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PHASE ZERO
A living, popular,
authentic neighborhood.
Tradition, history, identity.
Politics of the Loft.
Purity, virginity.
A logic of non-consumption.
Arrival of creative pioneers, start-ups.
Affordable rent.
Artisanal factories: furniture, leather, jewelry ... warehouses
(space & light).
Triggers: contemporary art galleries, photographers, new
economy, fashion, media.
ERRORS:
Avoiding the restraints of squats and alternative structures.
Politics of abandon.
"Has been," a non-trendy ideology, bringing nothing to
life, "tacky" creativity.
Social Abcesses: homelessness, squatts, drug traffic.
Agressive for the residents and the visitors.
IDEAL:
Captial that can gain value, for the better.
Preserving authenticity.
Values: conviviality, security, creativity, personality
(also historic and geographic).
A pocket with a visible identity.
Charm is there to be conserved, human architecture.
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PHASE ONE
Invasion, it's suddenly "trendy".
Politics of conquest.
Equillibrium of a renewed neighborhood.
Begninning of a logic of consumption.
Co-habitation of the "old popular" and "new concept" parts
of the neighborhood.
Installation of new commerce.
Emulation, openness, increased traffic.
The unexpectedness and energy of creativity, the warmth
of a neighborhood that is alive and has energy.
Triggers - new stores and boutiques, new restaurants (basic
restructuring).
ERRORS:
Politics of the Ghetto.
To benefit one population, the original is evicted.
Appropriation by one sole tribe: drug addicts, bikers, prostitutes,
beer drinkers.
Conflictual with the residents who stay.
IDEAL:
Living neighborhood.
Respect for calm, the soul of the neighborhood.
Stores & restaurants that are original (authentic, integrated).
Understanding with the traditional residents. |
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PHASE TWO
Politics of marketing.
Un-equllibrium between high-market and low-market investment.
Profitability, attractivity.
Full logic of consumption.
Changing the make-up of the population (internally & externally).
Investment from the finance sector, exploitation of the
"vein" by the "non-trendies"
Triggers - real estate boom, super-stores, architectural
and design innovation, fashion industry base (agencies,
showrooms, commercial studios).
ERRORS:
Politics of steering, over-management.
Creation of grand architectural projects.
Inserting major cultural institutions (making a new city
through culture).
Transplanting commerce in larger sections.
IDEAL:
Slow over-commercialization.
Watching over (guarding) a progressive development.
Equilibrium between daytime and nighttime activity of neighborhood.
Rising status.
Marriage of craftsmen and commercialism.
Mix of classicism and innovation.
Conserving tradition.
Rejecting the mass market. |
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PHASE THREE
Institutionalism (status, foreign tourism).
Dependence on external traffic, on the frequency of visitors
to the neighborhood.
Drifting to the mass (cheapening, insecurity).
Emigration of trendy business to other neighborhoods.
Only the dinosaurs remain behind.
ERRORS:
Dependence on visitors.
A dead neighborhood.
Too Disneyland in the daytime.
Too night life-oriented in the nighttime.
A neighborhood without a soul, without life.
IDEAL:
Good management and direction.
Not sterilized or cheapened.
Foreign tourists, cosmopolitanism.
A chic, expensive neighborhood that still is a place where
people live.
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