Dodo has a flexible and open ethos which makes it easy for talk to lead to action. Many of its important projects started out as ideas or visions developed in small discussion groups. The offspring of Dodo include the wind power company Lumituuli Ltd, Manombo Rain Forest Conservation Project and Dodona Combo Discussion Forum Project.
The dodo, our namesake, disappeared long ago, one of the first species known to have become extinct as the result of human activity. But where there’s hope, there’s life. Come and join Dodo and help make the future a living future. For contact details scroll down a bit further – we're flexible about language as well, so if your Finnish isn't brilliant, don't let it put you off.
The Rhythms of the City
Can big things be done in a little time, and will consumption slow down when we slow down? Over the course of 2010 Dodo is thinking about how society’s biggest problems can be solved … we’re looking for the kinds of cities and urban lifestyles that create a pleasant life that’s easy on natural resources.
We’re collecting promising examples of social, technological and organisational practices and thinking about how much time they need before they start making a positive difference.
During its rhythmic theme-year Dodo will be presenting examples of new ways of living, moving and consuming. At the same time we'll ponder the effect of life’s rhythm on prosperity and happiness.
The debate has been kick-started in three discussion groups:
Personal time from the perspective of the individual and the collective. Contact: lotta.suistoranta (at) dodo.org
Global rhythms – examples from cities around the world. Contact: katri.maenpaa (at) dodo.org
Space and movement – the rhythms of urban space and travel. Contact: taika.ilola (at) dodo.org
Some of the overall themes we're thinking about:
From limits to growth to everyday sustainability
Transport, energy supplies and food production and all our routine habits of consumption will look totally different in 50 years.
But how can the enormous things that need to change be changed in such a short period of time, and how do we develop and disseminate solutions to over-consumption, climate change and population growth? And what kinds of changes will a shift from pushing the limits to growth towards a sustainable everyday life mean for urban rhythms of life? Will we stop exhausting resources when we stop exhausting ourselves?
Peak oil in the urban context
Curbing emmissions globally and quickly will require industrial countries to make cuts of up to 40% within a decade, and developing countries will have to change the course of progress and to curtail emmissions.
Crude oil will soon become scarcer and more costly to extract, and the era of cheap oil will be gone for everyone. Uncertainty haunts urban life too, with particular difficulties facing the mega-cities of the global South.
Millions of new city-dwellers
At the same time as the climate and energy crises are intensifying so is urbanisation in the global south. For the first time billions of people will have new opportunities to make money and consume, as well as the possibility to join the ranks of the global educated and information-rich.
And so urbanisation is a hopeful process: cities are places that give birth to novelty.
Membership and Participation
At Dodo we’re not narrow-minded about what kind of expertise can help deliver solutions. You can make an impact with a fork, a bicycle, a blog, in a workshop or at work, whether it's in a courtyard in Kallio or in a forest in Madagascar. You can join us at any time and get involved in discussion groups, urban warlks or work-parties or “talkoot”.
Join us by
Subscribing to an email list
• About once a week Dodo-lista provides you with a timetable of upcoming events
• Send a message to listamuutos(at)dodo.org. Include the email address to which you want the information to be sent
Join our web community
• Sign up to be a user of dodo.org
• Join Dodo’s facebook-group
Come and meet us
• Explore Dodo groups. Contact the person responsible for the one(s) you’re interested in and come to a meeting. IN MOST GROUPS YOU’LL FIND THAT PARTICIPANTS SWITCH TO ENGLISH IF THERE ARE ANY NON-FINNISH SPEAKERS.
• Come and find us at an event. Grab a dodo by the sleeve and take it from there.
Join Dodo.ry
• Pay your subscription direct into the Dodo account: Nordea 155530-101759 and fill in the membership form on this link.
• Ordinary membership is 25 euros. Students, pensioners, unemployed people and school students pay 15 euros. How cheap is that! Membership is paid annually, but if you want to support us with more, feel free to pay the supporting membership, 100 euros.
Come and join us! You can take part in different activities as it suits your rhythms and interests.
NEWS • 19.01.2010 – 13:59
Dodo was recognised for its efforts to create urban, resident-centred and ecological cities
The Finnish Association of Architects, SAFA, awarded its award for sustainable development, the TunnustusPAANU (or Roof shingle award …) on Monday 8.1.2010 to Dodo. The TunnustusPAANU was a recognition of Dodo’s work towards creating urban, resident-centred and ecological cities.
“Over recent years public debate on planning for ecological sustainability has concentrated almost exclusively on energy efficiency. Dodo has brought a healthy dose of a more humanist approach to this technologically biased conversation and opened up new vistas for urban planning”, said EKO-SAFA’s chair, Anneli Lyytikkä.
Dodo’s Urban Group, Megapolis and its Wiki-planning were commended
SAFA applauded Dodo’s urban group’s activities and its various projects around Finland aimed at creating cities that are urban, resourceful and stimulating and that respect ecological processes. These have pondered how a socially functional and aesthetically pleasing urban environment can be created without forgetting ecological conditions, and how solutions for the built environment affect economic capacity, people’s social relationships and experience of their surroundings.
The Megapolis events organised by Dodo in partnership with others were mentioned as examples of visible and effective actions, as were Dodo’s efforts to encourage local residents to involve themselves in planning alongside official experts. As an example they mentioned Wiki-planning, a tool for incorporating the hopes of residents into the planning process.
The award is a hand-whittled roof shingle from the old church in Tyrvää, preserved with artisan-produced tar. The prize is designed to draw attention to a good example of sustainable development in construction and to boost discussion about ecological building practices.