recycling the suburbs

when in the usa it seems suburbia needs to be remade, here we are still anxious to know when the expansion will stop. read a times article, with pictures by brian ulrich

entropy made visible/ james h kunst at TED

we as latinamericans also learn from observation, but it seems that who was observing the "proven" formula of the american suburb was a bit twisted in the way he thought it would help us here. even though our actual economy grew in the past years because of this building boom, there seems to be no thought about the human need for cohesion space and the desire for identification. so where are we going now that there is no turning back?

equilibrio ecológico se tambalea en Nuevo Leon

El crecimiento urbano desordenado ha propiciado conflictos como la remoción de las áreas verdes, la generación de basura, y la contaminación del aire y del agua. continua leyendo aqui.

suburbia mexicana; cause and effect

welcome to the suburbia mexicana blog. after 3 years of creating this project i feel it is also important to share thoughts by other people about this uncontrollable situation that mexico is confronted with. even though my approach to the problems of the new mexican suburban sprawl was at first mainly nourished by the history of photography, it was clear to me that in other to really convey a profound point i would have to not just think aesthetically but also ask questions about why, how and who makes this pattern of growth happen here and abroad.



one of my greatest gains from doing this visual investigation, is the opportunity to actually pursue leads that the actual photographic documentation opened up in the first year of taking pictures, this is, that is was the actual examination of what i found in some of the images i produced that led me to find the next step into the portrayal of the bigger scheme of the situation. after these clues opened up visually, i felt the duty to document myself more and more and be sure that these observations where theoretically and factually correct.



simple i guess, but overwhelming to know that there are answers through the mere act of observation; finding answers by yourself without an intermediate source. for me it was eureka!



so i invite anyone interested in sharing images that deal with our never ending need to sprawl, to email me so we can let the world see and understand things through photography.

alejandro cartagena
halecar@alejandrocartagena.com
may 5th 2009