A Discussion with Chris Carlsson, author of Critical Mass: Bicycling’s Defiant Celebration

3:33 PM EDT on August 30, 2006

WHEN: Friday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m.

WHERE: Bluestockings Books, Cafe and Activism Center, 172 Allen St. at Stanton St.

COST: $5 to $10 suggested donation

Beneath the visible madness and barbarism of life at the dawn of the 21st century, an invisible social transformation is underway. As capitalism continues its inexorable push to corral every square inch of the globe into its logic of money and markets, while simultaneously seeking to colonize the very essence of biological life and dominate our very thoughts -- new practices are emerging that are redefining politics. In myriad behaviors, people are appropriating their time and technological know-how from the market and in small "invisible" ways, are making life better right now -- but also setting the foundation, technically and socially, for a genuine movement of liberation from market life. Outlaw bicycling, urban permaculture, biofuels, free software, even the Burning Man festival are windows into these new social dynamics. Chris Carlsson, author of â€˜Critical Mass: Bicycling's Defiant Celebrationâ€™, among other books, is one of the original founders and participants in Processed World magazine, as well as the Critical Mass bicycling movement in San Francisco. His talk is based on a new book that he is currently writing.

Aaron Donovan

Before he began blogging about land use and transportation, Aaron Donovan wrote The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund's annual fundraising appeal for three years and earned a master's degree in urban planning from Columbia. Since then, he has worked for nonprofit organizations devoted to New York City economic development. He lives and works in the Financial District, and sees New York's pre-automobile built form as an asset that makes New York unique in the United States, and as a strategic advantage that should be capitalized upon.

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