Curitiba is sustainable social innovation generating a new aesthetic paradigm? Ezio Manzini, DESIS Network emerging qualities

social innovation ideas that work in solving social problems, and do it in socially relevant ways

2012 ? where are we now?

Community-supported agriculture, Bejing hundreds of thousands of people, groups, organisations, facing difficult problems, are experimenting original solutions

new media are reshaping the range of possibilities: unprecedented forms of organization become possible

Social Innovation Europe, March 2011 new political awareness: politics look with a new interest to social innovation

the economic crisis is hitting harder changing people’s motivations and expectations: diffuse practices of alternative economies are emerging

NYC, Hurricane Sandy, 30 October 2012 catastrophic events, becoming more and more frequent, make everybody aware of the socio-technical systems fragility

30 October 2012 Black New York the old world is fragile 2012

“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” World Social Forum, a new world is appearing Arundhati Roy 2003

“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” World Social Forum, a new world is appearing Arundhati Roy 2012 today, November 2012, we can hear much more than a breathing

cohousing, collaborative housing, couch surfing, circles of care, elderly mutual-help, micro-nurseries, time banks, local currencies, car pooling, car sharing, food coops, farmers markets, zero-miles food, community- supported agriculture, neighbourhood care, street festivals, community gardens, community-based tourism, social enterprises, co-working, fair trade organisations, social incubators facing daily problems people invent viable solutions they are active and collaborative people social innovation

design for/with collaborative people considering people-as-asset

collaborative housing. collaborative residents Cohousing community, Berlin co-housing

social innovation “New ideas that work in meeting social goals” The Young Foundation, 2006 collaborative housing. collaborative neighbors neighborhood parties

New York City community gardens collaborative housing. citizen-gardeners

Lower East Side, New York circles of care collaborative housing. mutual helpers

social coop collaborative housing. collaborative work

cohousing, collaborative housing, couch surfing, circles of care, elderly mutual-help, micro-nurseries, time banks, local currencies, car pooling, car sharing, food coops, farmers markets, zero-miles food, community- supported agriculture, neighbourhood care, street festivals, community gardens, community-based tourism, social enterprises, co-working, fair trade organisations, social incubators organizational models economic models political actions

cohousing, collaborative housing, couch surfing, circles of care, elderly mutual-help, micro-nurseries, time banks, local currencies, car pooling, car sharing, food coops, farmers markets, zero-miles food, community- supported agriculture, neighbourhood care, street festivals, community gardens, community-based tourism, social enterprises, co-working, fair trade organisations, social incubators what is missing?

quality are new perceived qualities emerging?

people choose innovative solutions because they like them they search for new qualities they generate new qualities

relationships the quality of mutual trust

PRODUCT SHARING ACTIVE SHOPPING LIST E-STOP WASHING RESTAURANT MICRO- NURSERIES work the quality of the “well done”

scale the quality of human scale

places the quality of the local-connected

time the quality of slowness

complexity the quality of human experience

disruptive quality

to be produced quality to be consumed

quality war the war of time, places, works and relationships the war between two civilizations

quality to be produced quality to be consumed

quality power the food example

food fast-global slow-local

Carlo Petrini / Slow Food The Slow Food Manifesto Bra, 1989 “everyone has a fundamental right to pleasure” a great case of social innovation a quality-driven revolution

vision “everyone has a fundamental right to pleasure … … and, consequently the responsibility to protect the heritage of food, tradition and culture that makes this pleasure possible” action food awareness on the demand side (through consumer-producer, the Convivia) markets for high quality products, on the supply side (through local farmers, the Presidia)

vision “We consider ourselves co- producers, not consumers, because by being informed about how our food is produced and actively supporting those who produce it, we become a part of and a partner in the production” action new food networks community supported agriculture community-based planning (es. the Nutrire Milano Project) a great case of strategic design from vision to action, and vice versa

beauty? beauty will save the world

Fyodor Dostoyevswky “The idiot”, 1868 beauty will save the world

new paradigm new design approach

the bigger the better old paradigm

the more diverse and connected the better next century the more diverse and connected, the better new paradigm

small, horizontal large, vertical resilient fragile

people as part of the solution people as part of the problem to be satisfied to be empowered

sustainable quality unsustainable quality to be co-produced to be consumed

thank you! desis-network.org