Contents:

1-4 The Urban Activist 5-8 Architects As Agents For The People 9 Notes 10 Appendix - 2427 Calculations 11-16 - - Pecha Kucha 17 Bibliography - Books 18 - - Videos 19 - - Websites 20 - - Images

A short study into the architectural benefits of Urban Activism in the City and how Architectural practices may find benefit from adopting similar methodologies themselves

The Urban Activist and AgencyA study of the Lima 2427 project

Fig. 1

Lima, the Capital of Peru, is located on the West coast of South America Bordering with Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Chile

Project 2427, was based in Lima, Peru as a political statement to help restart the Citys failed Met-ro Network scheme. It was cre-ated by Camila Bustamante, a young graphic designer from the city who was studying for her MA in the Sandberg Institute in the Netherlands1. She had learned of the failed project and of its potential benefits to the city from growing up beside

the incomplete pylon towers lining many of the streets in her district.

Lima is a city of buses, how-ever the rapidly increasing population and increased de-pendence on the existing slow transport system called for a new and more modernised sys-tem to be introduced. The Met-ro and Electric Train (Tren Elc-

trico) (Fig. 2) were designed in 1985 by a German engineering firm2 under the instruction of Pe-rus President Alan Garca who served his initial term as presi-dent for 5 years until 1990. His first term in office coincided with an economic crisis and hyperinfla-tion. After he left office the Tren Elctrico became a forgotten project with just 9.8 kilometres of one of the nine proposed lines

completed - The original esti-mation of a completion date had been 20113. The failure of the project, though never an-nounced officially, was blamed upon corrupt officials and the financial crisis.

The Urban Activist 1

Fig. 2

Camila Bustamante took it upon herself to act as an Agent between the Government and the People, she aimed to draw the failed project back into the minds of the people and to work to support human rights in democracy. She designed informative street signage and tourist guides to draw attention to the political injustices inflict-ed upon the people of Lima.

(Future Practice: Conversations from the Edge of Architecture, Rory Hyde, - The Urban Activist, Camila Bustamante para. 4).

Camila gathered information regarding existing progress and calculated that at the current progress of construction, the seven key lines would not be completed until 2427. This be-came the driving key point for

her project. (See Appendix)

The above slogans in Figures 3, 4 and 5 (Soar no cuesta nada / El Tren Elctrico est en mar-cha / Ms vale tarde que nun-ca!) translate as To dream costs nothing / The Electric Train is on its way / Better late than never!4. These are some of the graphics produced by Cami-la and a University colleague

Daniela Carvalho5 in her fiction-al tourist guide and indicates the type of clear points she was making. She also created ad-hesive vinyl street signs with the names of the proposed stations and their estimated completion dates relative to their location along the lines which she af-fixed to appropriate visual lo-cations. These were accompa-nied by links to her then website

Fig. 3

Fig. 4 Fig. 5

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www.lima2427.pe which has since been removed by Cami-la for self-protection reasons due to the still unstable political system she was provoking - She also received warnings from passers-by who advised her to be careful.6 The website originally contained detailed information regarding the cal-culation dates of the station completion dates as well as of-

fering a forum for residents of the city to voice their opinions regarding the topic.

Although Camila never re-ceived any contact from an-yone within Government, she was noticed by the media who spoke about her and inter-viewed her in several news re-ports, even displaying some of her leaflets and guides7.

This sparked many further re-investigations by other media sources, many of which are documented and available from Camilas Facebook sub-page, tren elctrico which follows major events related to the metro.

The government, with a recently re-elected Garca, announced that the work on the lines was

to be restarted, although they did not explain that Camilas publications increasing public awareness had been a driving factor in applying the pressure to the government to take ac-tion. The plans however were doctored to only include the one line that was already un-der progress (at half the original proposed length) and the fur-ther eight lines were not men-

Fig. 6 Fig. 7

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tioned. Garca insisted that the Linea 1 would be completed by 2011, and although it did be-come operational in 2011 the line is presently only 21.5km long (2013) and has one further sta-tion to construct El ngel, near the city centre.8

Further media pressure, driven in part by 2427, continues to date and the second half of the

original Linea 1 has been an-nounced to extend the line to San Juan de Lurigancho, which although originally intended in the 1985 plan, was introduced as a brand-new proposal to show the Governments active intentions This is due to be completed in December. Simi-larly the re-new-announcement of the Linea 2 is due to be start-ed in 2016 and a Masterplan has

been announced redisplaying 5 of the original proposed lines as part of a new plan.

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Fig. 8 1985 9-Line proposal Fig. 9 2005 7-Line proposal Fig. 10 2010 5-Line proposal

Camila Bustamante has been termed as an Architectural Ac-tivist9, this is due to her work to develop the urban environment and to address political inequal-ities with the people. Her work is of good example to Architec-tural practices, demonstrating how they can work to improve spaces for people regardless of politics and bureaucracy. Al-though the lack of apparent fi-

nancial incentive may dissuade the majority of practices, it is possible to include such work in a project brief for a client.

For example, an Architect is re-quested by a client to construct a shopping centre or com-mercial business that depends upon high levels of pedestrian trade and good connections with the city. However the site

was proposed at one of the in-complete metro stations iden-tified by Camila. The Architect could recommend to the client that they design a scheme sim-ilar to that of Camilas in order to aim to accelerate the con-struction of the line, so that the financial future of the shopping centre may be more profitable. The effects may not be seen in-stantly due to the bureaucracy

required in the construction of complex transport infrastruc-ture, but the potential future connection would provide greater aspirations. The client may be interested to finance or sponsor such activities that the Architecture practice could of-fer as an additional service. By working in this way the Archi-tect mediates as an Agent be-tween the interest of the Client

Architects as Agents for the People 5

Fig. 11

and the Government, however the issues related to this are that the Client may have objectives that are not beneficial to the people and may place corpo-rate success over citywide de-velopment.

2427 was conducted in the manner it was due to polit-ical risk, as a result Camila Bustamante, worked unpaid

and in the background in her efforts to develop Lima, this was in part due to the evident dangers of undertaking govern-ment subterfuge in Peru at that time. The difficult political situa-tion meant that she was at risk of drawing too much attention to herself during the early stag-es of the project.However, now that Camila has raised her public profile and

can work in relative safety in a progressively stabilising country, she has now adopted a new ap-proach to improving the urban mobility of Lima; Developed from her ideas regarding 2427, she has scaled up her work to a city planning level. Her latest objective aims to identify oth-er less obvious issues within the city of Lima that she believes can be best identified by the

citizens of the city. Her work is now sponsored by the Peruvian Government by form of a Gen-eral Public License.10

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Fig. 12

Her latest website www.datea.pe (formerly www.todosso-mosdateros.pe) is a data col-lection website where citizens can create an account and map and log data related to ur-ban mobility online. This allows citizens to perform their own 2427 projects and generate on-line discussions regarding issues within the city that could poten-tially be addressed to improve

la calidad de vida de las personas y sus comunidades (The quality of life of the peo-ple and their communities).11 This website was a direct de-velopment from her successful Facebook subpage tren elc-trico where she discovered that people would post information about other issues that they believed to be of concern as well as show support and sug-

gest ideas for her 2427 project. Datea also gives local govern-ments the ability to view the in-formation provided by the citi-zens which gives them a direct public connection.This could be a very useful meth-od for Masterplanners to re-ap-propriate for their own projects when assessing and studying a city for development sugges-tions to include in their urban

strategy. Often local knowl-edge has a far greater under-standing of urban spaces than that of the external observer. In the majority of countries around the world, Architects would not be at risk when confronting gov-ernment policies and inefficien-cies. A website similar to Datea could be easily set up and pub-licised by an architectural firm on behalf of a client to be able

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Fig. 13 Fig. 14

to heighten public awareness of the project and give citizens a chance to voice ideas and opinions as part of an ongoing public consultation. This could provide vital extra information that could work to truly make a difference to the lives of individ-uals.

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Fig. 15

All translations in this document are by the Author

1 http://camilabustamante.tumblr.com/ [22/11/13]2 http://limametro.blogspot.co.uk/2009_09_01_archive.html Perfil del Plan Aleman para el tendido de Lneas de Tren Ligero en la Gran Lima [22/11/13]3 http://limametro.blogspot.co.uk/2009_09_01_archive.html En este rgimen no Habr tren elctico [22/11/13]4 Translation by Author5 Credited as Illustrator in original artwork displayed on the Tren Elctrico Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/photo. php?fbid=165598963974&set=a.165594768974.150758.153356798974&type=3&theater [23/11/13]6 Future Practice: Conversations from the Edge of Architecture, Rory Hyde (2012), - The Urban Activist, Camila Bustamante un der interview with Rory Hyde7 News report by a national Peruvian news company: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07YEtB9v-C8 [23/11/13]8 2013 Article relating to existing works and future proposed works on the Lima Metro system http://www.tunneltalk.com/Peru- 06Mar13-Request-for-qualifiers-issued-for-Lima-metro-Line-2-and-Line-4-airport-extension.php [23/11/13]9 By Rory Hyde, Future Practice: Conversations from the Edge of Architecture, Rory Hyde (2012), - The Urban Activist, Camila Bustamante10 Translated from Spanish by the Author at http://www.todossomosdateros.pe/acerca/datea/11 Quote from www.datea.pe Translations by Author

Notes 9

Appendix

If in 18 years they have constructed 9.8 kilometres1 kilometre takes 1.84 years1km = 1 year, 10 months and 3 days

Estimated total completion of (the 2005 version of) the 5 lines in 2427

Camilas calculations for future station completion date estimates

Fig. 16

Fig. 17

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Appendix

Pecha Kucha Presentation

1. Intro Slide 2. Better late than never! The electric train is on its way. This project, documented in the book, Fu-ture Practice: Conversations on the edge of Architecture, is related to a failed urban transport system which was started and then ground to a halt. This project looks at how it was brought back into public conscious-ness and how this contributed towards restarting construction.

3. Peru is located on the West side of South America. Lima, the capital, is located on the coast. Lima is a rapidly developing city which currently relies on a series of complex and slow bus routes around the city. The rapid expansion of the population requires a new more efficient transport system.

4. In 1985, a scheme was commissioned by the Peruvian government to design a proposed metro network for the city. The design they developed included a total of nine lines that create a fluid and fast movement route. The metro would allow the more distant districts to become less isolated and have a better links to the rest of the city.

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Appendix

5. Alan Garcia was the figurehead of the project, he became president in 1985 and the metro network was his first major project, however due to a severe financial recession the project was halted before it became operational. Garcia left office in 1990 and the project was all but forgotten about. Garcia was re-elected in 2006 but showed no initial interest in restarting the project.

6. In 2005, the proposal was revisited and refined to just 7 lines of which only seven stations of line one had been built. The project still went nowhere. In 2010 after the public interest was re-found, the network was reduced to only 5 lines. Now in 2013, 16 stations have been built and the initial route is actually operational.

7. Camila Bustamante is a Peruvian Graphic Designer originally from the city, during her Masters course in the Netherlands, she decided to develop her project around trying to re-communicate the failed promises of the Lima metro network to the people. She hoped that the project may be restarted and that the people may finally be able to see its benefits.

8. Camila found that in 18 years only 9.8 kilometres had been built, she calculated that if work continued at the current progress the metro network would not be completed until 2427, she furthered her calculations to estimate the individual completion dates of each of the stations.

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Appendix

9. This cartoon highlights the negative public view of the project and depicts Garcia becoming fatter over time and his transport minister changing but barely any change to the metro network. This harsh reality, due in part to government corruption and the financial crisis, does not seem optimistic.

10. Camila used her graphic design skills to create leaflets which resembled metro guides, her clev-er subtle tactics used in the document include the inclusion of the proposed network as well as proposed timetables and her estimated completion dates for all the stations laid out along a timeline. The leaflet portrayed the metro as an essential for the city that the people were being denied.

11. In order to address as wide an audience as possible, Camila travelled to each proposed station and affixed a sign to each depicting the future station name and the date that it was predicted to be completed. The graphics also included a link to her website which provided people with all the further information available on the leaflet. As well as updates on the progress of the metro.

12. Public awareness quickly became more pronounced as Camila worked hard to distribute her leaflets and posters around the city, people had become so used to the unfinished construction works that they had almost forgotten what the project was even for. Camilas propaganda became a new point of discussion amongst the citizens.

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Appendix

13. 2427 became increasingly more discussed, even given several features on the national news channel, they featured Camilas propaganda and included an interview with her where she discussed her actions and objectives. The news company also interviewed both Garcia and the Transport minister whom seemed taken aback by her estimate and assured the public that the completion date would not be so

14. After the interviews, public pressure rose, and shortly after in 2010 works were back underway with renewed drive behind the project. Work focused on continuing Line One to make it operational as soon as possible, however work also began on the raised track required for Line Two which would connect the centre of the city to Lurigancho in the North.

15. The Metro on Line one became operational in 2012, however the final station of the first part of Line one that terminates in the city centre (El ngel) is not yet complete missing a key transport destination. The Northern portion of the rest of Line one including El ngel is expected to be completed in 2014.

16. How can Camilas work be useful to Architects? One example would be if you were asked to design a Shopping centre at the city centre next to El ngel station, the shopping centre may well be interested in funding work like Camilas in order to increase public frequency to the area in as short a time as possible. Architects could offer propaganda as an additional service to their clients.

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Appendix

17. However there are moral issues involved for the Architect, as what is best for the company may not be so beneficial on the city scale, although increasing the metro network for the people is a good thing, the company may be criticised for prioritising its own interests and may be accused of not wishing to aid the taxpayer in financing the station.

18. Marcus Westbury worked on a scheme in Australia called Renew Newcastle, this non-profit organisation (like Camilas) negotiated free 30 day rents for the local creative community to occupy other-wise empty spaces in an attempt to revitalise the area. He was paid by subsequent cities to work with them, but he found that he could not work objectively and could not achieve the same results.

19. Camila also found this an issue an devised a website called todos somos dateros which allows all Lima residents to have access to information about public mobility projects around the city, it allows them to document information and suggest future development ideas which are all open to discussion with other site-users.

20. This could perhaps be a useful tool for the Millbay project and allowing the general public to discuss existing transport issues in the area and suggest alternative ideas which may be of benefit to the city. Despite best efforts, an outside view accompanied by statistical information does not provide true site knowledge as is available from local residents.

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Appendix

21. If expanded outside Millbay to the rest of the city, current transport issues such as the conversion of the airport into housing could also become more openly discussed as it is the view of some that Plymouth should not lose its airport despite it not being financially viable at this given time.

Pecha Kucha presentation was presented on the 2nd of September 2013 by Ben Pitcher to the Mas-ters of Architecture stage 1 Professional Practice Module

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Bibliography

Books:

Awan, N., Schneider, T., Till, J., Spatial Agency Other ways of Doing Architecture, [2011] Routledge, Oxford

Harvey, D., The Urban Sociology Reader edited by Jan Lin, Christopher Mele - pp 429-432 (The right to the city from International Journal of Urban and Regional Research [2012] Routledge, Urban Reader Series

Hyde, R., Future Practice -Conversations from the Edge of Architecture [2012] Routledge, Oxford

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Bibliography

Videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOGvLIcBhT4 Buenda, S., News report for Willax Televisin (2012) by Silvio Buenda, [speaking about the construction in progress of the Northern section of Linea 1 and its potential benefits in San Juan de Lurigancho] (Spanish) - Tren electric de San Juan de Lurigancho listo para el 2014

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92zGVUsmVjU Buenda, S., News report for Willax Televisin (2012) by Silvio Buenda, [speaking about the construction in progress of the Northern section of Linea 1 and its potential benefits in San Juan de Lurigancho] (Spanish) - Tren Electrico: el megaprojecto vial de SJL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzSgNDoc77A Buenda, S., News report for Willax Televisin (2013) by Silvio Buenda, [speaking about the increase in the rate of construction of the Lima Metro] (Spanish) Obras del Metro impresionan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzNCbILEUY4 Bustamante, C., Presentation of Todos Somos Dateros by Camila Bustamante at the International Seminar for Urban Mobility and Good Governing (2010) (Spanish) Todos Somos Dateros

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLRlzloONe8 Bustamante, C., The adhesion of station signs and dispersal of leaflets by Camila (2009) - Proxima estacion / Lima 2427

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oyUxpP9Ano&feature=player_embedded Garca, A., Alan Garca opening a new station in Lima (2010) (Spanish) - Garca; Tren Electrico sera la base del futuro Metro de Lima

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07YEtB9v-C8 Hidalgo, C., et al. News Report for local news company including an interview with Camila Bustamante, a display of her graphical work and a summary of existing progress (Spanish) - Tren Electrico Lima 2427

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Websites:

- Cali75, http://cali75.tumblr.com/post/508601295/lima2427 Soar no cuesta nada: Tren Elctrico Lima 2427 [Accessed 23/11/2013]- Datea, http://www.datea.pe/ Formally www.todossomosdateros.pe [Accessed 22/11/2013]- El Comercio, http://elcomercio.pe/lima/674643/noticia-ministro-cornejo-obras-tren-electrico-estan-avanzadas-87 Ministro Cornejo: Las obras del Tren Elctrico estn avanzadas en un 87% [Accessed 24/11/2013]- Fbrica de ideas, http://www.fabricadeideas.pe/blog/2009/09/page/2/ [Accessed 24/11/2013]- Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/pages/tren-el%C3%A9ctrico/153356798974 Tren Elctrico [Accessed 22/11/2013]- Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/somosdateros/info Todos Somos Dateros [Accessed 22/11/2013]- Lima 2427, http://www.lima2427.pe No longer accessible, but previous website of Camila Bustamante- Linea Uno, http://www.lineauno.pe/estaciones.php Estaciones [Accessed 23/11/2013]- Metro de Lima, http://limametro.blogspot.co.uk/2009_09_01_archive.html Metro de Lima (Horizonte 2025) [Accessed 22/11/2013]- Metro de Lima, http://limametro.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/linea-2-del-metro-de-lima-se.html Lnea 2 del Metro de Lima se con cesionar en Segundo semestere [Accessed 22/11/2013]- Metro de Lima, http://www.aate.gob.pe/metro-de-lima/ Metro De Lima [Accessed 22/11/2013]- Participa Peruanos en Europa, http://participape.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/el-tren-electrico-en-lima-2427/ El tren electric en Lima 2427 [Accessed 22/11/2013]- Peru.com, http://www.peru.com/noticias/portada20090912/54955/Lima-contara-.. Lima contar con el Tren Elctrico en el 2427, segn diseadora Camila Bustamante [Accessed 22/11/2013]- Transporte Per, http://transporteperu.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/lima-2427/ Lima 2427 [Accessed 22/11/13]- Tumblr, http://camilabustamante.tumblr.com/ Camila Bustamante [Accessed 23/11/2013]- Tunnel Talk, http://www.tunneltalk.com/Peru-06Mar13-Request-for-qualifiers-issued-for-Lima-metro-Line-2-and-Line-4-airport-ex tension.php Lima RFQ for 35km of underground metro [Accessed 23/11/2013]- Cargo Collective, http://cargocollective.com/genuinefake/Re-Imagining-the-City-Forum Lima 2427 [Accessed 24/11/2013]- El Comercio, http://elcomercio.pe/lima/482456/noticia-no-hay-trenes-tren-electrico No hay suficientes trenes para el Tren Elc trico [Accessed 24/11/2013]

Bibliography 19

Bibliography

Images:

Cover Image Afiche Lima 2427, Concepto y diseo: Camila Bustamante. Ilustracin: Daniela Carvalho, https://scontent-a-lhr. xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/8225_165598963974_353157_n.jpgTitle Image Poster near the site of a proposed station. Credit of photo to Milena Carranza, https://fbcdn-sphotos-f-a.akamai hd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/8225_160536023974_3942172_n.jpgFig. 1 Map of Peru, http://www.ruaf.org/sites/default/files/images/map%20lima.JPGFig. 2 1985 proposed Lima Metro Network, http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GC2UDLW7e6k/SsKmRQZc1oI/AAAAAAAABVU/ bD7TM2x3DIQ/s1600-h/Estudio+alemanes+2003.jpgFig. 3 To dream costs nothing http://cali75.tumblr.com/post/508601295/lima2427Fig. 4 The electric train is on its way http://lh5.ggpht.com/_EnyNlbQJ_0s/SqnKV-_0iqI/AAAAAAAABn4/NVME4w 2w5Ys/2009-09-10-225130_thumb%5B1%5D.pngFig. 5 Better late than never http://participape.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/tren-lima.jpg?w=425&h=430Fig. 6 Camila applying Sucre 2173 at the proposed station site, image from Lima 2427 video at http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=xz_r0jC-_8A Fig. 7 News report with Camila, the Transport Minister and the President, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07YEt B9v-C8 Fig. 8 1985 Metro Map http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_GC2UDLW7e6k/SsKmRQZc1oI/AAAAAAAABVU/bD7TM2x3DIQ/s400/ Estudio+alemanes+2003.jpgFig. 9 2005 Metro Map http://www.esacademic.com/pictures/eswiki/82/Redtrenurbanolima.jpgFig. 10 2010 Metro Map http://www.aate.gob.pe/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/RED-BASICA-DEL-METRO-550ppp1.jpgFig. 11 Public Audience, https://www.facebook.com/pages/tren-el%C3%A9ctrico/153356798974Fig. 12 Currently completed metro line (2013) http://transporteperu.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/lima-2427/Fig. 13 Todos Somos Dateros, http://transparenciatic.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/captura-de-pantalla-2011-05-16-a- las-15-12-14.png?w=540&h=286Fig. 14 Image by author, inspired by Fig. 13Fig. 15 Construction Images from https://www.facebook.com/pages/tren-el%C3%A9ctrico/153356798974Fig. 16 Calculation, http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l0mc5qeaMz1qa8bzw.pngFig. 17 Construction estimated timeline, https://www.facebook.com/pages/tren-el%C3%A9ctrico/153356798974

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Ben Pitcher - 10205005 - Plymouth University - Masters of Architecture - Professional Studies 408