Pollution returns in Bologna: why and when
46 years after the event, it’s time to reconsider the accusation made by Pollution, asking where we are right now and where we will be in another 46 years. The issues addressed then are still valid today, but with a new consciousness. It is time to change the way we think of pollution, going beyond the dichotomy of man versus nature or environment generated by the capitalist model, not for merely ideological or ecological reasons but to underline the new relationship between man and nature, for it is only by establishing synergy between the two systems that we will be able to generate a stable, balanced ecosystem. This is why it will be so important to talk to the new generations, who have an immediate relationship with technology and are aware that nature is variable, depending on human decisions. We began with an aesthetic of pollution, but we have not yet come to an aesthetic of ecology.
Mario Cucinella – SOS Founder and President
The challenge facing Pollution 2018 is indicating new paths for working in today’s more fragile urban settings, offering technically appropriate solutions which respect the stratification that has produced them and is capable of promoting environmental quality and comfort. The vision of the future, the evolution of our perception of the risks inherent in pollution and the need to re-establish a balanced relationship with nature will be the key elements of the event, with a special focus on the point of view of the new generations, who have an immediate relationship with technology and view nature as a variable which is dependent on human decisions or failure to act.
The young professionals of the post-graduate school called SOS School of Sustainability, founded in Bologna by Mario Cucinella, have been entrusted with the task of expressing the themes of Pollution 2018. The method adopted in the study programme and SOS’s holistic approach to issues of sustainability are useful tools for building a project combining education, research and professional practice.
This experience will take the form of a laboratory for sharing and listening, with multiple voices, with the participation of the Iris Ceramica Group, SOS School of Sustainability, Laboratorio delle Idee, students from the Bologna International School, Ascolto Attivo and experts from other disciplines, each of whom will bring their own know-how and way of perceiving and experiencing urban space to the project.
The work team has traced a path beginning with the act of accusation that characterised the first edition of Pollution and continuing in search of new tools that will permit responsible, shared, participatory use of urban space as a place for reconstructing the bonds between man and nature.
