Urban Acupuncture 48222

Abstract

History has shown that there are moments in time when a product, service or movement crosses a threshold and grows exponentially, like a contagious epidemic, from the smallest yet vastly important of influences or events. Similarly, cities experience a parallel process. In the contemporary vernacular, epidemic carries with it a negative connotation, referring to disease, infection or contamination. In reality, it refers to a means or method of transmission, in particular a rapid spread, growth or development. In the manner that an outbreak can rapidly expand into prosperity, its decline can trend similarly and in some cases take an even faster path into deprivation. Throughout Europe and the United States, cities once dominated by manufacturing and production have become recognized for their unusual urban fabric due to deindustrialization and suburban sprawl. More notably, cities in the Rust Belt region of America experienced massive growth in the early twentieth century followed by rapid population reductions and urban depletion since the 1950’s. The cause of these trends tend to be intangible, rooted in communication, cultural, political and social issues, while the impact is typically reflected in the physical surroundings, vis-a-vis decaying architecture, infrastructure and the natural environment of the modern city. Arguably, Detroit has experienced these problems the hardest. In his book Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell goes into great detail to explain how little things can provide huge epidemics (both good and bad) on social behaviors and preferences. For example, in 1994, Hush Puppies footwear hit a tipping point when a group of kids from the East Village, New York started wearing the shoes to bars and clubs, not in an attempt to make a fashion statement, but because no one else was wearing them. Fashion designers, photographers and artists took note and the soon-to-be-phased out shoe line was revived, with sales growing from thirty thousand to nearly two million within two years. The concept of small influences having large, beneficial impacts is suggestive to acupunctural healing techniques. By metaphorically adopting the fundamental principles of acupuncture and applying it to the city and its infrastructure, small, precise interventions in the urban body could potentially revive the relationship between Detroit and Windsor and its social disconnection.