City of Euphemia
See posts about City of Euphemia here.
In ‘Trading Cities 1’ from his now seminal text Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino describes the city of Euphemia as a place “where the merchants of seven nations gather at every solstice and equinox.” These merchants arrive at Euphemia for trade and simultaneously develop an evening cultural exchange, “sharing tales of wolves, sisters, treasures” unifying merchants from different nations along their travels for financial gain. Though cultural diverse, this sharing of second hand experience of the world serves to connect specific lifestyles, thereby giving Euphemia a distinct social identity.
image by William Hunter
Unfortunately, in most urban areas throughout the world, this symbolic and evocative aura of collectiveness falters by way (among other things) of stereotypical fear and fragmentation. Nestled near Brescia, Italy’s main central square, the Quartiere Del Carmine, was a place not unlike Euphemia. Though finding itself in a state dereliction in the ‘70s and ‘80s, subsequent refurbishment and transformation in the ‘90s has given way to a completely gentrified character with pockets of mixed immigrant areas. A major consequence of this development is that it has stifled the use of open spaces and semi-public spaces where everyday meetings took place and strong social ties were formed and thrived. However, despite this challenge, small groups of women have initiated projects underlining good neighbourhood practices that revolve around a network of open houses where immigrant families develop ‘care’ practices at different levels. These ‘exchange services’ range from shopping assistance, collective studying and prayer to the promotion of responsible tourism and assimilation support. Though small in scope, the positive revelation of these networks has in some ways resulted in the obvious need to bypass the rigid schemes of closed (condominium) living which fosters exclusion and isolation in favour of shared spaces within houses and shops that could serve as possible civil society nodes or headquarters at the level of the streets.
Located in the old working class “barriera” style peri-urban fringes of the city center, amongst empty factories and corridor houses full of marginalized immigrants are the remnants of the Movimento Nonviolento Headquarter via Milano. Housed in a large abandoned factory, it is now occupied by the Peace Anti-Militarist Association called MIR (meaning peace). During the ‘80s and ‘90s this was a very active organisation working on de-militarisation and Gandhi-style processes and essentially a point of reference for all of Italy (remember that BRESCIA was once home to a vast weapons/mines industry which allowed for a direct emergence and confrontation with peace and non-violent movements since the ‘70s). A sort of contra gentrification is happening here. However, the activities of the association are currently much reduced and the space is sort of un-used. Yet, still of vast importance and potential is the extensive library which contains a collection of nearly 50 years of publications on non-violence and pacifism- a “collection of memories”.
Run in conjunction with the Local Democracy Embassy of Zavidovici (LDE), an organization focusing on social and educational projects for immigrants and refugees in Brescia and promoting democracy and peace overseas BUDD Camp 2011 involved a 3-day charrette concerning the spatial and temporal exchange and integration of immigrants and locals with a particular parallel focus on how MIR (in collaboration with LDE) can re-define its identity and expand its active capacity to serve as a driving force and platform to combat these challenges.
City of Euphemia
See posts about City of Euphemia here.
In ‘Trading Cities 1’ from his now seminal text Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino describes the city of Euphemia as a place “where the merchants of seven nations gather at every solstice and equinox.” These merchants arrive at Euphemia for trade and simultaneously develop an evening cultural exchange, “sharing tales of wolves, sisters, treasures” unifying merchants from different nations along their travels for financial gain. Though cultural diverse, this sharing of second hand experience of the world serves to connect specific lifestyles, thereby giving Euphemia a distinct social identity.
image by William Hunter
Unfortunately, in most urban areas throughout the world, this symbolic and evocative aura of collectiveness falters by way (among other things) of stereotypical fear and fragmentation. Nestled near Brescia, Italy’s main central square, the Quartiere Del Carmine, was a place not unlike Euphemia. Though finding itself in a state dereliction in the ‘70s and ‘80s, subsequent refurbishment and transformation in the ‘90s has given way to a completely gentrified character with pockets of mixed immigrant areas. A major consequence of this development is that it has stifled the use of open spaces and semi-public spaces where everyday meetings took place and strong social ties were formed and thrived. However, despite this challenge, small groups of women have initiated projects underlining good neighbourhood practices that revolve around a network of open houses where immigrant families develop ‘care’ practices at different levels. These ‘exchange services’ range from shopping assistance, collective studying and prayer to the promotion of responsible tourism and assimilation support. Though small in scope, the positive revelation of these networks has in some ways resulted in the obvious need to bypass the rigid schemes of closed (condominium) living which fosters exclusion and isolation in favour of shared spaces within houses and shops that could serve as possible civil society nodes or headquarters at the level of the streets.
Located in the old working class “barriera” style peri-urban fringes of the city center, amongst empty factories and corridor houses full of marginalized immigrants are the remnants of the Movimento Nonviolento Headquarter via Milano. Housed in a large abandoned factory, it is now occupied by the Peace Anti-Militarist Association called MIR (meaning peace). During the ‘80s and ‘90s this was a very active organisation working on de-militarisation and Gandhi-style processes and essentially a point of reference for all of Italy (remember that BRESCIA was once home to a vast weapons/mines industry which allowed for a direct emergence and confrontation with peace and non-violent movements since the ‘70s). A sort of contra gentrification is happening here. However, the activities of the association are currently much reduced and the space is sort of un-used. Yet, still of vast importance and potential is the extensive library which contains a collection of nearly 50 years of publications on non-violence and pacifism- a “collection of memories”.
Run in conjunction with the Local Democracy Embassy of Zavidovici (LDE), an organization focusing on social and educational projects for immigrants and refugees in Brescia and promoting democracy and peace overseas BUDD Camp 2011 involved a 3-day charrette concerning the spatial and temporal exchange and integration of immigrants and locals with a particular parallel focus on how MIR (in collaboration with LDE) can re-define its identity and expand its active capacity to serve as a driving force and platform to combat these challenges.
