On June 27th, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African-American Culture hosted Dr. Mindy Thomspn Fullilove, author of Urban Alchemy: Restoring Joy in America’s Sorted-Out Cities, to come and speak. In case you missed it, you can watch the video on Ustream or YouTube. You can also view the flyer for the event for additional information.
In the book, Dr. Fullilove, Professor of Clinical Sociomedical Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University and Public Director of the American Institute of Architects, “takes readers on a tour of successful collaborative interventions that repair cities and reconnect communities to make them whole.” She does this using nine elements of restoration:
- Keep the whole city in mind
- Find what you’re FOR
- Make a mark
- Unpuzzle the fractured space
- Unslum all neighborhoods
- Create meaningful places
- Strengthen the region
- Show solidarity with all life
- Celebrate your accomplishments
Urban Alchemy is also one of the textbooks being used in Georgia Tech’s Semester in the City: Engaging Westside Communities.
In her talk at AARL, which hosts regular arts and literature events, Dr. Fullilove asserts that despite the working assumption in our society, we are not in competition, and need to learn to build trust, build teams, and cooperate. Pick up the book at Charis Books and More and find out how you can join in the collaborative and help us go “From Chaos to Communication”.