Cheo Carvajal, journalist and founder of Ciudad Laboratorio, shares experiences from the third gathering "Complete city, overflowing city" of the series "Art Pedagogy and City" which in turn is part of the Integration Process Caracas IPC program, in this article published in Prodavinci, on April 4, 2019. Several simultaneous walking tours were led from the Plaza El Cristo in Baruta to the Las Brisas sector of La Palomera. A few stops were programed along the tour to talk about the nature of public space in the barrio and the way the dimensions and proximity of space conditions people´s behavior. The event culminated in the bocce court of Las Brisas, under the shade of a generous Saman (rain tree), where guests and neighbors shared their experiences and, also played bocce ball together.
The "Manifesto to the complete city" is a document that exposes the desire for an integrated city, where the barrios are fully recognized and prejudices and exclusions between parts of the city, or between inhabitants, do not prevail. Written by Cheo Carvajal and published in Prodavinci.com, the text denounces everyday manifestations that emphasize differences and calls on us to recognize and confront them.
“The Urban Cassandras of our Times” was recently published on January 7th 2019 in Terremoto, a digital magazine on contemporary art of the Americas, as part of "Issue 13: La pared dividida" curated by Ruth Estevez. The article describes the territorial inequality present in cities in Latin America manifested in the divide between “formal” and “informal” urban fragments. Such contrast is the result of neglect and denial by local authorities and citizens at large in the face of an obvious urban ill. Interventions in several cities of Latin America over the past 2 decades have presented noteworthy cases of urban integration through public space investment in informal settlements.
Arquine.com recently published on December 29, 2018 an article on the Sabana Grande Boulevard Pavement and Drainage Project in Caracas Venezuela, which is part of the editorial´s publication “Radical 50:Arquitecturas Latinoamericanas” edited by Miquel Adria and Adriana Griborio. The article documents the transformation process of the 1.6 km long pedestrian boulevard from its occupation by informal vendors to the complete recovery of its floor plane with a new pavement pattern of degradations from light to dark gray. The ground plane was leveled to one continuous surface in order to guarantee greater accessibility.
Faitha Nahmens publishes an interview with Elisa Silva on the occasion of her participation in the XX Architecture and Urbanism Biennial in Chile in an article in the digital magazine Climax, December 9, 2017. She introduces the text with the following lines: “Venezuela was distinguished in the XX Architecture and Urbanism Biennial in Chile with the project City Planting by Fudep Venezuela, Citibank and Enlace Arquitectura. Her ideas change lives in Caracas, with a focus placed on the barrios and their integration into the urban life of the Capital, always in hand with the necessary social hinge.”
The Catalogue for the XX Architecture and Urbanism Biennial in Chile “Diálogos Impostergables”, edited by Felipe Vera and Constanza Larach, features the project City Planting. The publication is a compilation of projects by architects, academics, activists and government agencies from 26 countries. Material related to urban concerns and the construction of our future cities is discussed. The dynamics concentrate on topics of the common, identity, vulnerability, social inclusion, resources and the future. City Planting is presented in the activist category in segment “the common”.
Cheo Carvajal interviews Elisa Silva as one of his fourth guests in a series of reflections about Caracas and her 450th anniversary, in the digital publication Prodavinci, August 16th 2017. The article speaks of Elisa´s approximation to working in informal settlements and the need to integrate these territories in city dynamics, in addition to improve their living conditions: “It is not so much about transforming small spaces as it is about transforming the city we have in our heads. That is what City Planting is addressing, not only because it’s the type of intervention we can build with the resources we have, but because it produces an important social impact in the production and care for spaces.”
The publication “Radical 50 Latin American Architectures”, edited by Miquel Adriá and Andrea Griborio of Arquine Publishers, compiles 50 projects buit between 2010 and 2015 by architects and groups of architects in Latin America. The book foregrounds architectures for public use and highlights participatory processes and the community´s investment to build spaces.
The Sabana Grande Boulevard Pavement is part of a photographic series in the Spanish journal El País March 13th, 2017, under the title "50 rebels of Latin American Architecture" - Austere works with social engagement that form part of a selection by Miquel Adriá in his recent book "Radical - 50 Latin American Architectures."
Prodavinci published an article by Elisa Silva titled "Social Inclusion allows cities to be more efficient and sustainable." Social Inclusion and Equity are not only the manifestations of a more just society, they are also critical conditions for sustainable development.