TEDxTohoku - Oct. 30th Sendai, Japan

This week I'm helping with TEDxTohoku, an independently organized TED event in Sendai, Japan that will showcase 12 speaker's presentations about the Tohoku region's revitalization after the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami. The theme of the event is "asking the 3.11 generation". I'm helping translate materials into English, organizing a team of bilingual volunteers to make the event more accesible for non-Japanese speaking attendees, and doing some English language PR.

My point of view and what I find so interesting about TEDxTohoku is that it is almost completely organized by local college students. Their passion and energy is amazing and I'm having a great time working with them. Having first imagined some stereotypical 20-30something creatives as the organizers I was shocked to find that most of them are my age or younger and most are going to university even as they are planning the event.

The popularization of the TED brand in Japan is another very interesting angle. This fall there have been many TEDx events in Japan like TEDxTokyo, TEDxTokyo_yz, TEDxTokyo Kids, and TEDxSEEDS. The brand is really starting to take hold. In a country where ideas are often handed down from central committees and presentations tend to be dry and read directly from a script... an event brand like TED where the spotlight is on the quality of the ideas and not who presents them is really radical and if it becomes popular, has the potential to really change how people think about post-disaster revitalization and other kinds of societal change here. The theme of the event is "asking the 3.11 generation" (the 3.11 generation being those whose lives were changed in great or small ways by the disaster). Focusing on "asking" instead of "saving" or "telling" something is what makes this event special in my opinion.

 Right now the regional planning process is well underway and there are a wide variety of projects aimed at restoring, revitalizing, and growing the urban environment of Tohoku, whether in big cities like Sendai or small villages. I hope that as redevelopment plans are implemented, their planners consider the importance of "asking" and collaborating with the people who have or will inhabit these spaces and places. I'm grateful to have the chance to be a part of this event and hope it helps promote this sort of curiosity and willingness collaborate on new models for the future rather than rebuilding the past with old theories and preconceived notions.

I need to thank my friend Cesar Harada, a Senior TED Fellow, for introducing me to the organizers. Having just presented at TEDxSEEDS in Yokohama, Cesar is currently biking from Tokyo to Sendai, looking for a place to launch his sailing drone, Protei, (designed to tack into the wind and skim oil in swarms) in an attempt to test it's potential to measure radiation. Although he won't be presenting at the event he will join us on sunday and have some materials available for people interested in learning more.

If you can't make it on sunday, you can watch the event live on Ustream from our website:

http://www.tedxtohoku.com 

Some of the speakers at the event will include:

•Paul Bennet - Chief Creative Officer, IDEO 

As Chief Creative Officer of the global design consultancy IDEO, Mr. Bennett is actively involved in designing and bringing to market new products, services, and experiences. He is a proponent of 'human-centered design' that draws inspiration from the end-user experience and practical elements of daily life. he will speak on the concept of 'human-centered design' and how it might be applied in post-3.11 Tohoku.

•Kawashima Masashi – Google Senior Webmaster / Global Product Manager

Kawashima Masashi spearheaded the Google Person Finder project, initiated within hours after the earthquake struck, among other projects under Google Crisis Response. He will speak about the necessity of leadership and the role of Information Technology in natural disasters.

• Iinuma Kazuie - Head of Ishinomaki Red Cross Hospital.

Following the disaster, when the city of Ishinomaki's transportation links were severed, Ishinomaki Red Cross Hospital was the only functioning source of medical care, lead by Dr. Iinuma. He will speak about how to give medical care that protects the lives of residents in situations where outside aid is unavailable. 

What Meets the Eye in Northeast Portland, Oregon

Northeast Portland is a really interesting place. Historically a minority area known for its high crime rates, within the past 10 years or so it has become the new frontier for arts and culture in Portland, and accordingly a major site of urban gentrification. The two major commercial streets are Mississippi and Alberta, both dubbed "historic areas", while the surrounding area is primarily residential and low-rise as is much of Portland east of the river. Portland's lax ordinances when it comes to property and public right of way care allow for a plethora wonderful, flowery foliage that grows in the yards and sidewalks. Indeed many local streets are "unimproved", meaning that they have either been depaved, allowed to decay or augmented with gravel and greenery. Several intersections have undergone "repair", a procedure adopted into the city code that allows for a large, traffic-slowing mural on an intersection with majority approval and cooperation amongst its neighbors. Some groups that promote these kinds of spaces in Portland are "City Repair" and "Depave".

One interesting architectural characteristic of North East is the corrugated metal that you can find on homes (like the one pictured above), galleries, condos, and restaurants/bars like "Alleyway" and "Tin Shed". I'm used to seeing this material in the context of informal settlements in the developing world, so it was interesting to find such a local fascination with it here. Finally, Alberta and Mississippi have some great food carts, like the "Grilled Cheese Grill", housed in an old school bus.

Like many gentrifying neighborhoods, the north east seems polarized between neolocals and the area's historically black and latino population that has been increasingly pushed out. At the root of the divide is the discriminatory "red lining" practices of banks in the 40s which led to concentrations of "high risk" minorities in the only areas where they could buy from realtors, who risked losing their license if they sold properties to minorities outside of these areas (info from AlbertaMainSt.org). In the 1990s the area was rediscovered by artists and small businesspeople. Their attention brought down the historic crime rate but also raised rent and began to create tension and pressure on longtime poorer residents to move out. Friends tell me there is a noticeable divide and lack of socialization between the groups. Last summer when I was visiting I saw a homeless man berating the owner of a wine bar on the patio, telling him between slurs and curses that it wasn't fair for him to be asked not to bother the patrons when they invaded his neighborhood every month with their wild "Last Thursday" art fair. Bars tend to cater to one group or the other and there is at least a one-way stigma for neolocals to enter an establishment where longtime residents gather. One exception seems to be the neighborhood pub "Binks" where longtime residents and newcomers mingle.

Despite the narratives of gentrification surrounding Northeast Portland, the area is full of contradictions and places where the stereotypes break down. A leisurely stroll down Alberta St. during the yearly street fair revealed a diverse cast of Portland characters stepping out in the neighborhood in their own ways, and taking in the relaxed atmosphere of the street.

 

Update 9/26/11: check out this article in the Atlantic about bike lanes & racial tension in northeast: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/neighborhoods/2011/09/portland-bike-lanes-open-racial-wounds/138/

Heartworks Community Forum Article

The Courier published an article about our recent "community forum" event on Thursday. A very positive write up; I especially like how they did not quote me (a facilitator) but used quotes from the actual attendees. They raised some interesting observations about the city. The attendee exit surveys from the event also contained a lot of interesting opinions and observations; I am going through them now and putting together an at-a-glance display sheet about the crowd that attended the forum. Check the Flickr reel to the right for more pictures from the event. Also, add "Heart of Biddeford" on facebook for more info

"They agreed downtown has an urban feel, but feel Biddeford still has the community feeling of a small town. Brian Schrader said he is impressed with the 'amazing talents' of people in the city. While Buczacz said he appreciates the reusable architecture downtown."