Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Big City in 2009

A series of gatherings will take place during the 2009 year inviting key members as social and cultural activators engaged in building vibrant communities. Each gathering will be focused around significant big ideas or topics related to the larger theme such as Access, Density, Conflict, Open Space, Urban Youth, Connectivity, and Social Models, which can be substantial enough to provoke thoughtful conversation about questions that matter. These conversations will link and build upon each other to cross-pollinate ideas, and discover new insights into the issues pertinent to a creative cities agenda. The hope is that Big City Forum becomes a network of conversations that is continually co-evolving as we explore questions that matter with colleagues and community. Potentially this web of dialogue can shape a series of activities, projects, and actions that affirm a vibrant and thriving creative ecology.

Meetings will be by invitation and take place at various points across Los Angeles, highlighting the efforts of cultural and community activism within the big city. Please stay tuned for more information to come.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Big City Forum

There is a new and growing understanding about the importance of creativity in building vibrant and resilient communities. Creativity and imagination are at the center of conversations around economic growth, community transformation, and solving key problems that impact urban cities in the 21st century.

Big City Forum is a project designed to push forth a creative cities agenda and help foster conversation around sustainable creative communities on the ground. It seeks to link up the intersections, relationships, and shared interests between urban planning, economic development, education, architecture, art and design, cultural exchange, and community activism. Furthermore it hopes to help foster the idea of mapping creative spaces and places in which these conversations can take place.