My Estonia

On May 1st appr. 100.000 Estonians will take part in a national brainstorm day. An incredible We-Think act. Up t0 400 locations will be opened for open space brainstorm to make Estonia a smarter country. There are 18 topics, ranging from creativity and entrepreneurship, to transport and being fit and healthy at an old age. Speaking of wisdom of the crowds! Last year 50.000 Estonians held a national clean-up day last year, and this Big Think is the follow-up.

http://www.minueesti.ee/?lng=en

A cathedral devoted to steam

This is Scheibler's art deco powerstation when we were there in april last year for the

Ksiezy Mlyn Vision of the Future Conference that Monika organised. We is: Edwin Verdurmen from CASA Arnhem, Peik Suyling from YD+I, Amsterdam and Liesbeth Jansen from Amsterdam's unrivalled Westergasfabriek.

David Lynch: from Moscow to Lodz

Missed David Lynch in Moscow. He was at the Gerasimov Institute for Cinematography last week. Got the news via Zhjenja. One of his favorite spots where you can see him annually is the Camerimage Festival in Lodz, Poland (www.pluscamerimage.pl). Lynch is there every autumn. He bought the EC1 powerstation (see pic.) with a Polish businesspartner, to turn it into an academy and studio. We'll probably drop by Lodz when we're in Warsaw in May. Lynch always has a green chair with him to sit down and ponder over wonderously surrealist places. And Lodz is full of them. When he saw the older art deco powerstation once owned by Scheibler, he decided to do something in Lodz. Scheibler's powerstation is one of the most magical places in Europe, but hard to get in nowadays. Lodz innovators like Monika Dziegielewska are trying hard to preserve it, maybe as a UNESCO heritage building.

New Juice for Arnhem

New media artists and students from ICA Academy Arnhem will go underground for the New Juice festival (http://www.newjuice.nl/) They will be deep into the city's historic underground network of cellars. Arnhem had a thriving underground scene in the early 80's with punk, new wave and squatters claiming the city. Let's see it get back in 2.0. Ever since creativity got accepted by policymakers, be aware. It's time for the subversives and edge types to go for creative chaos once again!

Cold Turkey Transition

Urban areas that are abandoned because of the crisis and foreclosures are returned to farmland. These places have to be turned into self-sustaining communities, like the Transition Town movement that started in Totnes, England. Only this is transition cold turkey. This is not self-willed. No choices here. But it is the only way to survive and be ready for a new future. What to do? How to do it? Do we have these developments in Europe too?

Suburban Wasteland

The economic crisis is turning some American cities into ghosttowns. Really. Cities like Detroit have enough empty lots to fill the city of San Francisco. In between acres and acres of complete emptiness, some communities still function. Cities like Flint are even turning abanboned parts back into farmland. Meanwhile crowds have left the city and travelled far out into suburbia , areas without even transport or connections.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/4/5/716761/-Im-old-enough-to-remember-their-lies#

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09095/960370-109.stm

How do you weather a perfect storm?

Cities can be hard hit by the recession. So, what about Warsaw? The number one business city and building site of eastern Europe has seen severe setbacks of late. And all just when the phoenix city was unleashing its creative potential. I'll be back there in May, trying to find out what the urban innovators are up to. What would you do when you are out of a job?