At the BMW Guggenheim Lab in New
York's Lower East Side, visitors can play Urbanology, a
life-sized board game that simulates the challenges and trade-offs
faced by policymakers managing city development.
It works like this: a screen projects
a series of yes or no questions that the crowd debates and votes
on. The facilitator tabulates the crowd's votes on an iPad, which
show up on the screen for all to see. The five-foot high pieces on
the board, which represent five critical urban issues of
affordability, livability, sustainability, transportation and
wealth, are moved forward or backward to reflect the positive or
negative impact of the vote on that issue. Where there's no impact
on an issue from a vote, the piece remains in its place.
Question 7 proved the most
divisive. 'Will you increase the number of security
cameras in public spaces?' Visitors debated the security
versus privacy merits of the proposal, siding marginally with
security: "yes" votes outnumbered "no" by 13-12. The historical
slant of Urbanology players appeared on screen; curiously,
only 18% were in favour of this motion.
The most unanimous of decisions, on
the other hand, came in the next question: 'A city park has
become a meeting point for casual sexual activity after dark. Will
you direct the police to apprehend anyone who frequents the park at
night?' While only 36% of players had historically voted "no",
100% did in this game. After a lively exchange of reasons and
rationale, the crowd burst into laughter when the old gentleman
standing next to me joked in his thick eastern European accent:
"Maybe I would just like to watch!"
As the pieces moved and the debates
raged, a stimulating environment of meaningful civic participation
emerged. Like an ancient Greek agora, visitors aired ideas and
opinions respectfully; like a video game, the impacts of our
decisions were simulated and witnessed instantly. It was a civics
lesson for the 21st century.
According to the Guggenheim website,
the goal of the "part urban think tank, part community center and
public gathering space" is "the exploration of new ideas,
experimentation, and ultimately the creation of forward-thinking
solutions for urban life".
And according to co-curator David van
der Leer, it fills a critical gap in the progress of urban
livability: the ideas of everyday people.
"If you look at urban theory over the
last 15 years, it exists in text, photographs and diagrams." What
he termed "the collective narrative we're trying to create on the
city" has lacked a certain street-level input. And although it's
very much the creation of sociologists, architects, curators and
urban theorists, the Lab acts more as a facilitator to the people's
ideas and experience of the city.
Dr Thomas Girst, Director of Cultural
Engagement for BMW Group, agrees.
"The success of the BMW Guggenheim Lab
lies in tying in the neighborhood."
Over the next six years, the BMW
Guggenheim Lab will visit eight more cities across the world,
engaging citizens both in physical locations and more widely across
web-based social communities around issues of contemporary urban
living.
Yet while we might expect the
Guggenheim to be actively engaged in public provocation and
experimentation around issues of social concern, BMW's involvement
is more curious. An auto manufacturer addressing urban livability
is about as consistent as a fast food chain addressing obesity.
Dr Girst disagrees.
"Companies have a responsibility to
sustainability all throughout their value chains. We're a car
company that prides itself on being innovative, dynamic and
grasping what's ahead. The issues of the future can only be tackled
together, and these will be decided in the mega-cities of
tomorrow."
And while Dr Girst characterizes the
relationship "not as a sponsorship, but a partnership", he does say
that a goal of BMW's involvement is "to be perceived as a good
corporate citizen, a company that cares deeply not only about its
core business, but the societies in which it does business."
BMW isn't the first business to use urban issues to communicate to
its audiences. Earlier this year, TELUS jumped on board the issue
of public transportation by sponsoring the BIXI bike hire scheme's
rollout in Toronto. Public transit in Toronto is a consistent
source of frustration; this scheme provides cheaper and often
quicker transportation than other modes of transit for short trips
downtown.
Barclay's, a UK-based bank, has gone a
step further. Its £25M sponsorship of the London bike hire scheme,
launched in July 2010, included the development of cycling
superhighways - dedicated lanes, each up to 15km long that connect
the city centre to 25 surrounding London boroughs - to encourage
use and ensure the safety of the networks users (London, like
Toronto, is treacherous for cyclists). According to the Transport for London
(TfL) website, it rolled out two of these in 2010, two more in
2011, and is on track to introduce the remaining eight by 2015.
These examples suggest a departure
from the traditional role of the private sector in city-building
initiatives. Whereas in the past, involvement has largely been
limited to financing roles, (with or without limited naming
rights), companies are increasingly leveraging the branding
opportunities these projects present. Both Barclay's and TELUS
branding, for example, are all over bike stations and bicycles.
Furthermore, they differ from other
sponsorships like festivals and arts exhibitions - which also
contribute to urban vibrancy, and some would argue are essential
city-building activities - in that they install a permanent public
good, as opposed to a once-off or once-a-year creative event. The
bike-hire networks in London and Toronto, for example, will be
there forever.
Finally, the contributions of the
private sector have also been crucial in launching and sustaining
these initiatives.
"It is in large part due to the
contributions of these partners that BIXI Toronto is a reality
today. Each has come on board as a national sponsor and will
support future growth of the system in other key metropolitan areas
within Canada," said Gian-Carlo Crivello, Director of Business
Development for the Public Bike System Company, the organization
behind Bixi, in a Newswire article.
Public transportation isn't the only
urban issue advertisers are playing in; public space is
another.
Part of the legacy of the BMW
Guggenheim Lab, for example, is converting the land used to host
the Lab in each city into vibrant public spaces. So, instead of a
"vacant, rat-infested lot" according to one Lab facilitator, the
residents in New York's Lower East Side will have a dynamic public
area to call their own.
Similarly, Nike invested more than five million dollars
to purchase the naming rights of a decrepit green space in Tokyo's
fashion district, and re-develop the park into a 24-hour public
space complete with a skate park and climbing walls.
However, this 'city-building
sponsorship', as we might call it, is not without its detractors.
Nike faced protesters who opposed re-naming
the Tokyo green space "Nike Park". The Guardian, a British
newspaper, railed against the corporate branding of
"Barclay's Cycle Superhighways".
But for cash-starved municipalities
with demanding citizens, these partnerships are a viable option to
provide much needed services to citizens.
"Where the money comes from [for
city-building initiatives] is shifting," says Mr van der Leer.
Growing private sector involvement
reflects recognition of the business importance of city-building
sponsorship. In 2008 the UN reported that for the first time in
history, more people lived in cities than not; by 2030, 60% of the
world's population is projected to live in cities. Urban growth
rates are fastest in emerging economies, where prospects for global
economic growth are also greatest.
However, it isn't simply a market
communication tactic for companies; it's also a talent recruitment
play. As Richard Florida's The Rise of the Creative Class
articulates, talented folk wants to live in vibrant urban centres.
A recent Toronto Star article says companies
are following suit, mainly to attract and retain employees. An
urban presence signifies to the talent and consumer markets that a
company shares their values.
"It reflects a deep internal
understanding on the part of BMW of the conversations it wants to
engage in," says Dr Girst.
"BMW is leading something new, and I
would suggest that others do as well."