My city is at a crossroads: how to be sustainable - how to have a future - without losing sight of very old and cherished unique heritage and values? How can we, as you say, be our authentic place and people in a future that promises to shake the foundations of this culture and its expressions?
Evolution is often seen as abandonment of past ways and worldviews. Indeed, we marvel at strong changes even in our lifetimes. We don't easily recognize the throughlines - these evolutionary changes seem like overhauls or weird blips in the continuum. And so we eschew facing and grappling with the forces of possible futures. The challenge here is to address incrementalism vs. transformation with voices accustomed more to fixing pain points and either/or thinking than to experimentation. Experiments feel like strategies and are experienced as a loss of time and resources.
We know that certainty about forces and implications is impossible. Deliberate change raises the question of who gets to participate and decide, with the threat of hegemonic control. But dismissing any agency and letting "fate" take over seems like no one has control, and to many that feels more comforting.
My city is at a crossroads: how to be sustainable - how to have a future - without losing sight of very old and cherished unique heritage and values? How can we, as you say, be our authentic place and people in a future that promises to shake the foundations of this culture and its expressions?
Evolution is often seen as abandonment of past ways and worldviews. Indeed, we marvel at strong changes even in our lifetimes. We don't easily recognize the throughlines - these evolutionary changes seem like overhauls or weird blips in the continuum. And so we eschew facing and grappling with the forces of possible futures. The challenge here is to address incrementalism vs. transformation with voices accustomed more to fixing pain points and either/or thinking than to experimentation. Experiments feel like strategies and are experienced as a loss of time and resources.
We know that certainty about forces and implications is impossible. Deliberate change raises the question of who gets to participate and decide, with the threat of hegemonic control. But dismissing any agency and letting "fate" take over seems like no one has control, and to many that feels more comforting.