city
of w*n*ers
Due to de-industrialisation and the rise in ‘container shipping'
Liverpool has for the last fifty years, evolved by ‘shrinking’.
It has produced a vacuum within the urban fabric that manifests itself
physically, socially, environmentally etc. When walking around in Vauxhall,
Everton or Toxteth, we found that some streets were only half built-up
with lots of empty and boarded up houses. It seemed outsiders like us
were not welcome.
Does the remaining population feel abandoned? Some of these areas have
found new uses: A disused railway track is now part of the 'Trans-Pennine'
trail, an old warehouse in the dockyard has become a market, some land
a home for travellers, a well-trodden path is formed across a green space.
Most affected seemed the poorer areas close to the town centre whereas
the more affluent quarters showed very little signs of dereliction or
“shrinkage.” Liverpool has one of the highest poverty rates
in the UK. It has the highest death rate among pensioners in Europe. As
a consequence it has received about £2bn in EU aid over the past
20 years.
Day 1:
A herd of 12 cows are brought unannounced, into the centre of Liverpool.
Their journey ends on derelict land. Land that was once built on, but
is now unused. This will be their home for two weeks. "What's going
on?" people ask. No one knows, because no one has been told anything
about it. A single ”cow handler" stands guarding the animals,
and that person doesn't give anything away. Curious interest. Crowds gather,
but no one is any the wiser. No one knows what to think. And no one is
telling. People go home. Nightfall.
P.C. SCULLY, detective
While investigating Toxteth this is what two 13 year old boys told me:” We live in Toxteth.We are twelve. It’s a horrible place where people get stabbed and cars broken into. Be careful with your camera! The youth-club is open on Tuesdays only. Sometimes we take the bus and go into town. Why do you like the Graffiti? You know it’s forbidden to tag?”
call of the wild
call
of the wilde
BOTTOM UP!
Most of this aid has been spent on projects including master planning,
a new airport, and a new football stadium, in the hope of generating capital
and growth. Little has gone into improving the living conditions of those
on whose behalf the money was claimed. It seems wrong that professional
regenerators were paid vast fees whilst the people who live there and
may know best what to do are paid nothing. The council sold a large part
of the town centre to the Duke of Westminster. He will turn it into a
private, "gated" community to keep unwanted riff raff out. Yet
the local community & local businesses were not involved in this decision.
No wonder, regeneration has become a profitable business, but seemingly
at the expense of those who suffer the consequences of a declining city.
If regeneration is to succeed, a wider group of the population needs a
voice in how their lives should be shaped. Initiative has to come from
them to ensure lasting change. Maybe then the phenomena of shrinking can
be turned into a positive process.
Day 2:
People wake up to the cow’s "moo-ing”. The cows must
still be here. Unfamiliar sounds and smells. Sounds and smells that might
piss people off. Sounds and smells that might make people nostalgic. Sounds
and smells that might make people smile. People start to gather and wonder
and... "word of mouth" begins: "What the fuck are these
farm animals doing outside my house?!" "Who brought them here?”
- "This is outrageous!” - "Great, free beef-burgers.”
- "If you think I'm waking up next to a bunch of f***ing cows, you've
got to be kidding me!” - "Mum, look, "Moo-cows"!”
The response is all over the place. Conversations continue. The press
arrive.
Consulted the spirits of Toxteth…”I can feel positive energy…I feel change in the air”Komme da kue, komme da
In the 19th century big cities that developed on the back of industrialisation inherited large problems. New tools (urban master planning) and technologies (sewage, transport, water supply) had to be invented to deal with issues resulting from population concentration and the urbanisation of society. In this process, city populations became more and more disconnected from the ground and natural cycles of production. Towns have become mainly places of consumption (of energy, food, water etc.) making them unsustainable.
As western post-industrial societies experienced demographic shifts, we are faced again with the task of inventing new tools to deal with the resulting problems (dereliction & poverty). Liverpool city council alone has identified 800 derelict sites within the city and a total of 390 ha of ‘derelict’ land. Could the process of shrinking offer new opportunities? Can cities evolve into "productive" sustainable places (waste water treatment, urban agriculture, decentralised energy production i.e. biogas)? Can the available space be used to bring countryside into the city? Are there processes already in motion that suggest uses for places devoid of their former function??
DAY 6: People start approaching the animals. Petting them, feeding them, talking about them. If anyone asks for anything from the animals (milk, manure) they are given it for free. Word of mouth continues. Reaction continues, though it may be mixed. Some people start to love the presence of the animals, some people hate it, some people might enjoy what the animals bring, some people might abuse it.
…I grew up with cows, I know how to treat them. Let me sing for you.come watch
could
or would
The surplus of disused sites has generated ‘development strategies’
that either exploit the diminutive land values or impose uses or scales
out of context to these environments. Common to these approaches is their
disengagement with the communities with which they affect.
Our proposal questions the right of access or use of derelict land. The
intervention is an event that appears out of context to its environment,
bringing cows (one of the largest animals in Britain) into the city. By
its very nature it will provoke reaction - the noise, smell, and presence
can not be ignored. Will it be welcomed or might there be negative or
passive reaction? Might the authorities try to ban it, animal rights groups
oppose it etc.? Will the local community also exploit it?
Day
14: The animals all leave. As quickly as they appeared, they
are gone.
Days go by. The days become weeks. The weeks become months. The month
becomes... time passes. Memories pass.
Really wants free biogas for
his heating and cookingCould or would