Subsistent- verb- To maintain or support oneself, esp. at a minimal level
Origin- mid 16th century: from latin subsistere 'stand firm' ; from sub- "from below" + sistere 'set, stand'
Urbanity- noun 1 suavity, courteousness, and refinement of manner
2 urban life
Origin- mid 16h century French- urbanit or Latin- urban
itas, from urbanus 'belonging to the city'
If urbanity is a state of being, one of belonging to a city and to be subsistent is an action of supporting oneself from 'below' then what conclusions can we draw from this? What is a subsistent urbanity? Well it seems like it is a state of being in which one belongs to a city that is supported by its lowest tier of organization. Where does this tier lie in the city? It lies with the squatters. With the slum dwellers. Therefore, if urban life is going to make a shift from the western model we currently associate with to a life predominant
ly governed by the chaos of the slums how can we prepare to make the shift as comfortable as possible? We already have some very interestingly simplistic technologies and concepts at our disposal which would not only help us westerners transition but also help those who are already in this subsistent existence survive with less difficulty. In addition, it seems pertinent that we view slums not as a sign of poverty but rather as a place of potential growth and more often than not these communities are important contributors to the local work force. I stumbled across this video during my research which outlines such a perspective:
Back to the main question. How can we make an urbanity based on subsistence work? One of the largest problems seems to be the idea of the random settlement pattern associated with slums. However, the very nature of the slum is its chaos, its randomness which people like Armstrong (mentioned in the video above) find so liberating. Due to this, we cannot eliminate these elements with land tenure and large scale band aid developments. We must utilize the nature of the slum to its own advantage, to allow its settlement patterns to develop naturally and provide an organization based on forms of constraining agricultural practice. It seems that our cities have lost contact with the natural restrictions that were once in place over them, such as fertile land, natural borders etc. We can reimpose these boundaries by re-fertilizing our farm land and strengthening their connections to the urban center's through direct integration and regional production versus international. This is all very theoretical, however it does not require much technology to accomplish, the populace simply needs to farm with an appropriate level of technology. Here's another TED video that I found on this subject:
Heres another interesting link, which deals with a current approach to an integrated agriculture.
Lastly, if a city is going to be restricted by its agriculture and its natural environment such restrictions also include those concerning water supply which will not only fuel agricultural practice but provide drinking, and bathing water for the community. The problem here is that in such a densely packed area the local water source can become easily contaminated with many different bacteria which can lead to infection and ultimately death. However, inventor Michael Pritchard seems to have beat this problem at the source with his invention, the LifeSaver bottle and jerrycan. These simple devices are easily manufactured and shipped and it turns any water, even water that is tepid and saturated with bacteria, into water that is drinkable and pure. This allows people to focus on developing their communities, it allows them to build and improve their homes, and create their own unique infrastructures without having to worry about waterborne disease; it can lead to the permanence of community.
Heres the link to the LifeSaver website which has more technical overviews on the products:
[viewed at 11:41 pm]
In essence, I am posing a condition. A condition of natural integration wherein we can develop through our connections to our most basic resources. It is through this that a subsistent urbanity can become one that is far more sustainable and plausible.
Kyle Brill
Bibliography
Information Sources:
1. "The Development Challenge: Can agriculture succeed in the urban environment?"
Feeding the Sustainable City
(viewed on Nov,3 2009 at 12:02 am)
Image Sources:
1. "Introducing the worlds first ultra-filtration jerrycan" Lifesaver systems http://www.lifesaversystems.com/index.html
(viewed on Nov,2nd 2009 at 11:41 pm- Both lifesaver images)
Video Sources:
1. Michael Pritchard's water filter turns filthy water drinkable, TED talk. Filmed July 2008; Posted August 2009
2. Carloyn Steel: How food shapes our cities, TED talk. Filmed July 2009; Posted October 2009
3. Robert Neuwirth on our "shadow cities", TED talk. Filmed July 2005; Posted January 2007
Introductory Image:
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