Bubble Trouble – We have to talk!
Team
Name: Bruno Weitkamp
Nationality: German
Institution / Company:
Name: Till Bäumer-Kern
Nationality: German
Institution / Company:
Name: Linus Baumhove
Nationality: German
Institution / Company:
-FINALIST of Street of Tomorrow Competition
Algorithms striving for our attention alongside an overconsumption of (especially ‚social’) media have put us into filter bubbles and echo chambers. Also, problems such as false balance, the power of fake news and a wide spread of alternative facts, increased significantly. These trends have become a serious threat for democracy and social stability.
In history, public space, especially in an urban environment, has always been the main place for social interaction, no matter if conflict, discussion or celebration. The awareness of one another that is created there is an important quality for a stable and resilient society.
We imagine the street of tomorrow as a public space that opens a stage for the whole society and an important melting pot of people of diverse age, sex, ethnicity and political conviction. May they no longer just mainly be roads for traffic, but rather a space for a strongly increased mobility of opinions and arguments. Roundabouts, currently hotspots for traffic, could therefore transform into local councils, creating places for everybody to interact with each other and bring the culture of discussion back into public space. Thus, people get out of their personal bubble and conflicts take place in a more personal, human setting again.
#public space, pedestrianization and street front #mobility of opinions and arguments #the political citizen #pluralistic society #discursive traffic
