Detroit Lives

Nothing makes me more excited than when things are happening. When out of death and decay comes life. That is exactly what seems to be going on in Detroit. What I love about this film is that it gives hope. One of the memorable lines in the movie is where a fella says that in an established city like New York City its hard to have a say, but in Detroit, people like 'starving artists' can really treat the city like a blank canvas and make it a more human place to live versus the post-industrial freeways that have divided and conquered the land.

for all parts visit http://www.palladiumboots.com/exploration/detroit

An urban problem. An urban solution

I have a problem. A problem that I think links to urban sprawl. You see, I've moved within that past year, which is a common habit within the current patterns of urbanization. But to get straight to the point. My problem is that my social life has drastically changed. No longer can I knock on my next door neighbor's door and spontaneously start a pick-up soccer game, basketball game, baseball game, etc. Part of this is that my old childhood friends live further away or have become pre-occupied with adult-like responsibilities of work and post-secondary education. But, I feel that this is no excuse to no longer take part in the spontaneous acts of play. Hence, I ask 'how can I revive those spontaneous acts of play?' I understand that it isn't reasonable to expect everyone to be available to your spontaneous beckoning. This is why I propose that the internet can be utilized to mobilize and revive urban social life. More specifically, what I am alluding to is a 'Facebook-like' place where people can self-organize public activities and have the same old fun we had when we were children. Since our closest friends may no longer be readily available for a game of pick-up soccer, I feel that the internet (potentially linked with mobile phones) holds the potential to mobilize larger local groups of people who share same interests and desires of play. What I am calling for is help, ideas, a collaboration, to shape a space, a website, where we can overcome the social fragmentation of urban sprawl, and at the same time meet new people and form new communities. Part of this is a dream to revert back to the local scale of societal living.
PS: I've tried on Facebook, with a group called 'PLAY DAY,' but haven't been able to mobilize any real or concrete social engagement. Hence, I have been dreaming of an independent .COM site, separate from facebook, where non-facebook users could be incorporated.