AT: Urban acupuncture

I came across the idea of 'urban acupuncture' while researching transport solutions in foreign countries; in particular, the Brazilian city of Curitiba. The mayor of Curitiba, Jaime Lerner, pioneered the use of urban acupuncture as a way of improving a cities livability through small, grass roots and self sufficient changes. Turning down loan offers from the World Bank, he favoured home grown alternatives, which in turn produce a ripple out effect.

“I believe that some medicinal “magic” can and should be applied to cities, as many are sick and some nearly terminal. As with the medicine needed in the interaction between doctor and patient, in urban planning it is also necessary to make the city react; to poke an area in such a way that it is able to help heal, improve, and create positive chain reactions. It is indispensable in revitalizing interventions to make the organism work in a different way.”

- Jaime Lerner (2007).

I feel that Auckland is a prime candidate for this sort of revolutionary thinking. Traditionally, Auckland has favoured large scale infrastructure projects, with limited success. For my project, I will attempt to incorporate the idea of urban acupuncture into my design solution by carefully selecting locations for my project in order to maximise its intended effect. Achieving local success on a modest budget could prove to be the ideal antidote to the almost knee-jerk reactive tendency of Auckland Council to embark on exorbitantly expensive projects that have only moderate success.