Determination post industrial cities: creative play - fast forward Belgrade 2016

Abstract

In the post industrial society of today we are witness to certain rather odd phenomenon: only a handful of industries have survived: high fashion, being one of them, which is interacted with mostly through technological gadgets; over-abundance of information freely offered through the net has disabled our ability to realistically evaluate facts, which often leads to spoiled tourists that have to be catered to through the repackaging of heritage sites found in cities with apps that are hand-held and are used as guides, as they move and search for new experiences that the cities of today have to offer, by competing with each other. In order to save the Cities in this cruel world full of competition, to regain their youthful, fresh and interesting appearances - architects and planners are seeking out the right answers and suggestions on several issues. What should we focus on while re-thinking the City? How can we bring in tourists and investors, can we improve the social frame? How can we regain the pride of the citizen? Perhaps by keeping or restoring their jobs? How can we maintain a creative and enthusiastic attitude under really bad social conditions? This necessary mix with new technologies – does it really improve a city or does it simply disables a city’s ability to move forward? The hypothesis that a mixture of creative industries and new technologies can upgrade weak social structures by providing small jobs and generally revitalising the city – is discussed in this paper. Using Belgrade as a case study, my Master class students attempted to build an integrative platform entitled Bel_app_grade, which will provide necessary big data, all in one place. This work is also about a presentation of their idea. Creative play –the new city of the 21st century is moving at a fast forward pace.