PUBLIC MARKS with tags architecture & bidonville

In Comuna 13 of Medellin, Colombia's largest city, a recently built 1,260-foot long escalator snakes across the hillside shantytown in six separate divisions. As part of the neighborhood's larger urban regeneration project, this massive outdoor escalator cuts down the time to traverse Comuna 13, reportedly one of Medellin's poorest and most violent neighborhoods, from 35 minutes to six minutes on foot.

Pour prolonger mes récentes réflexions sur la forme des bidonvilles dans les années à venir (voir là), je voulais vous proposer ces quelques images tirées de l'exceptionnel et passionnant travail conduit par Mikhael Subotzky et Patrick Waterhouse sur la tour Ponte City située au coeur de Johannesburg (Plus de photos, là.)

The results may be primitive by professional standards, and structurally unsound when confronted with hurricanes and earthquakes, but they nevertheless reflect considerable inventiveness and ingenuity in the face of daunting economic and social conditions. Their very existence is a a manifestation of human spirit and community.