Our "Dumpster Diving" post last week about construction dumpsters in Brooklyn that have been converted into swimming pools prompted a flurry of discussion about towns, cities, suburbs, and the appropriate (and inappropriate) reuse of everything from space to plumbing. Some of my favorite comments had to do with childhood recollections of similar things ("G" said "when i was a kid huge trucks would pull up at the schools to be used as pools for a week. They were great, just don’t remember them being all that clean!" - awesome), ideas for new businesses ("Jen" said "It would be awesome to have a ‘rent a pool’ service where you could get one for a weekend bash" - uh, yeah it would), and using the pools to help rehab large animals ("Davi-May" said "I will be forwarding this information to a friend who has an animal sanctuary in Kingman AZ. lastchanceranchsanctuary.org. She has some differently-abled animals that would enjoy the movement and size of aquatic adventure." - love it!).

 

It also prompted a lot of back and forth between me and Jocko Weyland, 1/3 of Macro-Sea along with David Belt and Alix Feinkind, the group responsible for the project. Our discussions ran from whether or not Macro-Sea was interested in being interviewed by the numerous television stations that had contacted Readymade about the project ("No") or the radio stations that were interested in the story ("Yes") to setting up a date for my visit (next week I'm hoping - stay tuned for my update from swimming in the dumpsters next Tuesday).

 

 

This morning I found a particularly exciting email in my in-box from Jocko with the simple message, "hello Andrew-----------here’s something to watch....." Below Jocko's message was this note from filmmaker Kelly Loudenberg:

 

"Hello, I just finished this short doc as part of a series I am doing for Babelgum.com. The series, New Urbanism, looks at projects that attempt to create a more playful, imaginative, and sustainable city. This one is about swimming pools made out of trash dumpsters in an empty parking lot next to the Gowanus Canal. Check it out and pass it around please.

 

http://www.babelgum.com/3022110/new-urbanism-3-dumpster-pools.html

 

Well, needless to say, I couldn't wait to check it out and when I did, I wasn't disappointed. The short is an amazing look into how the dumpster pool project came together (and may even give you a better sense of where exactly they are) but much like the dumpster pools themselves, it's part of a bigger project.

 

 

Call me a neophyte, but I was somehow unaware of Babelgum. Assuming that some of you may also be neophytes when it comes to the wide, wide world of the web, Babelgum describes its content as "global web-video curated by our team of publishers. Individually they are experts, together they are Babelgum." Alright, so what does that mean exactly? Well, what it means, according to the site, is that "Babelgum's goal is to act as an international 'glue', bringing a huge range of professional and semi-professional content to a global audience—like a modern-day Tower of Babel. The bubble logo is a fun visual pun on the company name, but also reflects Babelgum's commitment to a green, global future."

 

So, I am totally on-board for all of this—the site is divided into channels; comedy, film, music, metropolis, and our earth—but my reason for coming to the site was the video of the dumpster pools. And, I was treated to a great surprise when I learned that the dumpster pool video was not just a one-off but part of a larger series on the "our earth" channel dedicated to "New Urbanism."

 

When the term "New Urbanism" comes up most people probably think of neatly manicured lawns and white picket fences whose style gently mimics idealistic towns from yester-year. But Loudenberg and Babelgum are providing a whole new spin on the idea.

 

 

Babelgum describes the New Urbanism series of videos as "exploring transformed spaces, imaginative urban living, and sustainability. Over the next 10 weeks we'll be featuring some of the most innovative and spectacular art, design and architecture projects in the world."

 

 

And that it is. Loudenberg herself says the series provides a look at a way to rethink your everyday environment, to explore "what's on the edge, new ways to make space more playful, more imaginative." The dumpster pool video is the third in the series that was proceeded by "New York City's Waterpod"

 

 

 

and "Rooftop Farming" and will be followed by "Public Farm 1: Urban Farms and Fun Outdoor Spaces," "Vertical Garden: By Award Winning Architect Patrick Blanc," and "Refunc: Making art from disused windmill blades."

 

 

There's even more on the site, with great links to places like the Manhattan Rooftop Garden Project where you'll find a handy how-to on creating your own garden up on the roof. So keep your eye out in the coming weeks for more from Loudenberg and Babelgum on new and creative ways to redefine your environment and make your town, city or suburb a little bit better and a lot more fun!