed in industry to reach their jobs

INSTIGATING REFORMATION / IMPERATIVES FOR CHANGE

71

INSTIGATING REFORMATION / ECOLOGICAL IMPERATIVES

Current Linear Model of ConsumptionCurrent production systems enforce a linear model of resource consumption that follows a ‘take-make-dispose’ pattern. Companies harvest and extract materials, use them to manufacture a product, and sell the product to a consumer—who then discards it when it no longer serves its purpose. ‘Indeed, this is more true now than ever—in terms of volume, some 65 billion tonnes of raw materials entered the economic system in 2010, and this figure is expected to grow to about 82 billion tonnes in 2020’ (Ellen Macarthur Foundation).

A Warning to HumanityIn 1992, 1700 of the worlds leading scientists issued a warning to humanity, urging the response to the unsustainably high consumption levels of finite energy resources, the reckless creation of deleterious effluent, and the generation of greenhouse gases causing irreparable damage to vital planetary systems.

While the Kyoto Protocol came into force in February 2005 with the aim of preventing detrimental anthropogenic effects on the climate system, it appears unlikely that the signatories will deliver on their obligations.

James Lovelock, author of ‘The revenge of Gaia’ forsees an unavoidable and radical climatic shift resulting in an environment less suitable for human inhabitation.

In the absence of humanity mounting a massive retreat, he postulates..

“....a global decline into a chaotic world ruled by brutal warlords on a devastated earth...”

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INSTIGATING REFORMATION / SOCIAL + ECONOMIC IMPERATIVES

Disregard of Social Wellbeing + EmploymentAt the same time as an accelerating ecological disaster, the worlds economic order, premised on capital accumulaion with scant regards to social well-being and employment, is leading to extreme socio-economic diifferentiation and a fractured society of the privileged and the dispossessed.

Karl marx showed how capitalists must do everything possibe to sell their commodities at the lowest price. That means lowering wages and not paying environmental costs. Firms do so not because they’re evil but because they have to grow. If they dont, they will be forced into bankruptcy...

“....firms do so not because they’re evil but because they have to grow. If they dont, they will be forced into bankruptcy...”

Failure of a Trickle-Down EconomyEconomic strategies based on a trckle down economy, such as is the current trend in Polish cities produces a dangerous situation where the economy subsumes all resources with a large degree of efficiency.

Capital, time and money as well as material resources are consumed, leaving the lower and moderate income residents of the city with nothing for the system to consume. Wealth disparities are further widened, and there becomes a point where a limited welfare state can no longer provide support.

Ursus as Land CommodityLand is not a commodity in the normal sense. it is a fictious form of capital that derives from expectations of future rents. By maximising its yield, developers such as Celtic are driving low and sometimes even moderate income households out of areas such as Ursus.


STRATEGIC APPROACH / VISUALISING THE RECOVERY

Building Counter-PowerGreg Sharzer in his book ‘No Local’ argues that the corporate class is acting global, and so should we. We need to build out own institutions, and that starts with the creation of new networks. The 2011 uprisings in the middle east show that democratic ideals and mass struggle are back on the agenda. Collective resistance can topple dictators but first it needs to gain momentum.

“...the fight for reforms must have a revolutionary strategy at its heart, confronting the capitalist social relations that localism refuses to...”

Sharzer, G. 2012

Establishing a ‘Flashpoint’Human societal progress has a huge amount of inertia behind it, and therfore requires a large force to change its course. Using the analogy of an oil tanker, it can take a very long time to slow down, or change direction and requires a lengthy amount of ‘building up’ of resistance.

This resistance can come from a collective resistance, however this reformation of power is not about localism, or localised power, but it does have its origin in the locale and is very much about the establishment of self-determination and subsistence.

Localism does make small incremental changes within our reach however its prospects are limited and they won’t be able to build a new and more equitable society. This will need to established later on through new cooperative movement and the creation of our own instutional platforms.


STRATEGIC APPROACH / VISUALING A NEW ECONOMY

Designing out WasteA new circular econmy should design out waste. Waste does not exist when the biological and technical components (or ‘nutrients’) of a product are designed by intention to fit within a biological or technical materials cycle, designed for disassembly and refurbishment. This requires a process of ‘upcycling’ as opposed to recycling which commonly results in a reduction in quality and feeds back into the process as a crude feedstock.

Waste is FoodThe ability to reintroduce biological products and materials back into the biosphere through non-toxic, restorative loops should be at the centre of the new economy.

‘The drive to shift the material composition of consumables from technical towards biological nutrients and to have those cascade through different applications before extracting valuable feedstock and finally re-introducing their nutrients into the biosphere, rounds out the core principles of a restorative circular economy.’

Ellen Macarthur Foundation

Rely on RenewablesSystems should eventually aim to run on renewable sources, offering a real contribution to climate change mitigation and utilisation of fossil fuels.

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STRATEGIC APPROACH / CREATION OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Missing the FlashpointFlash points or large social/economic events often lead to a localised revolution. Ursus was subject to a significant flashpoint in 2003 in the form of bankruptcy which could have been the key event to spark a new revolutionary movement. However this opportunity was missed, perhaps due to the significant scale of the collapse and the social values embedded during the communist regime. A western model of entrepreneurial businesses has emerged in the wake of this but this is not instigating real systematic reform, such as those based on concepts of pluralism.

Financial MeltdownThe agenda for a new economy based on capital gain and land speculation was set in an era when cities were heavily dependent on private investment and at a moment when the building boom was still in full swing.

We are now in the midst of the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression. With credit frozen and demand plummeting, many growth development projects have slowed, halted, or fallen through. Although Poland has remained relatively unscathed, the current discourse may be enough to create a flashpoint for a new movement – creating a critical mass for the mobilisation of a campaign for change.The breakdown of the fundamentally unstable old world order has bewildered its architects. The ensuing disaster has caused great hardship; however it’s also created opportunities for major transformation.

Impeding FlashpointCurrent precedents of community led regeneration projects [such as Eldonian Village, Liverpool and the Coin Street Community Building Programme, London] were sparked into existence through the threat of the impeding demolition of houses, collapsed economies or proposed developments. The flashpoint for Warsaw and greater Poland may not necessarily be an existing situation but rather it could be the impeding imperatives identified previously. An acknowledgement and understanding of these can be used as a call to arms, the inevitable loss of industrial land and capital land speculation [and desire to avoid this] becoming the important flashpoint for a new social revolution.


STRATEGIC APPROACH / INTRODUCTION TO NETWORK PLATFORM STRATEGIC APPROACH / INTRODUCTION TO NETWORK PLATFORM


STRATEGIC APPROACH / CAMPAIGN

“ The network of dependencies in which we exist is neither flat nor uniformly dense. It thickens and thins, it has its own hierarchy. Its most fascinating characteristics are not from its egalitarianism, but its volatility. This network is constantly constructed anew. Each actor, human and non human, is important in the network at a certain time and this is how power is constructed...”

Nawratek, K. 2012


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Instigating the MassesThe aim of the campaign is to create awareness amongst the communities of Ursus about the proposed restructuring of power, and the intended formation of a new market. This can be achieved through a series of spatial and non-spatial events allowing for a maximum number of individuals to become an active player within the reform.

Spatial + Non SpatialMarketing events, demonstrations, public consultations and press exposure will provide a strong spatial base to the campaign, but its strength will lie in the utilisation of the non-spatial components as these significantly increase social stratification; hence an ability to communicate on a much wider scale.

Websites such as ’Space Hive’ are clear examples of the power these websites/social media can help to create. Through the use of this resource the platform can [and will] easily extend beyond the boundaries of the Ursus district, and even Warsaw and Poland, to accumulate a body large enough to no longer remain unheared.



STRATEGIC APPROACH / MOBILISATION

Utilising existing structures and building trust amongst individuals can establish a base of human and social capital that can function seperately from and become more resilient than financial capital


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Utilisation of Existing Physical EnvironmentThe aims of the campaign and mobilisation align with that of Participatory Budget-ing, suggesting ways to enable and encourage more people to participate and chal-lenge local social, economic and political problems. Once momentum has been gained through the campaign phase, local and easily accessible public facilities will be des-ignated as key physical platforms, with the concept of setting up a regular process of information exchange, enabling a new paradigm for the creation of ‘orgware’ based on a bottom up approach. Simple rules of thumb, such as these facilities being within a 10 minute walking radius of any community and that a democratic process is maintained will allow for the grass roots movements to grow and ensure the devolution of people to the local ‘[who are at] the front line and better placed to allocate resources and evaluate needs than profligate high-level quangos’ [Liu, E, 2010. P.38]

Capacity DemobilisationHowever budget limits and [lack of] social capital can quickly demobilise the political capacities of social movements such as this – perhaps suggesting why the World Bank is pro Participatory Budget Movements, identifying the goals as a ‘problem….that uninformed citizens select policies that do not conform to the constraints placed on the government….and that it is lucky that most participants seem to be aware that PB programmes overall impact will be limited by revenue and authority constraints placed on the government’ [Sharzer, G. 2012, p.159]. For significant change to happen, Neo Liberal administrators must implement capital’s agenda for the ‘uninformed’ masses.


STRATEGIC APPROACH / REFORMATION

Building a New Co-operative ModelSolidarity Economics recognize that neoliberalism can dramatically affect local economies by enforcing low wages, industrial closure and significant environment damage. The victims of these regimes often survive outside of this market by co-existing in ‘self-organised relations of care, cooperation and community’ [Sharzer,G, 2012. P.129]. Although small scale, local [ethical] cooperatives and initiatives cannot outcompete capitalist firms [due to vast difference in finance structure, social capacity and social hierarchy] it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t play by the same rules. For transformative social initiatives to gain any momentum, development needs wealth, institutions and people with the means and connections to enforce changes of a large scale. Worker co-ops can form this social movement enabler as they can operate ‘successfully in a capitalist market to support it’ [Sharzer, G, 2012, p.130], becoming the necessary source of financial and institutional support required.

Identification of ChampionsThe instigation of these worker co-operatives is essential as lasting local development requires complex, deep economic and social links in manufacturing, state regulation and politics [Sharzer, G, 2012, p.124]. Therefore the identification of these co-operative Champions is key; to ensure a future that is sustainable and one the local community of Ursus aspire to. Utilising Champions who will be able to significantly aid the instigation of these changes will depend on those who have similar agenda align with the local community and have a vested interest in becoming part of the reformation. It is important that no one actor within the worker co-op appropriates the cause for their own agendas. This is especially important for private sector actors seeking to appropriate the agenda for capital gain.

STRATEGIC APPROACH / REFORMATION


STRATEGIC APPROACH / CAMPAIGN CHAMPIONS: ENERGETYKASTRATEGIC APPROACH / CAMPAIGN CHAMPIONS: ENERGETYKA

Investment Champion: Utilising Fixed Asset CapitalThe movement’s ability to gain momentum will be strategically dependent on the Champion; it will also determine the direction it will take. Suitable champions for systematic change involve those who have an interest in investing in fixed asset capital within Ursus. Agendas must align, even if motivations are not always the same.

Energetyka Ursus has been identified to become a key player in enabling the transition from the existing linear economic model to a new circular one. Being reliant on continual investment in physical assets tied to its location, as well as local social, cultural, economic and political changes they are intimately linked to the area. As previously mentioned, more fluid powers like Celtic [developer] can easily withdraw from the existing power struggle.

Aligning AgendasThe local councils desire/vision to regenerate Ursus into a new post-industrial haven with connections to a city centre workplace for the creative classes, and the inevitable implication of EU energy omissions legislation, Energetyka has substantial motivations to become part of the systematic reform and become a Champion for the reformation.

New EU legislation will cause Warsaw to have to take ownership of its domestic waste, and Energetyka are already seeking to take advantage of this for their own benefit. However they are proposing a short sighted ‘waste to energy’ scheme that will make them a quick buck despite environmental controversis surrounding the incineration of waste. Offering to become part of a wider more systematic solution surrounding a cyclical economy may give them the argument they need to take on a larger role within the EU environmental legislation.


STRATEGIC APPROACH / CAMPAIGN CHAMPIONS: ACADEMIA + RESEARCHSTRATEGIC APPROACH / CAMPAIGN CHAMPIONS: ACADEMIA + RESEARCH

Academia as a ResourceUnderstanding the agenda of the Central Polish Government to push the existing paradigm into a new research / service industry, the campaign can utilise this [and hack this orgware] to form links with the rapidly developing and expanding Academic Civita. Using their research, knowledge and capacity to further develop these ideas; this can quickly become an extremely influential civita to aid the evolution of the economic logic.

Regarded as modern day power houses; Universities will carry enormous social capital, as well as a substantial financial civita, and be able to cause a shift in the current power pendulum, wielding the ability to wrestle power from the grasps of private organisations. A future decided by the masses will be given the opportunity to grow, develop, enhance and cultivate, ushered into a new era through technological advancements established in this mutual partnership with academia.


STRATEGIC APPROACH / CAMPAIGN CHAMPIONS: EUSTRATEGIC APPROACH / CAMPAIGN CHAMPIONS: EU

European Environmental AgendaAs a member state of the European Union, Poland actively participates in devising the Community Energy Policy, it also implements its main objectives under the specific domestic conditions taking into account the protection of interests of customers, the energy resources and technological conditions of energy generation and transmission.In line with the above, The primary directions of Polish energy policy are as follows:

• To improve energy efficiency;• To enhance security of fuel and energy supplies;• To diversify the electricity generation structure byintroducing nuclear energy;• To develop the use of renewable energy sources, including biofuels;• To develop competitive fuel and energy markets;• To reduce the environmental impact of the power industry.

Utilising Alignment of InterestsThis requirement to adhere to new environmental policies can be utilised for strengthening the argument for action against the identified environmental imperatives. The current discourse surrounding mitigation of environmental degradation, propagated by the European Union and ratified by the Polish Government helps to establish a new flashpoint for change.


STRATEGIC APPROACH / CREATION OF CIRCULAR ECONOMY

De-Mobilisation of CapitalThe existing economic structures and systems of governance are mainly concerned with encouraging the accumulation of mobile capital. The adaptive capabilities of global service and financial corporations allow for a fluid and transient form of power unrooted in locailty.

A new model must be instigated that serves to ground capital, rooting investment in human, social and financial capital within the geographical locale. By utilising and connecting a multiplicity of logics based on agrian, primary and secondary economies it is possible to bolster a place’s ability to demand more of capital—less pollution, higher wages, better labour relations and more investment in the community.

Geographical Advantage of Urban IndustryPrototypes do not emerge fully resolved from labs; they need to be tested by users, refined, and tested again. The efficiency of this process is enhanced by the geographic proximity of researchers and designers to users. That benefit helps explain one striking confluence of the old and new economies: the persistence of hundreds of independent machine shops in the San Francisco Bay Area. Manufacturers’ proximity to their customers and their customers’ suppliers enlarges the ‘spillovers’ of knowledge, networks, and markets that, as economist Joel Popkin has noted, drive innovation in subtle and inimitable ways. The denser the geographic concentration of manufacturing plants, the greater the spillovers.

This symbiotic model of geographical proximity between designers, users and manufacturers can be applied to Ursus. It will benefit both existing and future industrial manufacturing enterprises, as well as the new researching and testing of technologies and systems for the implementation of a closed loop system of production based on a circular economy.


PLEXUS MUTATION / SCENARIO TESTING


SCENARIO TESTING / A WAY FORWARD

Establishing a new Circular Economy

Utilising the network platform as a facilitator of spatial agency, it is important to test the spatial implications of a new system responding to the social, economic and ecologic imperatives set out from the start.

A new system is proposed that will replace an economy based on a linear route of consumption in a world of finite resources.

A new system will introduction biological loops for a restoratuve purpose rather than one of exploitation. Instead of seeking to extract as much as humanly possible from the natural environment through intensive agriculture, and raw material extraction, the new system seeks to alleviate the burdun placed upon the countryside by the growing urban population through the use of urban agriculture.

Looking to Nature as a ProviderThanks to the opening up of markets, partnerships with indigenous scientists and clean-up companies both in Europe and in the West, and most importantly, pressure by the European Union to meet certain environmental milestones for membership Poland is in a much better position to create a culture of environmental awareness, cleaner industry and a more harmonious relationship with nature.

A Last Bastion of European BiodiversityPoland is a country with a huge natural diversity. Its biodiversity is among the richest in Europe. its rich mosaic of habitats are the result of traditional ways of life, particularly in agricultural areas. A considerable portion of agricultural areas have high natural value, providing refuge for threatened flora and fauna. It is for these reasons that urban agriculture must help alleviate the burden placed on the natural environment.


Traditional Culture of Small FarmsPoland has a traditional culture of small family owned farms. Over 22 percent of the working population are still involved in agriculture, and the majority of which are on small farms. Traditionally Polish houseolds would have kept livestock in a straw-floored “barn” that is part of the house, entered through a kitchen door. They would slaughter their own pigs. The wife would milk the cows by hand. Instead of spraying crops with environmentally destructive pesticides and herbicides, they would turn the fields in winter to let the frost kill off pests residing there.

Traditional Culture of Small FarmsWhile traditional farms like his could be dismissed as a nostalgic throwback, they are also increasingly seen as the future — if only they can survive.

This way of farming — indeed this way of life — has been badly threatened in the two years since Poland joined the European Union, a victim of sanitary laws and mandates to encourage efficiency and competition that favor mechanised commercial farms.

Re-establishing Independence + FreedomThis conflict obviously matters to the people of Poland, but it is also of broader importance, environmental groups and agriculture experts say, as worries over climate change grow and more consumers in both Europe and the United States line up for environmentally friendly organic produce.

Poland is losing its independence and freedom; the slow rural way of life shared by traditional farming communities throughout the world. “The E.U. has adopted the same efficiency approach to food as it has to autos and microchips,” he said. “Those who can produce the most are favored. Everything is happening the reverse of what it should be if they care about food and the environment.”

SCENARIO TESTING / TRADITIONAL AGRARIAN CULTURE

But the fall of Communism and, more recently, European Union membership have opened this once cloistered land to global forces: international competition, sanitary codes, trade rules and the like.

In a market newly saturated with huge efficient players, these small traditional farmers are being overwhelmed. The American bacon producer Smithfield Farms now operates a dozen vast industrial pig farms in Poland. Importing cheap soy feed from South America, which the company feeds to its tens of thousands of pigs, it has caused the price of pork to drop strikingly in the past couple of years. Since European Union membership, the prices of pork and milk have dropped 30 percent.

Poland has a tradition of small farming that has persisted for centuries. Unlike farmers in the rest of Eastern Europe, Poland’s farmers even resisted collectivisation under Communism. Now, Ms. Lopata said, they are “organic by default,” and “at the vanguard of an ecological, healthy way of food producing.”

A new economy based on a closed loop system of production, with the local populous as both the key producer and energy provider as well as the consumer will instigate a new economic model built off common needs and existing cultures.

Resist + Re-ConnectIn part because Poland has remained one of the last strongholds of small farming in Europe, it is possible to utilise this culture of subsistence for giving people back ownership of the system of production. Fighting back against the overwhelming tide of EU restructuring and becoming connected to the economy and their location as an organism within a sustainable closed loop system gives the poeple political power.

SCENARIO TESTING / RESIST + RECONNECT


“If this land disappears, a way of life will also disappear. It will tear people away from land they have been connected to for years. This will be a tragedy for older people,”

Ewa Błachut, vice-president of the Małopolska branch of PZD.

Utilising a Dying Culture of Allotments: Ogród Działkowy

A decision handed down by Poland’s Constitutional Court in July threatens to upset one of the country’s most cherished traditions – the weekend migration to the family allotment. By ruling aspects of the 2005 laws regarding allotments unconstitutional, because they infringe on the rights of landowners, the court has raised the prospect of some city gardens being sold to property developers.

Green Voids: An Opportunity for Urban AgricultureDuring the countries 20-year romance with capitalism and modernity there are still some places where time has stood still. These are Poland’s garden allotments – over one million plots of land nationwide set aside for the health and wellbeing of the urban masses. Allotments feel like old fashioned, monolithic state institutions. In fact, the Polish Union of Allotments (Polski Związek Działkowców, PZD), the umbrella body responsible for the management of Poland’s 45,000 hectares of ogród działkowy, was created in the Communist era, in 1981.

The majority of this land belongs to local authorities, and a smaller fraction to private landowners. As the law stood, neither of these groups would ever have the right to dispose of or profit from this land. However this cannot be legally reconciled with property rights enshrined in Poland’s more recent constitution. In the worst case scenario, land returned to local authority control could be sold off to property developers. For Warsaw, a city with hundreds of hectares of land currently given over to allotments, the prospect must be mouth watering to some.

SCENARIO TESTING / ALLOTMENT CULTURE


SCENARIO TESTING / REGIONAL STRATEGIC AIMS

Reducing Burden on the CountrysideAs identified it is an ecological imperative to reduce the burden on Polands countryside and stop the proliferation on monocultural, intensive, high-input agriculture that is destroying natural habit and subsuming a system of agri-ecology that has sustained natural biodiversity for hundreds of years.

A key strategic aim is to reduce the urban demand for food production by moving towards a system of urban agriculture within Polands Urban Areas. This type of agriculture requires a radically different approach to sustainable agriculture within the natural countryside.

Return to Nature: No Input FarmingThe countryside needs to managed with no external-input farming techniques. Stopping the use of inputs like pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers and replacing them with internal inputs. The basic principle is that farming is seen as both agro- and ecosystem management. The farmer is managing a farm with coherent diversity. The important concepts are diversification of both crops and animals, crop rotation, and organic matter cycles. Techniques vary from the use of traditional knowledge to use of modem bacterial herbicides and insecticides which replace their synthetic equivalents. Mixed cropping, green manuring, composting, use of local organic materials, reduced tillage and biodynamic preparations are also included.

Seperated Agri-BiotopesBy implementing a closed loop urban agricultural system that connects with both industrial and post-industrial economies within Warsaw, a disconnection from ‘agri-ecology’ in the countryside can be maintained.

SCENARIO TESTING / REGIONAL STRATEGIC AIMS

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Giving People a Means of ProductionThrough the production of saleable goods, energy and food that do not rely on the depletion of natural resources Ursus can maintain a distribution platform as part of a system deriving from the people of Warsaw and one that minimises wastes.

Humans as Part of Ecological Waste StreamsThe strategy aims to change the perception of how humans relate to ecological waste streams, biological systems and economics. Giving people ownership of the system of production through cooperation.

SCENARIO TESTING / MEANS OF PRODUCTION

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Plug-In LoopsStarting from the temporary use of the site for small scale growing, loops can be added and extended as the system mutates and grows.

The utilisation of allotment culture and the appropriation of voids within the Ursus factory site will instigate the greening of the site which will evolve into the bioremediation of the contamination of areas within the site currently unsuitable for any function other than heavy industry.

System DependencyThe growth of the new system will depend on what actors will ‘plug into’ the growing civita network. No pretermined plan has been laid out, more a framwork of principles and parameters. How the site will develop and grow will depend entirely on the platforms ability to identify suitable civita structures and orgware that will help further its goals of re-enfranchising its citizens with power over the economy.

An Example of MutationLaid out is an example of how the spatial component may develop with a set of assumed actors. By establishing a small scale low tech anaerobic digester on site it is possible to start a biological loop early on.

This could evolve to the taking in of organic waste from nearby allotment growing schemes, restaurants and other food outlets. Further on the system could utilise human effluent taken from existing infrastructure and vastly upscale anaerobic digestion at Ursus. This can be utilised as gaseous energy and fertilising digestate which when combined with sunlight can be used to propel a new cycle in the system.

SCENARIO TESTING / SYSTEM GROWTH

SCENARIO TESTING / TESTING OF FUTURE GROWTH


Research Informed CyclesEnergetyka has the potential to become a key component the the symbiosis between industry and a new agrarian economy. By introducing a research initiative into algae based carbon capture, the existing coal power plant can play an important role in the transition to carbon neutral energy sources. This research can be carried on until such a time that a CHP powerplant can be instigated - powered using biogas by an expanded organic waste capture system. The algae basins and photobioreactors can be scaled up and form another link in the cyclical economy.

Effluent that has waste water purified through aerobic digestion within the algae basins can be utilised for fish and aquaculture. An area of research identifed for University of Warsaw and Warsaw University of Technology. Soiled water from fish farms can be used to fertigate allotments and urban hydroculture.

Another example of potential research fields lie in solvent recovery, a processm where chemicals in sewage can be recovered for re-use within industrial processes prior to incineration.

SCENARIO TESTING / RESEARCH INFORMED CYCLES


Changing MindsetsOur economy is currently locked into a system where everything from production economics and contracts to regulation and mindsets favours the linear model of production and consumption. However, this lock-in is weakening under the pressure of several powerful disruptive trends:First, resource scarcity and tighter environmental standards are here to stay. Their effect will be to reward circular businesses over ‘take-make-dispose’ businesses.

Growing the System: Connecting the PlexusAs new actors are brought in and new technologies are discovered the symbient economy will grow and form part of a wider mutating plexus on a city, regional and national scale.An example of this is within new technologies such as ethanol production and bio-diesal from algae farms. They have the potential to be utilised in the sustainable transportation of an organic waste stream - connecting wider regions into the system.

Closing the Circleurban growth can no longer continue on a synthetic linear process. Circular organic systems that work in symbiosis with a multitude of logics including industrial and post industrial are my their nature regenerative. Utilising natural systems and harnessing ecology and feeding the process as required can produce huge dividends for us.

SCENARIO TESTING / CLOSING THE CIRCLE

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“...a sustainable system is a closed lifecycle, like that of an organism, it is ready to grow and develop, to build up structures in a balanced way and perpetuate them, and that’s what sustainability is all about. Closing the cycle creates a stable, autonomous structure that is self-maintaining, self-renewing and self-sufficient....”

Dr. Mae-Wan Ho,

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Infiltrating the EconomyNew functions and business opportunities will tap into the growing plexus of sustainable systems of industry and food production. This diversification will further strengthen a reslient economy embedded in its location. This provides a resilience in the wake of the inevitable collapse of an unsustainable capital gains economy.

Averting DeterminismThe strategic vision avoids the presumption of predicting the way people will live, change and adapt to a strategic imposition. It is a facilitator, providing a platform for the self-determinism of the citizens of Warsaw. Suggesting a way forward is different to the construction of a pre-determined idea of how one should live, space should be organised and how resources should be used.

Quality of LifeIn essence the city is a network of living systems that mutates or atrophies and dies. The strategic goals of the mutation aim to empower the individual through giving them the tools to construct a new and more equitable society based on the power of networks of trust, co-operation, symbiosis and mutual agenda.

SCENARIO TESTING / FUTURE MUTATION






149 references

0302

PLEXUS MUTATION / CONTENTS


PLEXUS MUTATION / APPENDIX


APPENDIX / RUBRIC THESAURUS

capacity building Approach to development that focuses on understanding the obstacles that inhibit people, governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations from realizing their developmental goals while enhancing the abilities that will allow them to achieve measurable and sustainable results

capillaries of power Foucault’s theory in which he attempted to understand the relations of power by looking at struggle and resistance

causal power The relationship between an event [the cause] and a second event [the effect] where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first

civita networkci·vi·tanoun A body of people constituting a politically organized community

heliotrope noun A plant (genus Heliotropium) of the borage family, cultivated for its fragrant purple or blue flowers, which are used in perfumeA light purple colour, similar to that typical of heliotrope flowers.


le roi soleil musical French musical about King Louis XIV known as Louis the Great or the Great Sun King. He created a centralized state governed from the capital and sought to eliminate the remnants of feudalism in France

orgware noun The capacity building of various institutional actors involved in the adaptation process of a new technology/economy/institution

plexus noun A network of nerves or vessels in the bodyAn intricate network or weblike formation

political aesthetics Life and the affairs of living are conceived of as innately artistic, and related to as such politically. Politics are in turn viewed as artistic, and structured like an art form which reciprocates the artistic conception of life being seen as art



rubric noun A grading or scoring system. A rubric is a scoring tool that lists the criteria to be met in a piece of work. A rubric also describes levels of quality for each of the criteria where these levels of performance may be written as different ratings

social stratification The process whereby people rank one another in a vertical arrangement – a hierarchy – that differentiates them as superior or inferiorThe division of large numbers of people into layers according to their relative power, property, and prestige; applies both to nations and to people within a nation, society, or other group

urb noun Hardware i.e the physical beyond the environment

APPENDIX / RUBRIC RULES

To understand how the Rubric was constructed and how to interpret it please follow the rules cited bellow:

- The matrix within each logic is used to map urbs at two scales: - Local / Regional - National

- At each scale the civita are mapped against a different set of criteria; each criteria working to determine the power of the civita to manipulate the ‘urb’: - At the local / regional scale the criteria are: - Social stratification - Existing and potential connections - At the national scale the criteria are: - Social stratification - Size of labour force working within logic

- Civita network may manipulate ‘urb’ from different logics: - ie. may appear in multiple locations within matrix.

- Number of ‘connections’ and place in ‘social stratification’ is split between logics: - ie. one civita may gain more influence over the ‘urb’ in one logic than it does over another.

- Power of the civita has been defined as its position within a hierarchical structure [social stratification] combined with the number of existing and potential connections [power based on relationships].

- At a national level, logic is mapped against the degree to which it becomes the existing paradigm. This is triangulated against the changing size of the respective labour force to produce the state of the ‘urb’.


APPENDIX / RUBRIC RULES

- The scale against which the civita are mapped is relational to its current discourse. What may gain greater power over its ‘urb’ at one point on the temporal scale may be significantly reduced / increased at another, due to shifts in existing paradigms.

- If left the urb will naturally regress (decay), it requires the pulling from civitas to gain any mass at all.

Eldonian Village, LiverpoolThe Eldonian Community Based Housing Association Ltd was set up as a Housing Co-operative in 1983 by tenants from Eldon Street and Burlington Street. The homes of these residents were scheduled for demolition: this would have meant that the community would have been broken up and the people scattered to different parts of Merseyside. In 1990, the co-operative became a Community Based Housing Association. The Eldonian CBHA is registered with both the Housing Corporation and the Registrar of Friendly Societies, and is also a member of the National Housing Federation. The CBHA is held directly accountable to its customers through consultation and customer participation. Legally owned by its nominal shareholders (who have £1 holding each), shareholders receive no profit. Anyone over the age of 18 years, who lives in an association property, is entitled to apply to become a shareholder. The election of a new city council in 1983 saw the Portland Gardens project municipalised, again threatening to disperse the community of Vauxhall to estates all over Merseyside. Another devastating blow to the area had seen the closure of the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery on Vauxhall Road in 1981, and the British American Tobacco plant on Commercial Road. Over 3,000 local jobs were lost as a result of these closures, and the economic future of the Vauxhall area seemed to have evaporated overnight. The Tate & Lyle site was also heavily contaminated and polluted, and its closure left a huge derelict area in the middle of the Vauxhall ward.

The Eldonians were determined to respond to these enormous problems to create a better future for all, to work to keep the community together and to provide quality, affordable housing to allow families and friends to stay in close proximity. The combination of the community’s need for new affordable housing, and the huge derelict site left vacant by Tate & Lyle started the Eldonians on the road to totally re-developing the area.Source - http://www.eldonians.org.uk/podium/eld/ces_general.nsf/wpg/welcome_page!opendocument

APPENDIX / PRECEDENT STUDY


APPENDIX / PRECEDENT

Coin Street Community BuildingCoin Street Community Builders (CSCB) is a social enterprise and development trust which seeks to make London’s South Bank a better place in which to live, to work and to visit. It is a company limited by guarantee established by local residents in 1984 following a campaign against large scale office proposals which would have included the demolition of their homes. The company is controlled by a Board, elected by CSCB members. Only people living locally can become CSCB members. The Board employs staff to manage the company on a day to day basis. Profits are not distributed but are ploughed back into CSCB’s public service objective.

CSCB has transformed a largely derelict 13 acre site into a thriving mixed use neighbourhood by creating new co-operative homes; shops, galleries, restaurants, cafes and bars; a park and riverside walkway; sports facilities; by organising festivals and events; and by providing childcare, family support, learning, and enterprise support programmes. Income is generated from a variety of sources including the hire of retail and catering spaces, event spaces, meeting room spaces and conference venue spaces as well as the provision of consultancy services.Source - http://www.coinstreet.org/aboutus/aboutus.html


Space Hive [crowd funding]Space Hive is an online resource for:- Local people to share brilliant project ideas - like creating relaxing green spaces, new sports facilities, or giving the high street a makeover.- Design professionals to pitch project ideas direct to the community.- Public bodies ready to try a smarter way of funding capital neighbourhood improvements that puts communities in the driving seat.- Businesses and brands looking for a powerful way of investing in communities that leaves a tangible legacy.

With the Spacehive model, funders only pay if the project actually goes ahead. The aim is to widen the pool of funding for projects so that everyone from locals to people on the other side of the world can contribute. With councils facing continued austerity, this could come as welcome relief. The ideal result will be a collaboration of the private and public sector, with individuals, businesses and councils all chipping in to get projects funded.

Communities struggle for capital and social stratification and although the downturn is making it harder to secure funding from traditional sources for projects, demand still exists and there is money out there. Space Hive was co-developed by Deloitte and a team of planning experts, and is backed by the Royal Institute of British Architects and British Property Federation. Its model is similar to the American crowd-funding site Kickstarter.com, but is specifically designed to help communities deliver projects in the built environment.Source - http://spacehive.com/



Guangming Smartcity [Cj Lim + Studio 8]Currently, GuangMing is a fertile farming area that exports much of its produce to nearby Hong Kong. This focus on farming provided Lim with much of the inspiration for his competition entry and has resulted in a radical new approach to how our cities are designed and planned.

Instead of abandoning farming, Lim has incorporated it into the fabric of the city - grazing and arable land can be found on the roofs of the huge circular towers that make up the city. Additional land for crops is made available on a series of eighty vertical farms; 10m2 allotments cantilevered off a central spine and stacked one above the other like the branches of a giant tree, and dispersed throughout the city.

As a result, Guangming becomes an entirely self-sufficient city. Lim explains: “A smart city integrates educational, agricultural, environmental, and most importantly, social sustainability into the heart of the city. Guangming Smart-city is a city driven by the principles of slow living, emphasising a happy balance in life that is firmly rooted in the twenty-first century.”

Guangming is made up of twelve of these circular towers rings, which are effectively self-sufficient suburbs, each of which produces its own food and contains its own shops, schools, hospitals and offices to serve approximately 14,000 inhabitants.

Guangming is to be a car-free city – the only transport found is via biogas buggies and a sky bus, both powered by processing human and animal waste. Electricity comes from a forest of solar panels found at ground level on a huge man made beach, surrounding a series of waterways, which are both recreational and provide a cooling element to the hot, landlocked environment.Source - http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0703/07032301


Central Open Space: MAC S.Korea [Cj Lim + Studio 8]The Central Open Space is a 6.98km2 public green core of the Multi-Functional Admministrative City [MAC] conceived as an ‘Arable Kitchen - Garden Park’. This proposed landscape typology does not employ the conventions of a traditional park. THe vision is to bring the countryside to the city and revoloutionalise the way peole think about urban greens. The strategy starts by preserving the areas historical and cultural identity - existing arable fields. A matrix of five differrent interacting urban groundworking systems is applied to compliment the inhabitable green canvas of the countryside.Source - http://www.cjlim-studio8.com/mp-central.swf



Nordhaven Smartcity [Cj Lim + Studio 8]Nordhaven is conceived as an ‘Arable Kitchen-Garden Park’ - the new man-made carpet of arable landscape is carefully designed to provide both a variety of environments and to take advantage of sustainable farming principles. Key to the master plan strategy is the introduction of argirculture into this formerly industrial and ship-docking yard. Over 80% of the ground is dedicated to vegetable farming with occasional punctuation of grazing fields for livestock. The development is arranged into seven human scale clusters of suburbs overlaid onto the new ground for farming. The layout of the housing blocks advocates compact land use patterns that are walkable and bicycle friendly. Each housing block has an individual renewable energy programme. The suburbs are stitched and connected together by lawn ribbon-platforms elevated 12m above ground. Curtains of hydroponic farming drape the sides of the ribbon, providing further opportunity for arable kitchen-garden farming.Source - http://www.cjlim-studio8.com/


Shenzen STU Campus [Cj Lim + Studio 8]The organisational matrix for the Southern Science and Technology University compromises of three interacting systems [each different and complimentary]

[01] Periodic Table - to accommodate the programme for colleges and new town [2] Amoebae - to support the environmental and ecological dynamics on site, including the recycling of existing buildings. [3] Lifelines - to provide circulation and connections within and beyond campus. The systems carefully integrate existing landscape and buildings; the existing community is relocated to a zone south of campus. Buildings and landscape elements are implemented incrementally over time as funding allows and demands increase, gradually building up the campus’s mass into a flexible patchwork of built clusters separated by open landscape [over 3 phases].Source - http://www.cjlim-studio8.com/



Daejeon Urban Masterplan, Korea [Cj Lim + Studio 8]The Daejeon Urban Masterplan is an inhabitable urban park with multi-layering of green open spaces and city dwellings. The vision brings together nature and urbanity. The multilayered green sky gardens provide a ‘quick hop’ between skyscrapers, while defining new public territories of the city through the reinterpretation of the traditional city square. This green network is intensive and encourages a three dimensional experience of the Daejeon area. Ground activities on the plaza courtyard are shaded by the lush green sky gardens. A new scale of development is set for the regeneration of the Daejeon area, the buildings scale are not of its surrounding but of other major international cities. The new scale brings a new dynamic and intensity, and provides a bold unique iconic image for the city. This second wave of life and development will eventually infiltrate and be adopted by the surrounding towns.Source - http://www.cjlim-studio8.com/

PLEXUS MUTATION / REFERENCES


BooksAnkersmit, F [1997] Aesthetic Politics - political philosophy beyond fact and value, Stanford University Press

Awan, N + Schnider, T + Till, J [2011] Spatial Agency - other ways of doing architecture, Routledge, Oxon

Ballantyne, D [2007] Deleuze and Guattari for Architects, Routledge, Oxon

Biskupski, M [2000] The History of Poland [the Greenwood histories of the Modern Nations], Greenwood Press, Westport

Buchanan [2000] Deleuzanism; a metacommentry, Edinburgh University Press

Castells, M [2004] The Network Society - a cross-sultural perspective, Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, Cheltenham

Colebrook, C [2002] Giles Deleuze, Routledge, London

Coutouvouidis, J + Reynolds, J [1986] Poland 1939 - 1947 [the politics of liberation series], Leicester University Press

Hatzelhoffer, L + Humboldt, K + Lobeck, M + Wiegandt, C [2012] Smart in City Practice - converting innovative ideas into reality, Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, Berlin

Lim, C + Liu, E [2010] Smart Cities + Eco-Warriors, Routledge, Oxfordshire

Lukowski, J + Zawadzki, H [2001] A Concise History of Poland, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

May, T [2005] Giles Deleuze an Introduction, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

REFERENCES /

Nawratek, K [2011] City as a Political Idea, University of Plymouth Press, Devon

Naeratek, K [2012] Holes in the Whole - introduction to the urban revolutions, Zero Books, Alresford, Hants

Sharzer, G [2012] No Local - why small scale alternatives won’t change the world, Zero Books, Alresford

Articles + JournalsBaker, K [2011] Conspicious Production; a more visible material enonomy in post industrial city, LSE, London

Bronstein, Z. [2008] Industry and the smart city, University of Pennsylvania, USA

Dikec, M [2010] Politics is Sublime, Royal Holloway, Surrey

Saad, M, B [2002] Can Small Farmers Survive Poland’s accession to the EU?

Warsaw University of Life Sciences, [2007] Exploring the Polish Sustainable Agriculture in search of a benchmark for biodiversity management in intensive argiculture systems

Online DocumentsCentral Open Space: MAC S.Korea - Cj Lim entry; http://www.cjlim-studio8.com/mp-central.swf [05.11.2012]

Coin Street Community Building; http://www.coinstreet.org/aboutus/aboutus.html [07.12.2012]

Crimson Architectural Historians - Orgwars; http://www.crimsonweb.org/spip.php?article52 [07.11.2012]

Crowd Fund Community Projects; http://www.guardian.co.uk/voluntary-sector-network/2012/mar/07/crowd-funding-community-projects [07.12.2012]

REFERENCES /


Eldonian Community; http://www.eldonians.org.uk/podium/eld/ces_general.nsf/wpg/history-1980s:_time_for_a_change [07.12.2012]

Ellen Macarthur Foundation - Towards a Circular Economy; http://www.thecirculareconomy.org/fetches/new?download_id=4f26c6959d31c63107000018 [10.11.2012]

Guangming Smart City - Cj Lim competition entry; http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0703/07032301 [03.11.2012]

Scjhneider ,T + Till, J Beyond Discourse: Notes on Spatial Agency; http://www.jeremytill.net/doing_files/footprint.pdf [20.11.2012]

Space Hive; http://spacehive.com/Home/HowItWorks [08.12.2012]

REFERENCES /