The unbelievable topographical similarity of the two cities is an amazing and unique case for a potential urban study. However, Pittsburgh ( 305,704 inh.) and Kaunas (321,200 inh.) seem to share only some similarities and probably many more differences especially concerning the development history resulting in different urban shape, distribution of densities, demography etc. herewith intriguing to open such questions as: how important is the topography for urban development?; how (totally opposite) political systems can influence urban development?; what are the results of extreme (suburban) sprawl vs. extreme (suburban) containment? …to mention just a few. (at least worth a research paper- anyone?)
Global cities are facing challenges to organise themselves into a better structured systems. They face social, economic and environmental problems that arise from compacted environments. The problems varies from city to city. Some face issues caused by a rapid urbanisation others try to ensure economic stability and high quality of life. There is no single answer the way the cities should grow and function although some share great similarities in between.
But the fact is that cities are the most sustainable way of living. It is the best environment for economic activities and it gives most for social comfort.
Two regions are compared to find out similarities and possible solutions to the problems that they are facing. It is very different challenges from the growing cities. It tries to to see how to retain a high quality of life while still promoting economic growth, how to modernize and regionalize their transportation systems, how to make the shift towards sustainable energy and food production and how to keep alive regional identity and local democracy in a rapidly globalizing world.
The research was done by LSE Cities, PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment.
Dan Phillips is a designer and builder in Huntsville, Texas. His mission is to divert landfill waste while creating sustainable housing for single mothers, artists, and families with low incomes.
However the main message here is not about recycling. It is about the people who base their beliefs on consumerism. According to Dan Phillips, „we count on belonging to specific group of society despite what price we have to put for it.”
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Official release date: April 27, 2012 at Carré Rotondes in Luxembourg City
Host: Design City Luxembourg 2012
This series is about how those in power have used Freud’s theories to try and control the dangerous crowd in an age of mass democracy. Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, changed the perception of the human mind and its workings profoundly.
His influence on the 20th century is widely regarded as massive. The documentary describes the impact of Freud’s theories on the perception of the human mind, and the ways public relations agencies and politicians have used this during the last 100 years for their engineering of consent. Among the main characters are Freud himself and his nephew Edward Bernays, who was the first to use psychological techniques in advertising. He is often seen as the father of the public relations industry.
Freud’s daughter Anna Freud, a pioneer of child psychology, is mentioned in the second part, as well as Wilhelm Reich, one of the main opponents of Freud’s theories. Along these general themes, The Century of the Self asks deeper questions about the roots and methods of modern consumerism, representative democracy and its implications. It also questions the modern way we see ourselves, the attitude to fashion and superficiality.
Part 1. Happiness Machines. Part one documents the story of the relationship between Sigmund Freud and his American nephew, Edward Bernays who invented Public Relations in the 1920s, being the first person to take Freud’s ideas to manipulate the masses.
Part 2. The Engineering of Consent. Part two explores how those in power in post-war America used Freud’s ideas about the unconscious mind to try and control the masses. Politicians and planners came to believe Freud’s underlying premise that deep within all human beings were dangerous and irrational desires.
Part 3. There is a Policeman Inside All of Our Heads, He Must Be Destroyed. In the 1960s, a radical group of psychotherapists challenged the influence of Freudian ideas, which lead to the creation of a new political movement that sought to create new people, free of the psychological conformity that had been implanted in people’s minds by business and politics.
Part 4. Eight People Sipping Wine In Kettering. This episode explains how politicians turned to the same techniques used by business in order to read and manipulate the inner desires of the masses. Both New Labor with Tony Blair and the Democrats led by Bill Clinton, used the focus group which had been invented by psychoanalysts in order to regain power.
urbanus vulgaris 