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COVER
The Damned • Near Santarém, Brazil in 2017: Photographer Daniel Beltrá captures a small remaining section of the Amazon rainforest, huddled together in an agricultural field in a recently cleared plot of land. The photograph is representative of Beltrá‘s work: He documents the human impact on the environment via aerial photography. In his picture, he points out what we already know. Yet, he still manages to shock us: About one-fifth of the Amazon rainforest has been cut down in recent decades. One-fifth of six million square kilometers covered by forests, lakes, rivers, and wetlands. Reminiscent of a battlefield scene, the last surviving trees stand together in Beltrá‘s image as if they were trying to protect themselves from the desolation that surrounds them. It almost seems as if none of the individual trees dared to stand apart, as if they could feel the impending doom. Considering the political situation in Brazil, the trees not depicted in the photograph possibly won't survive for long – if they haven't already been cut down. In January 2019 Jair Bolsonaro will take office as Brazil’s new President. The extreme right-wing politician thinks climate change is part of a conspiracy. He wants to sacrifice the rainforest for the cattle industry and plans to merge the environment and agriculture ministries. Mere rhetoric? Unfortunately not. According to the British journal "Climate Home", the rate of deforestation increased by more than 50 per cent during the three-month election campaign. Brazil is home to 60 per cent of the Amazon rainforest. We are about to lose our greatest carbon sink.
“MAKING THE ACT OF REMEMBERING VISIBLE” • After the extreme right-wing demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017, the design of landscapes of memory has become part of the national dialogue in the U.S. Some Confederate symbols have been removed, many of them still stand. But there is a lack of ideas and visions on how to proceed. Sara Zewde calls on the design disciplines to invest in new methods to effectively expand the traditional conceptions of memorialization.
Talent vs. Mastermind
Kalakhang Maynila – Metropolitan Manila
Synergy Effects • New York City-based Bloomberg Philanthropies, the foundation founded by the former mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, recently announced two new winning projects for its Public Art Challenge. This initiative encourages mayors from US cities to promote urban development through creativity. The two previous winners from 2018 are Coral Springs, Florida, and Anchorage, Alaska – each receiving up to one million dollars over a period of two years. Participation requires project ideas that address civil society problems and solutions. The four winning projects from 2014, which dealt with vacancy rates, the revitalisation of urban neighbourhoods, water conservation and crime prevention, demonstrated positive long-term effects that go beyond temporary art installations.
Game Changers • Cities are the dominant form of human civilization in the 21st century. It’s fair to say that we are an urban species – homo urbanis. In 2018, the UN estimates that at least half of the planet’s population lives in cities. By 2050, the proportion will increase to two-thirds. There are thousands of small- and medium-sized cities along with 31 mega-cities and sprawling, networked-city areas – called conurbations – with ten million residents or more. This dominance changes the role city leaders play today – especially when it comes to handling climate change or ensuring the future of democracy.
Politics out of the...
