Amplify >> Social Innovation
Challenge
The Amplify Creative Communities project started in Brazil, Vila Pompeia, in 2013, as Amplify Pompeia, an integral part of the 10th Sao Paulo International Architecture Biennale, which was a result of a partnership among Parsons, Biennale, SESC Pompeia and Hivelab - School of Service Design. Our challenge was to find out what people in Vila Pompeia talked about and did to change their lives for the better. Thus, it could provide a space for people to voice their major concerns regarding the city and encourage them to take action.
Process
We visited over 30 community initiatives in the region and selected twelve that best fit our three criteria: they had to come from within the community, they had to be collaborative, and they had to have a positive impact on society. We organized and produced videos so each one could tell its story.
Two workshops were also held inviting visitors to engage hands-on and, using design thinking tools, experiment with proposals for urban issues like urban mobility, communication, and sustainability, with small groups creating proposals for each subject, that could be immediately applied.
Over the entire period of the exhibition, every week a new question was displayed on a board next to the collaborative map, and people were invited to write their answers on post-its and share them on the board. Participant’s major concerns were violence, mobility, sustainability and a poor sense of community.
Results
We knew that there were other inspiring projects currently taking placed that we missed. So, as part of this project, an interactive map was created and people participated by writing down on cards how such initiatives transform urban life, and placed them on a map. After the exhibition, a new map was created on Google Maps with all the initiatives raised.
Amplify Creative Communities provides a platform to expand community initiatives that develop more positive ways of living and working. By disseminating collaborative initiatives that result in new and sustainable lifestyles, the project inspires individuals to adopt transformative examples.
