Day 8: Looking from the outside vs. inside

Before I receive I have to give. Central Lima

(Be sure to scroll all the way down...the video is the highlight!)

Regular Sunday in central Lima, major street parade, book convention, markets, security everywhere, people staring at me being the giant I am, and the regular comments; "hello honeey!", "yo loov yo!", "ooh gringaa!" simply comes with the territory.

So, I figured I would take my friend Seamus' advice and look into public theaters to get the real scoop on social issues in Lima. It didn't take long until I spotted a park some distance away from the touristic areas with an amphitheater and a crowd of Peruvians running over to listen. So I did too. As soon as I came close, the announcer spotted me and called me out.

"Helooooo!!!" "Gringa come over heeere!!"

he sceamed in spanish, waving with both hands in excitement. And since my friend back home had suggested I listen, I decided to learn by doing. When the announcer asked "Que pais es usted?" I answered, "Soy sueca!" ....and the rest is history!

I am not fluent in Spanish by any means, and understood about half of what was said. However, the jist of things are: Peruvians make fun of the fact that Machu Picchu is the only place people go and visit when in Peru. I think it upsets them, because even though it brings in revenue and importance they say; "It's a RUIN!!!". They laugh at the fact that people will buy anything they make. Painted stones, painted branches anything with paint people will buy. And then, offcourse, there are all the sexual jokes. Most tourists probably don't get to know who the people really are in Peru, instead tourists are so focused on the beauty of material things, anything they can bring home to show their family and friends.

There was a scenario in this public theater when a little kid ran into the center because he had lost his parents. The leader asked me: "Tiene hijos como este en Suecia?" I said; "No, solo los ninos rubios!" and he answered in spanish;

"So if we paint him will you take him home?"

Sometimes all we get when visiting a country is a quick snapshot of the place. In my opinion superficially participating in touristic events and commercial activities hardly counts as having been to the country at all.

Tourism is the soap opera version of real life and not a fair representation of the people. We have to interact with humans as humans to better understand the daily life and real struggles people face if we selflessly care about the place we are visiting.

For example, do you know who plays soccer on Saturdays? Who's place friends crash at after having partied until 8am? If they have health insurance? How do their kids get to school? When we are on vacation in a country we simply don't care about learning these things. We don't stop to listen to the people enough. Instead we are so busy focusing on getting that amazing picture to frame on the wall, only for others to admire how worldy we are. I hope we will step it up, and be humanistic travelers for the sake of evolving a generation of responsible global collaboration.

If we don't, where does that leave a country which is mainly supported by tourism?

Day 7: Who am I kidding trying to blend in!?

What's normal anyway?

Sometimes things are just not quite what we are used to, and it is that slight difference that really makes ALL the difference.

THE BED: I sleep on the kitchen floor. And really think it couldn't be better! I even have a headboard, a side table and not to mention a roof over my head. The fact that I'm just a little to tall for the length of three sofa cushions put together doesn't bother me at all.

COFFEE MAKING: Making morning coffee has been an evolving process of refinement....so I have some insight that I can share with you now: You have to use some gadgets to make it work!

ART: At the market, the artists are now going into Dali mode with the traditional Peruvian women art. On the picture to the left you can notice this difference in style, which in January was no where to be seen. This was an interesting observation!

NATURE: The large pebble formation on the picture was actually completely covered in green vegetation just a few decades ago. And even though the retaining wall I'm leaning against looks very nice, it's actually a sad picture. It shows how the water has disappeared from this land because of Global Warming.

6' BLONDE: I will have to celebrate the fact that I will not go unseen here. I am a blond gringa, two heads taller than most and stick out like a sore thumb.

Who am I kidding trying to blend in!?

So therefore I am now officially grouped in with the palm trees and street lights. It's a balance-act understanding what is, but yet being something different.

Day 6: I think very few would know what to do...

Developed vs. Developing Countries

What does that mean exactly? The UN describes it as a certain amout of income per capita. So a high GDP (gross domestic product) indicates a developed country. Furthermore industrialization is a criteria for which a country is defined. But, there is also a new addition to developed vs. developing countries and this term is called HDI (Human Development Index). It includes life expectancy and level of education as well as a few other things.

The term is intended for statistical convenience, not for judgement upon a country's stage of development.

With that said. Look a the map to the left indicating developing countries in yellow. Peru is one of them, and as a matter of fact a larger portion of the world is marked in yellow. Today I realized how little I know about developing countries. Economic growth, employment, politics, foreign trade, construction and so much more contrast the way people in developing countries live a day to day life compared to how developed countries perform these functions.

I think very few professionals in developed countries have received adequate training and knowledge on how to perform the same service in a developing country, and therefore many times, not intentially, make things worse when attempting to do good.

I have nothing to back that statement up with, just a slap in the face feeling as I realized how very different education here is compared to both Sweden, where I am from, and the US where I live in transition. Take sustainable development for instance. How shall the developing countries approach this topic? When in reality, their daily life is not formed around that concept. Social vulnerability is higher due to this because there is a lack of education in measures to take to protect themselves long term, fed by the financial aspect of little funds and lack of livelihoods organization tying short term together with long term goals for regions.

The pictures show a country in constant development. The people are very skilled in patching up unfinished construction work, leaving openings for later additions and keeping building materials somewhat safely stored on roof-tops. I have yet to figure out what the waterbottles on the roof are used for, but I'm sure they are there for some ingenious reason.

People around the world become very skilled in the area which pose the biggest barrier to them on a daily basis. As capitalism is the basis for how finances and politics is run in the US, then people living there learn very well how to make barriers such as lawsuits, rules for rules and revenue focus work in their favor. If a country is socialized, like Sweden, then barriers such as high taxes and balancing equality become the focus of attention and people become aware of how to best utilize this framework.

In Lima, it seems as if the focus on national finance and politics have become so strong and prioritized that they left the international possibilities aside for other countries to manage.

In all reality, do countries identify themselves culturally and socially with whether they are developed or not? Because if so, has the UN's intention of not placing judgement on a country but rather conveniently differentiate between developed and developing gone array?

Day 6, 2am: It started with a no-show

From a no-show, to an improvised class by prof. Correa, to my presenting Berlins mass-transit, to urban bikes, to sustainable urbanism presentation, to negative reaction on bikes, to discussing educating about impact on nature with Eze, to contacting Tora Harris, to problem solving and brainstorming, to figuring out infrastructure for electricity mentioned by Toby Stevenson, to thinking to do this as my studio, to thoughts of collaborating with local youth, to incorporating UPC to.....

.....tomorrow I will start.

Day 5: The difference between water and water

Look further.

See the water tank on top of the hill? That's water from the glaciers in the Andes. That natural source gives water to 70% of the population in Lima. Where there is housing, water tanks are placed on top of the roofs and fall with gravity through each unit below. (Perhaps that is why my shower has super weak water pressure since I'm on the top, it's more like a spit in the face than a shower!) Nontheless, the water is provided to residential units all over Lima.

So, I pointed to the one million shantee towns in the background and asked if they too get water. "Yes, offcourse!" was the answer. "Dirty water".

Although two thirds of the human body by weight is composed of water, this water is needed for circulation and other bodily processes, including respiration and converting food to energy. If you are loosing more water than you are taking in, dehydration will occur. It has been shown that if you lose just 2.5% of your body weight from water loss, you will loose 25% of your efficiency. For a 175 pound (ca 80kg) man that is only about two quarts of water. As the person in the shantees dehydrates his blood becomes thicker and looses volume. This causes the heart to work harder and circulation of blood to be less efficient. In a survival situation, loosing a full one quarter of your physical and mental abilities due to dehydration could mean the end of your life. (source: www.survivaltopics.com)

If access to broadband can be a law in Finland, then clean drinking water should be brought to the level of being a human right.

Day 4: It starts with education

Day 4: Need to Introduce Migration Class in Urban Design

A day to remember.

Took a cab this morning, passed a ceremony for a murdered boy. The taxi driver explained he might have been killed by a Colombian as there is some heavy antagonism between the two countries.

Met Luis Longhi at the University. Humble architect with an amazing mind, illiterate, but brilliant. Also cold-called Julio Kuroiwa and will be meeting him during this trip. Kuroiwa is a United Nations advisor for strategies in disaster reduction, this will be an amazing meeting and I am very grateful for that opportunity. Thank you Fernando Correa for your assistance on that.

Later in the day I held a lecture in the Urban Seminar on Sustainable Urbanism. There's nothing better than being able to reach out and encourage young people to dream big. I will forever remember this day. A note was left on my desk from one of the students...I still don't know who.

But bottom line - Peruvians are awsome!

Also learned about the 60 year relationship the barriadas/ slums/ popular establishments has had with the city center of Lima. Understanding the migration process is key to responsible urban planning. In the 1940' the litoralzation ignited by the Pan Americana, radio transistors informing rural communities abouth metropolitan opportunities and lack of land control in the Andes all contributed to immigration rates in Lima rising by 3%. But the city could not absorb all these new establishments, therefore, the immigrants started to claim land which was not theirs. This was the beginning of shantee towns.

If the government would have better understood the migration process Lima would have been better prepared to absorb immigrants.

I might be ignorant, but why am I yet to see a mandatory migration class in architecture schools' urban design curriculum?

Did I miss something, or is it due time for architecture schools to provide students with the bigger picture?

Day 3: From Pollution to Revolution

Awareness?

Money saving strategies can take on many forms, saving energy cost is a big one in times of sustainable awareness. But energy savings is also closely related to efficiency, which some Peruvians have cleverly mastered.

Their actions, whether they are aware of it or not, are actually huge energy savers and could potentially ignite a new sustainable movement; a "flexible environment" revolution.

Through multiplying uses into one and the same space we offer more interaction, space occupation as well as lowered dependence on energy use for maintenance.

Image above reveal an outdoor playground used as a full-fledged gym for adults in the morning when the kids are at school. This, among other things, minimizes the need for indoor air conditioned gym space as well as the cost associated with it. The second image shows a patio extended onto the sidewalk acting as a breezeway, a storefront for market space as well as shade for the elder when watching the kids play on the streeet.

Could social interaction coupled with sustainable strategies and cost savings call for the best approach to an accepted sustainable revolution in central Lima?

In regards to the main goal of my visit; creating a Global Development Partnership mitigating environmental refuge, I have lined up some potential meetings. One includes a UN advisor and another entering into the Defensa Civil.

More to come.

Day 2: Youth in Lima Breaking Barriers

UPC Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas

Today I attended my first day at UPC taking Studio IX and Urbanism Seminar with Professor Fernando Correa, assisted by Marianela Castro. I am determined to learn Spanish in one month, so that I will be able to understand conversations and people's opinions more clearly.

Nontheless, in the Urban Seminar we were discussing the topic "El Transporte Publico" (public transit) and understood something very important. The students, between 21-28, are battling political barriers inherited from their past generations.

There was an overwhelming sense of defeat and hopelessness in these young, creative students.

Transit seemed like a good idea to them, but the factors of time, money, construction and most of all completion were not just immense obstacles to them, but also the reason not to implement in the city of Lima at all. The positive change mass transit can have in Lima by far outweighs the pollution and congested chaos which their publically run transit system currently provides. Local peruvians I have spoken with thus far all concur that the traffic is terrible, unsafe and would need to change.

What has created this struggle for young Peruvians to trust their governing bodies? What can be done to empower positive change for the next generation? If there is no encouragement to perform these changes, what will happen to the future of Lima?

These are some questions I would like to hear your opinion on, as I will be giving a lecture on Sustainable Urbanism on Wednesday (day after tomorrow) and intend to instill that positive change is possible.

They have the potential to take charge in developing a re-invigorated future vision of their city.

Furthermore, I am gearing up research in earthquake analysis in order to understand the conditions informal construction can have on shantee towns compared to the metropolitan fabric when earthquake hits. For this I hope to speak with Julio Kuroiwa Horiuchi, renowned Peruvian seismologist to get some answers.

Thank you Prof. Correa and Marianela for today's insight.

Day 1: Slum Persistance - Strength or Weakness?

Surco, Lima

Newly remodeled low-income housing....and a slice of a slum. Not sure if they own this land, but perhaps this small shantee is actually wealthier than all it's surrounding neighbors.

I was watching the activity of this group of people during the day, since they are right outside my window, and seemingly they are much happier playing cards and sharing stories than franatically trying to catch the bus on time for work.

How did this condition emerge?

Arrived to Surco, Lima

I picked up my official visa at the Peruvian Counsulate in Los Angeles. After having been locked out of the counsulate as well as received a parking ticket we were on our way back to San Diego.

On my way to Lima there was a layover in Mexico City. Anyone who has never seen that airport should buy a ticket just to hang out in the lobby it was that good. You Louis Kahn lovers out there would start hugging the columns.

Once in Lima, Donato Oyola Ballon picked us up at the airport. If you need a cab driver, he's your man: (511) 981 419 376. Seriously!

With the salsa music from the local bar down the street, the rooster's squeeky cry, and the sound from a car passing by with "Like a Virgin" blasting in the radio I will now go to sleep and welcome the adventure in the morning!

It's time to gear up for 60 days in Peru. Every day counts.

Recevied a warm welcome from Peru, thank you!

Dear Christina,

Professor Fernando Correa Miller and I want to welcome you to our Faculty of Architecture at Universidad Peruana de Ciencia Aplicadas.
We are very happy with your visit, and your interest in our city, our university and Peruvian Architecture and Urbanism.

Professor Correa Miller is the main professor in the courses you are going to take at the university (Taller IX and Urban Seminar), and I will be assisting him and helping you with the research work you are going to do and also guiding you through some visits in our city.

We will be very glad if you could prepare a presentation to expose it to the Urban Seminar Class the first day you come to the university (Monday the 19th), this presentation might be about an urban topic related to your country. As a suggestion it may be something related to the US suburb or anything else you consider relevant in the United States Urbanism, to expose it to the class.

If you have any doubt we could be in contact through this e-mail until you get to Peru.
Welcome to our country , once again, and we wil meet you on Monday.

Kind Regards,

Marianela Castro De La Borda and Professor Fernando Correa Miler.

Taking off, and taking action!

This project started with a trip to Lima, Peru January of 2010 led by architect Ricardo Rabines with Safdie Rabines Architects. It entailed an on-site understanding of the social, political and financial layers creating conditions such as the barrios in Rimac. The research included understanding an appropriate intervention to this "dangerous" and shunned upon slum site by the Rimac River in Lima. The research lead to a concluding design proposal shown on boards 7 and 8-9 of how to strengthen the spirit of the people in the slums through introducing a self-sustainable livelihoods network utilizing the people's agricultural origin and cultural strengths.

Today I am returning to Lima, taking action.