Van Alen Institute's upcoming "Elsewhere" initiative explores escapism in the urban experience

The Van Alen Institute announced on Oct. 17 the upcoming launch of "Elsewhere", a multi-year initiative that will explore escapism in the contemporary urban environment. The community-centric initiative will consist of design competitions, various public programs, and research focusing on the multiplex aspects of escape — and how the findings from these investigations can create room for innovation and improvement in planning, design, and policy.

The kickoff for "Elsewhere" will officially begin on Nov. 12 through Nov. 17, with four days of public programs throughout New York City. 

Registration is required for all kickoff events, as space will be limited. You can register here starting Oct. 22. Except for the Nov. 12 event, all events are free of charge.

Below is some more info we received from VAI:

From the VAI press release:

"Van Alen Institute, an organization dedicated to advancing innovation in architecture and urban design, today announced the launch of Elsewhere: Escape and the Urban Landscape, a multi-year inquiry that will explore the experience of escape in the urban environment. The new initiative will kick off on Tuesday, November 12, with a festival-style week of public programs throughout New York City.

Elsewhere is comprised of competitions, public programs, and research that investigate key questions of the contemporary urban experience: How and why do we escape from urban life? What prompts us to escape to the city? What forms of escape can we find within the urban environment? And how might the experience of going “elsewhere” contribute to our well-being? The Institute will use this process to expand its focus to the patchwork of suburban, semi-urban, and rural landscapes around cities to better understand the complexities of the extended urban environment, acting beyond the confines of the city and across regions.

“Elsewhere will explore a diverse range of issues through the lens of both physical and mental escape,” said Van Alen Institute Executive Director David van der Leer. “Maintaining a highly interdisciplinary spirit, we will touch on topics from vacancy and population loss to recreation in the city, access to green space, the psychological and sensory effects of urbanization, and more.”

Elsewhere will examine how both the form and organization of the built environment influence our need for escape. As part of this initiative, the Institute’s design competitions, research investigations, and public events will leverage partnerships to connect key issues in architecture, design, and planning with insights from fields including public health, technology, economics, and sociology. These collaborations will seek to spark innovations in design, planning, and policy to enhance well-being; ensure balanced and equitable urban transition and growth; and increase urban mobility and access.

Van Alen Institute will kick off Elsewhere with four days of festival-style programs, running from November 12–17, 2013, at the Institute and select venues throughout New York City. Program collaborators include Performa, ISSUE Project Room, Cohabitation Strategies, Columbia University Astronomy Outreach, and Columbia University School of the Arts. With offerings including performances, conversations, tours, installations, and workshops, the fall lineup will engage a diverse range of topics to provoke, enlighten, question, and critically examine the ideas of Elsewhere.

The new initiative builds on the Institute’s nearly 120-year history of investigating the complex challenges facing cities and regions in the United States and abroad..."

For complete info, click here.