Social Mobility!

(original post)

Social mobility is the degree to which an individual's family or group's social status can change throughout the course of their life through a system of social hierarchy or stratification. Subsequently, it is also the degree to which an individual's or group's descendants move up and down the class system. The individual or family can move up or down the social classes based on achievements or factors beyond their control.

The video below illustrates social mobility to some sort of degree and how people from different ethnics and backgrounds can reach there desired top level of professionalism!

Well Done Ajay Bhatt!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqLPHrCQr2I

Social Mobility/Virtual Mobility

"The intensity and the expansion of the mobility depends of the capacity of technical systems to satisfied them"
Wikipedia about mobility

My point about mobility is that it’s a social notion, because when you move, like the electron around an atom, you create interactions, meetings, energy. It can be a virtual or a physical encounter. Anyways, if nothing moves, there are no interactions, no exchanges. Indeed, travelling is one of the best ways to socialize, change the mind and have new experiences.
But I am interested by virtual mobility, for I think it’s fairer. Physical travelling is most of the time expensive, everybody can’t access to it. On the contrary, virtual travelling is cheap and one can go wherever one wants. Everybody can access information, communicate all over the world, to be open-minded and be aware of what happens in the world. Internet offers a new form of public space which everybody can access, gives opinions and debate.

The new media like internet bring a new vision of mobility. The improvements of different systems allows to move physically faster and farer. But the revolution of the informatics networks offers mobility all over the world quickly without physical movement. The distribution of information in real time offers a new conception of the world. The world is shrinking and ended we knows every part of it, there is nothing to discover anymore. It gives also a new vision of time and distances. It’s easy to travel by virtual means. As a consequence physical mobility that improved to be faster seems now slow and long.

But we can’t say that physical and virtual mobility are equal. In the reality the movement is a physical experience, the body can feel it, it is involved in the movement. It can be in architecture or in transportations. These experience needs to use senses, to live physical meetings, interactions that can be felt as a danger. In opposition the virtual mobility is a movement by collecting information, readings, pictures, films and virtual interactions are made by online games, social network. The body is not involved that’s why it offers feeling of safety. It is possible to hide, to choose interactions.

For my part there are two reasons of the success of the virtual mobility.
First, it offers fair accessibility, so lot of people can use it. Everybody can access information, because it’s cheap. It also allows to move far, fast and to be in different place in the same time. As I already said it shrinks the world, one can speak to someone very far as he is just close by. Internet reduces the world and the distances. It allows meeting people, share, and create a network all over the world. In opposition of physical mobility, where the body is involved in a movement, a process, virtual movement can be stopped when you choose to stop it.
I think the second reason of the success is that virtual mobility balances physical complexes and social frustrations. It reduces physical contact, direct interactions leading to safety feeling. There is the possibility to hide, be someone else or find a new world where people are not frustrated like in second life or in videogames. These are others world to be involved, and create social contact. Internet is also a tool for self promotion more efficient than others in a bigger scale.

My point is that real and virtual world are connected one has consequences on the other. But I think there is two kind of mobility, the real one with body involvement, a process to go to place to place where the movement is an experience. The second one doesn’t involve senses but the brain to collect information. This is a new time of travelling, instantaneous and wider, where people can be in different place in the same time. But I think internet is a transfer of the real world in the virtual world, you can find every services of the real world and more. By new scale of time and distances it creates a new geography of the world, because it’s an infinite space not restricted by physical rules. So in a period we can see the frontier of the real world, we can travel in an unlimited virtual space.

World of warcraft

I would like to give an example of how the virtual mobility is wide and how it can change the vision of the real world. Before I came in Birmingham I made some research to know how was the city, so I went on internet and I found pictures about Birmingham. But I used Google earth and saw the city in 3D, I saw the city in its global nature, of course I didn’t felt the atmosphere of the city, but with street view I actually was in the city. When I came in Birmingham I didn’t discovered the city but I recognized it, particularly places like the bullring, the symphony hall or the Institute of Art and Design. In a way I came in Birmingham long time before my physical presence in the city.

My project is to show how there is two scale of mobility, represented two spheres, the little one is the real world with physical connection and another sphere around much bigger is the virtual world, much connected than the real world and continuing to extend. Strings will represent connections (social, business, culture…)

I don’t know if it’s a good idea but with some explanations, my point will be clear. These are my references, the friend wheel of facebook and other social map and the real world with physical end.

The Electric Car- Amandeep

Most of my blog entries are about social and physical mobility, so I’ve decided to look at political and environmental issues that I think are important to us in terms of physical, social, and virtual mobility, and found that the electric car was a good example of where society saw/sees the future.

The idea came about in 1996, around the time we became aware of climate change and its effect on our atmosphere. It was an experiment done by GM to produce a car of the future that would use a renewable fuel.

The design brought about many advantages such as no noise, lightweight, no toxic emission, cost less than using petrol, can be built at large scale cheaply and many more. It draws motive power from a batter that provides 4 kilowatts per hour and can even be charged from home overnight. But after a 4 year trial it was eventually scrapped due to political and economical matter.

Wally Rippel (car developer) explains the idea of the electric car was abandoned as this would result in oil companies losing profit in the oil sales and auto companies were afraid of losses over the next six months of EV production. GM began negative marketing and eventually discontinued their range. Though the idea has not been publicly released, the concept is still wandering in the air.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsJAlrYjGz8

But fortunately, many other companies have been designing hybrid electric cars over the last decade, that may even be released within the next 10-20 years. Maybe the future does hold a better, faster and more efficient environment through the use of new technology?

Another example is the electric scooter which is available now that allows travel for individuals and can even reach speeds of up to 50 mph! They can mainly be seen used by the police force nowadays all over the world, but will they eventually be owned by every household?? Will travel be even faster?

How social/ physical/ virtual link together- Amandeep

Hey- everyone! Humera I love the tram stop! It creates a sense of social space within a small area, increasing the people flow; even the stations create the idea of motion. Not sure if I like the bike, looks a bit too retro to me, and can't see anyone using it in the future!

Referring back to my last post about how modernisation maybe linked to mobility; I have interpreted Marx’s view as time being an indicator of how we have grown as a society and how the world has become more accessible and mobile- The idea of the word ‘Modern’ has never been interpreted the same.

I thought the best way to understand this was by looking at my own life; the above diagram is my representation of how mobility has affected/ changed over my lifetime. I have highlighted key points in my life (through a time line), that have increased my mobility within society.

The basic points I can pick out from it are that the virtual and physical aspects of mobility act as supports to the social factor. They all work simultaneously, and I wouldn’t be able to function properly if one was removed. As I have become older and more socially active, my virtual and physical mobility are automatically increased. I can also see that my virtual mobility is more active than my physical mobility, as I am more likely to contact someone via email/ phone rather than visit them in person.

I notice that education is a key backbone from where many of my social connections derive, as we do spend a lot of our youth studying. I can also see my virtual connections are mainly to local friends and friends.

While travelling, I can see a mixed set of emotions, especially when travelling to a new place, or a rarely used transport. It is here, in these transient places, where De Botton says we best encounter our true selves. It is these places where we feel that we can isolate ourselves into a place of comfort.

Maybe in the future surrounding will change according to our movement, or lack of it. Maybe our physical mobility will be replaced by more virtual movement as it is easier, faster and cheaper? Maybe our physical transport will get faster, more types of transport, but will we travel less often? Will there be any need to go to work, will we be working from home?

Roundabout transformation...Humz

This is another article i came across, designed by spanish architects subarquitectura, I like the idea of making a roundabout or "traffic circle" a public space, but I hate urban spaces that have obviously been designed in plan view. There is no reason why there needs to be 32 different ways to approach the station. Finally, someone has figured out a way how to promote better use of round abouts. as the ones that have trees planted within them can be unsafe, i.e crime spots!

Spanish architects Subarquitectura

have sent us images of this tram stop they built on a roundabout in Alicante, Spain.

With the project, which was completed last year, the architects wanted “to turn a traffic circle into a public space”.

Alicante is a 400.000 inhabitants city of the southeast mediterranean spanish coast. Over the last years, there has been building a new tram infrastructure, using the old rails of the local train. This line connects all the towns of the coast, ending in Denia, a northern city of the province, where ships departure to Ibiza.

This stop, is the central stage of a new line of the tram, that links the centre of the city to the residential areas of

San Juan beach

The construction of the Tram Stop was the opportunity to bring back a stolen space to the city: to turn a traffic circle into a public space

Through a fractal access system deformed in each side to avoid the existing trees, the travellers can arrive in a frontal way to the platform in 32 different possibilities.Over the platforms, 2 empty boxes (36 m long, 3 m wide, 2,5 m high) create a floating void slightly over the travellers’ heads. It matches the size of the train, creating an intermediate scale between buildings and urban elements.

There is no difference between structure and envelope, neither between roof and walls. It is an

isotropic material in both conception

and construction.Each of the pieces has:

800 holes, in 5 different sizes:

440 diameter 10 cm

240 diameter 20 cm

80 diameter 30 cm

24 diameter 40 cm

12 diameter 50 cm

25 steel tons

13 bar lights

36 meters length

22 meters cantilevered

2 compressed supports

2 stressed supports

And…

a few comments left by residents in the area: -

ubik17 Says:
I like the idea but when it’s raining, waiting the tram under the station will be a problem. The holes on the upper face will allow all the rain water on the waiting people.

asume Says: Mate, it barely rains in Alicante !
JuiceMajor² Says:
How is it supported? Can’t see any structure. Is like it is hovering up in the air! Genius!

Sullka Says:
wow Dezeen….this is so 2 years ago!……excellent project indeed.
JOSHUA Says:
what about a meteoroids, holes will let them through
wartian Says:
rich and emptyness

great!

leopoldo Says:
fantastico:)

muy buen proyecto.

gracias por hacernos la vida mas feliz con obras como estas.

One Says:
This is a knowledge. Worth publishing. Good way to gacefully light the halte and keep the suroudings nice and dark at night. Earthquake does not occure in Spain, right?

Hey all!

After watching a video from mikes blog about mobility in 80 years, it made me think about where architecture will be in that same era! It made me think about how our lives will change... most of us ofcourse will probably be dead by the time that 80 years has come, so i did

some research on future architecture within the next 30-40 years, and its amazing to see how our lives will evolve, wheather we live in a house a flat, a canal boat, and so on.

Environmental- Vincent callebaut and his concept of the Lily pad,

“ as a solution to the alarming problem of global warming creating an ecotectural marvel that will serve as a luxurious future retreat for 50,00

0 inhabitants seeking refuge from rising waters. I believe the world will be desperately seeking shelter from the devastations of climate change, the auto- sufficient amphibious city will serve as a luxurious solution.too bad that right we are close to 7 billion people and this luxurious future retreat is just for 50,000 inhabitants”

“i call this project “Lilypad“, but this ecotectural marvel is also called as “Floating Ecopolis for Climate Refugees”. The whole structure is covered in green walls and roofs, the top portion covered in grasses with the inner portion featuring a palm oasis, and the under portion serving as a bed for natural sea planktons and oceanic plants. Finally if you were already planning to reserve a place to this luxurious future retreat stay calm, i hope that “Floating Ecopolis for Climate Refugees” will make the transition from design to reality around the year 2100”

The Venus Project: Working Toward Sustainable Global Civilization

In order to survive global warming, the growing human population and other challenges in the upcoming centuries, some believe that we must start from scratch with a new model of human civilization that directs our technology and resources toward the positive, for the maximum benefit of the people and the planet. The Venus Project is a vision for a brand new world civilization and redesign of our entire culture. Circular cities with built-in farms and public transit, along with sea cities that can accommodate millions, are just part of this complex and visionary idea to take us “beyond politics, poverty and war”.

Dystopian Farming in Manhattan

Resembling the nest of an insect, the Dystopian Farming project by Eric Vergne combines farms, worker housing and market places, mixing politically opposing classes – farmers and urban consumers. The idea is to reject the romanticizing of food projection and embrace genetic engineering, airoponic watering and nutrient technologies in a fully man-controlled environment in order to meet Manhattan’s food production needs.

Early Stages of Mobility research! Humz...

Hey folks just some definitions i came across while i did early research for the topic! i tried to cut out some words but then decided to paste the original material because otherwise it would not have made sense, most of this is relevent to the social side of mobility! more to come...!

MOBILITY, SOCIAL

The movement of an individual or group from one class or social status to another. Usually, the point of reference is an individual's class or status of social origin and social mobility occurs when later class or status positions differ from those of origin. Social mobility would be high where individuals have equal opportunity to achieve new statuses and low where there are inequalities of opportunity and processes of status ascription. See: DEMAND MOBILITY / OPEN CLASS IDEOLOGY

DEMAND MOBILITY(SOCIAL)

A form of social mobility which takes place over time but which is not caused by individuals ascending or descending in class or status, but rather by changes in the occupational structure of the economy. It results from there being greater demand for some kinds of labour and a shrinking demand for others and not from the openness of the society. In a situation of high demand mobility, with little openness, one might find that workers occupy the same relative positions in social and economic position as their parents although performing quite different kinds of work. See: SOCIAL MOBILITY / .

OPEN CLASS IDEOLOGY(SOCIAL)

This is a component part of liberal ideology : the key claim is that an individual has meaningful opportunity to rise (or fall) in social class and status as a result of personal ability, hard work and individual merit. The concept therefore claims that society's status system is based on achievement and not on ascription. See: SOCIAL MOBILITY / LIBERALISM / .

LIBERALISM

An ideology that upholds private property, individual rights, legal equality, freedom of choice and democratic government. Liberalism suggests that the essence of freedom is to be free from constraint. Liberalism is an ideology that supports capitalism and advocates the principle of free markets, left largely undirected by governments. While liberalism upholds free markets, it also places great value on equal of opportunity and is strongly opposed to ascriptive processes in society, since they restrict individual choice and deny equal access to satisfaction. In the twentieth century, a more active view of the state's role in creating improved equality of opportunity in society became important within liberalism. (This trend in liberalism was also a reaction to the development of trade unions and of socialist and populist movements.) There was a massive expansion in state -provided education, social programs etc. from the end of the 19th century until the 1960's and 1970's. In the 1980's and 1990's a more classical view of liberalism has returned to prominence, one that advocates a much smaller role for the state and increased reliance on the workings of the free market. In making this argument, classical liberals claim that intervention in the market rarely, if ever, promotes choice, but frustrates the market adjustments that ultimately improve efficiency, the wealth of society and the ability of individuals to make choices