Then came the 2010 World Cup, which helped us fast-track a number of urban developments: public spaces were upgraded, public transport rollout was fast-tracked, pedestrian corridors were created, the city became more user-friendly seemingly overnight. We were on our way to becoming truly “world-class”, a “liveable city”. Off the back of our World Cup success – realising how big deadlines can help accelerate urban change – we drove the city’s…
Category: power & power relations
what do you do?
What do you do, When you don’t know what to do? Do you write? Do you speak? Do you shout? Do you run? – where to; and will they follow you? What do you do when you get so angry, that you don’t know whether to sit or stand, to cry or to laugh- maniacally? What do you hold on to, when you wonder about your powerlessness- and the power…
brasilândia- in verse
What is Brasilândia? A many layered thing- literally. A mix of textures, colours, sounds, “lá tudo nublado, aqui tudo colorido” as my host sister put it, The day she took me on a walk through her colourful neighbourhood. A slice of life all in one short street. Where the church and local pub vie for customers and airspace- and the tousle keeps you up on a Saturday night- It’s a…
transition? what transition?
In this article, I will be reflecting on my summer internship with Transition Brasilândia and Oficina da Sustentabilidade in São Paulo, Brazil and thinking about how Transition Brasilândia functions as a community development model. I wrote a personal reflection piece on working in the different groups and projects of Transition here while this one employs an analytical lens to frame the aspects of Transition Brasilândia that make it a successful…
policing the city
I mostly like police** [written in 2013, update 2019, now in the times of deep corporate capture of the state, and increased militarism to protect state-corporate interests, I am wary of them] – perhaps that might be because I have never found myself on opposing ends with any one of them. And too because I tend to trust in people until they prove otherwise, if they do; and I understand…
olympic city rio- reflections on the way to the airport
Another site we passed on the way to Galeão airport is Olympic City, Rio de Janeiro- or what is to become the location for the 2016 Olympics (growing up in Kenya I only realised that there existed winter Olympics after studying in the US-forgive the non-specification that these are summer Olympics). I probably should have taken a picture with my camera, but I took one with my eyes. A picture…