Neo-Urban Plan: Clay City + Parola Compound

Clay City
workshop at Museo Pambata ng Maynila
Feb 28, 2009

These kids are from Parola Compound in Manila (Binondo side), "Looban" - a walled slum maze-like neighborhood.

First, I asked them to draw their community- mapping their neighborhood - drawing their houses and other structures like stores, bakery, internet shop, basketball court, barber shop, school, water well etc. and they explained their typical day in the community...



Since all of them live in Parola (except Xtian who is from Pandacan), I asked them to model thier ideal "Parola" using children's clay... and these kids has an amazing grand plan for their community...


*Planning their ideal city/community (construction site)



After doing the activity, the kids invited me to come with them in Parola... and it would be nice to see their actual neighborhood and suddenly I realized that I am already riding with them in a motorized pedicab flying along Roxas blvd! hehe. They toured me around the maze- amazing! hehe

It's a very unique experience - I remember hearing the Poverty Tourism of India and Brazil
But I went there not as a tourist but for my new friends.

These kids has a grand plan for their community and maybe we can realize their plan in the near future...




Their actual neigborhood in Parola Compound



*This is part of Mark Salvatus’ Neo-Urban Plan project that was developed during his 2-month residency at Green Papaya Art Projects and Diego Maranan’s suggestion (from the online call) to ask people to model their ideal version of the city using children's clay. The project is a collaboration with the Children's Advocacy Program of Museo Pambata

The Children's Advocacy Program or CAP is an alternative educational program that aims to help children understand and appreciate their roles in their families, schools, communities, and in society. It uses the child-to-child approach wherein children advocates serve as mentors who help inspire other disadvantaged Filipino children through outreach activities in schools and communities. Children advocates are chosen from various street children centers and disadvantaged communities and are exposed to workshops, field trips and film showings to enhance their awareness on identity, nation-building, rights and values formation. CAP is a venue for children to learn how to formulate ideas and speak their minds on issues affecting them.

http://neourbanplanner.blogspot.com/
http://www.museopambata.org/

Neo-Urban Plan: Clay City

*Selected street and urban poor children from Parola in Tondo.

This is part of Mark Salvatus’ Neo-Urban Plan project that was developed during his 2-month residency at Green Papaya Art Projects and Diego Maranan’s suggestion (from the online call) to ask people to model their ideal version of the city using children's clay. The project is a collaboration with the Children's Advocacy Program of Museo Pambata

The Children's Advocacy Program or CAP is an alternative educational program that aims to help children understand and appreciate their roles in their families, schools, communities, and in society. It uses the child-to-child approach wherein children advocates serve as mentors who help inspire other disadvantaged Filipino children through outreach activities in schools and communities. Children advocates are chosen from various street children centers and disadvantaged communities and are exposed to workshops, field trips and film showings to enhance their awareness on identity, nation-building, rights and values formation. CAP is a venue for children to learn how to formulate ideas and speak their minds on issues affecting them.

*Please donate used or new children's clay for the said workshop, thank you. ;-)

http://www.museopambata.org/

Green City- Neo-Urban Plan submission

1) Have 80% of all exposed cement, concrete, or metal in the city
covered in a creeping plant of some sort, like ivy





2) Find or bioengineer great, big, tall, sturdy, flexible trees that
can withstand typhoons and have massive canopies and blanket the city
under interlocking canopies

3) Ban the use of concrete in certain areas or certain structures.
Only volcanic ash, wood, bamboo, recycled plastic, rubber, brick, mud,
straw, whatever is appropriate

4) Link all the equipment in manila's gyms to power-generating
mechanism so that everytime we go on the treadmill or lift weights, we
generate electricity that is stored somewhere and is used to power...
i don't know, a giant parol. street lights. traffic lights. a
mechanical art installation.

Or if not all manila's gyms, then have a stationary bike,
power-generation center.

5) Go to communities and ask people to model their ideal version of
the city using children's clay. Then have their models realized in
exactly that way, complete with all the sinuous curves and
imperfections of the medium.

submitted by Diego Maranan

Neo-Urban Plan update- a plan for CaMaNaVa area (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela)

Flooding due to typhoons and the rising of sea level (global warming) is one of the major problems in Metro Manila especially in CAMANAVA area- and here are some grand ideas for that region.


Floating cities



http://weburbanist.com/2008/03/09/5-floating-utopia-and-ocean-city-projects-from-seafaring-condos-to-to-oceanic-micronations/

The Freedom Ship project is a serious step up from ResidenSea but also unbuilt as of yet, though 1/5 of the on-board living units have already been sold. The concept? A mile-long, energy self-sufficient floating city with absolutely everything included from parks and playgrounds to apartments, businesses, schools, casinos and shopping malls. It will also be fully networked for phone and internet communications.



For a more realistic plan for CaMaNaVa im thinking of ala-Floating Market like in Thailand


From this (Navotas/Malabon)

To this (Bangkok)


From this (Malabon)

To this (Bangkok)



I have been to the floating market and someone told me that it was a flood zone area. The residents made it sustainable by turning their flooded community into a market and a tourist spot.

This are some ideas for the Neo-Urban Plan project and hope you can share some plans too!
This is open to all!

for more details on how you can participate check http://neourbanplanner.blogspot.com/
or http://markrams.multiply.com/journal/item/130/Open_Call_for_Neo-Urban_Planners

email your plans to markrams@yahoo.com

This project is supported by

Open Call for Neo-Urban Planners

Open Call for Neo-Urban Planners

Project by Mark Salvatus @ Green Papaya (Jan-Feb 2009)
WEDNESDAYS i'm-n-love OPEN PLATFORM
http://neourbanplan ner.blogspot. com/

*What if you were tasked to take over MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority) and make a new urban plan? What will you do? What will you change? Be creative! be innovative! It can be simple to grand / utopian plan... or serious to fun-unrealistic one... grab your camera and roam the city and see what you can do...


Urbanization
In a 1975 survey, one out of three people all over the world live in urban areas, with most of the 1.5 billion "urbanites" living in districts with less than a million residents. (Many of these urban dwellers, in fact, live in communities with a population of less than 5,000) Over the years, the urban residency has swelled significantly that half of the world's population is living in cities. Parallel to this growth in urban population (and the continuous rise of smaller cities) is the emergence of "mega-cities" -- urban areas of no less than 10 million people.

Between 1975 and 2005, the number of mega-cities has grown from a meager three (two of which were in industrialized, first-world countries) to a record-breaking 20 (with 15 of them belonging in developing nations).

SOURCE: United Nations Population Division, World Urbanization Prospects:
The 2005 Revision (2006).

Layers


In East Asia alone, more than 2 million people have moved into urban areas. The rapid exodus to these specific areas indicates more opportunities in wealth and a chance for a better future for some. In the Philippines, where the Metro Manila region is the official hub of economy, education, and contemporary culture, more and more people from the rural areas are moving into the city to try their luck. Away from home, these people would often bring their customs and traditions with them as they settle in the metro; thus making their rural culture an integral part of the urban setting.

There are layers upon layers of old and new structures; chaos in the streets; graffiti, may it be political or apolitical, street vendors, MMDA, gigantic billboards, and the overwhelming influence of Western cultures--malls in every district, pocket shanties, layers of sound - among others. And in the last 3 decades, Metro Manila became a very problematic region in terms of urban planning, drainage systems, pollution, over-population--and these problems affect the city dwellers negatively.

Urbanist


Having lived in Manila for more than a decade, the projects that I am doing for W.O.P. will revolve around urbanism and the urban culture, and how artists, creatives, and ordinary people see their city in different perspectives. I will be doing personal and collaborative works that will be presented as exhibitions, screenings, talks etc.

What is our role in changing the city?


We are making a new urban plan for our city. We are the neo-urban planners.

Project: The city as our creative juice

*Neo Urban Planner

This will be an online project, I will make a multiply or a blogger account wherein I will ask people living in the city (Manila, Cebu, Davao etc) to take a photo of a certain area wherein they want to improve. They will become an urban planner and encourages creativity in all its forms in ways that are intrinsic and integral to the daily life of the city. Just think that you are the current MMDA chairman. Be creative and innovative. No pink please…

The project will be presented every Wednesday and the person who submitted a plan will be invited to show and discuss what he thinks should be improved. The collected photos and proposals form the people who participated on the online call

will be used for a future exhibit or publication.

example plans:

*Make a hanging garden on all the foot bridges

*Make a graphic design that will be printed on tarpaulin and give it to pedicab drivers - pang tarapal etc...

email your plans to markrams@yahoo. com with the subject "Neo-Urban Plan"

*there is no specific deadline just send it until Feb 2009

Mark Salvatus is a cross-disciplinary artist based in Manila and Lucban, Philippines. He graduated cum laude at the UST College of Fine Arts & Design and currently taking up MFA at the same university. In 2007, he was granted a scholarship by the Spanish Program for Cultural Cooperation under the Ministry of Spain in Barcelona. His projects has been exhibited and presented in the Philippines and abroad. He is also the co-founder of Pilipinas Street Plan (2006)- a community of street and graffiti artists that is changing the urban aesthetic of our cities. http://marksalvatus .blogspot. com

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