Megahacks: city, region, planet

A presentation by

Dr Cindy Frewen Wuellner, FAIA, @urbanverse Frewen Architects and University of Houston Futures Studies For APF Virtual Gathering Futures Festival 26-27 02011

Hacking the body

Women, Morro de ProvidenciaRio de Janeiro, JR Artist

Hacking the CityMorro de ProvidenciaRio de Janeiro

Hacking the planetgeoengineering

hacking?1. Intentionally altering an

existing system for new purposes

2. Frequently unauthorized, sometimes subversive, intentionally undermining authority

3. Transformational or incremental

4. Harmful or beneficial to host

Why hack?1. Solve a problem

– Add function– Add beauty

2. Cause a problem– Steal – Destroy

3. Assert self

This is our world now… we make use of a service without paying for what could be called dirt cheap if it wasn’t run by profiteering gluttons.

We explore… we seek knowledge… and you call us criminals.

You make atomic bombs, wage wars, cheat, lie, try to make it seem like we are the criminals.

Yes… I AM A CRIMINAL. My crime is that of curiosity. My

crime is that of judging people by what they say and think, not how they look.

My crime… Is outsmarting YOU. Something you never will be able

to forgive me for.The Mentor, 1986

The Conscience of a Hacker

The people called the Third Culture are hacking the planet. They are dissatisfied with normality. They are changing things. ...

Hacking the planet is essential to the survival of the human race.

Wesley Felter, 14 August 1998THE HACK THE PLANET MANIFESTO

Megacity Sao Paulo

Megacities 1959 – 2000 - 2015

Urbanization 1950 – 2007 - 2030

Population Forecasts for Selected Countries 2010 - 2100

Prices are going up…

Food

EnergyWater

motivation + tools

The Plan Voisin in ParisLe Corbusier 1922

Geodesic Dome CityBuckminster FullerNew York City 1968

Brasilia

To use a building is to make it, by physical transformation or by inhabiting it in ways not previously imagined or by conceiving it anew.

Hill, 2001

The Underbelly ProjectAbandoned Subway

New York City

Hacking the CityCo-Creating

Guerilla Gardening

Bike Lane HacksPortland Oregon

D

Germany electrical box bench

DIY CITIES

a shipping container…

becomes a house

Mobile shelters

Women, Morro de ProvidenciaRio de Janeiro, JR Artist

Guerilla Art

Israel separation wall

Hacking NatureThree Gorges DamYangzi River, China

Lilypad floating ecolopolis for 50,000 refugeesVincent Callebaut

Hacking the planetgeoengineering

Times Square NYC Networked Omniscient Exhibit

hybridhacks

Mobile Phone Users 2000 - 2010

From 1 billion to 5 billion users in a decade

Social networks; peer to peer

Representations of reality; maps

Second Life

Digita

l Add

ed to

Real W

orldNew

Fant

asy W

orlds

Metaverse Roadmap modified

Layar – on android cell phone

New York Phantom City Tour

Phantomcity.org

Heads Up display wearable lenses

Vernor Vinge Rainbows End

Heads Up Display

Sydney Opera HouseJorn Utzon Architect

Co-making the city, not just watching

Who controls sidewalks?

Who shapes our transportation options?

Copenhagen Bike Highway

Who owns the water?

Who owns the skyline?

History is the virtual made actual, one hack after another.

MCKENZIE WARK

Thank you!

Contact

Cindy Frewen Wuellner@urbanversehttp://urbanverse.posterous.com