Caracas, The Informal City 3/6

The first in depth documentary to tell the inside story of the new informal urban developments, this groundbreaking film explores our changing world -- the great debate over globalization, architecture and the future of our society.


"This is not a mountain full of houses, it is a house as big as a mountain."

In Caracas, the most dangerous megacity on the South-American continent, petrol is cheaper than water, yet the rich spend billions of dollars on private security only to end up behind their own barbed wire fences.

Over the last decennia, like a magnet gone mad, Venezuela's capital has drawn in millions of migrants. Now more than four out of its six million inhabitants live in self build constructions in the informal conditions of the barrios where only the laws of the strong rule.

Caracas: The Informal City is a portrait of a city that is rapidly becoming the prototype for the exploding urbanization witnessed on especially the African and South-American continents. Here a completely new socio-political and architectonic reality has been developing.

Shot in the Spring of 2007 on location in the barrios of Caracas, the slums where Comandante Chavez has his powerbase, the film provides a unique perspective on the practice of the informal city. Caracas based architects Alfredo Brillembourg and Hubert Klumpner, founders of the Urban Think Tank.
When the concept of the city is disintegrating, as Rem Koolhaas warns us, it is up to the architect to come up with an answer. That is exactly what Brillembourg and Klumpner are after; for them the practice of the barrios directs us to the architecture's only possible future: a renewed commitment with the potential of a city build by its inhabitants.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Caracas
• The
• Informal
• City
• Rob
• Schröder
• wldplkkn
• Urban
• Think
• Tank

[alexdven]

@yankees9251973 pana obviamente no has escuchado nada de lo que estos tipos han relatado. Estan ahi buscando soluciones para esa pobre gente. Tu te arrechas porque porfin alguien le presta atencion a los pobres y de paso no te da toda esa paja de afiche turistico de que todo esta bien en Venezuela, y mira que linda esta plaza...osea pura mierda porque la verdad es que todo esta mal. Y para que sepas, no son gringos. Es un Venezolano y un Aleman, y aun asi hacen mas por Vzla que tu..

[GaelinW]

Where are parts 4-6?

[bibolcs]

The drinking water is more expensive than gasoline..? Gosh..!, that's why I say What's Revolution..?, "Shacks" with running sewer's service water underground, with this humidity underground the whole Mountain (Cerro as they say) Collapses specially with Rainy season dying a lot of people..! lets say's sounds even like Suicidals people Cuz necessity to live this way, unbelivable..! (USA)

[bibolcs]

Mrs. Juana oh my God..! dont ever dare to use ever one "sledge hammer" otherwise the whole house sadly in going to collapse with her in and her kids..! Umbelivable.! Only in Venezuela's (USA)

[trudybom]

i hate seeing kids suffer, it's not fair!!

[vanvitiello]

Dónde se pueden encontrar los videos del 4 al 6?...

[sanshoukid]

Y como se llama la cancion que comienza al minuto 8:54 a 9:30 es musica llanera creo pero quien sabe como se llama?

Whats the name of the song that starts at 8:54 to 9:30??

[sanshoukid]

Como se llama la cancion que comienza al minuto 6:28 a 7:00??

What's the name of the song that starts at 6:28 to 7:00??

[xondragalvez]

Su trabajo es loable, pero es una ilusion. La respuesta no esta en mejorar las condiciones de vida de la gente EN el barrio, sino en SACAR a la gente del barrio y desarrollar el interior del pais.

[sombraccs]

@pipomenas

Pues te informo que para poder juzgar a tu ciudad tienes que conocerla a fondo... vivo en ella y soy de Caracas, y más que una mierda es una metòpolis contemporànea... pero eso no la hace ni mejor ni peor. es un caso particular, al igual que lo es DF, sao paulo, ny, londres, o dubai o cualquier ciudad que se te ocurra en el mundo. deja de juzgar y acepta con humildad tu ignorancia. Busca a fondo, Ecatepec, neza, tepito, etc,,, Polanco? no mames!!!!

[sombraccs]

mis panas, todos uds "estan meando fuera del perol" las discusiones generadas por sus comentarios no tienen nada que ver con el contenido del video, el cual dista de mostrar una imagen de cuán bonita puede ser CCS o DF, muestran un problema real de las ciudad conemporánea y global ... vivo en DF y soy de CCS, ambas son resultado del complejo sistema de construcción espacial, cultural y socio-económico que nos toca vivir a todos en el mundo actual. vivimos en la era urbana. infórmense.