All Things Urban

With more than half of the human population now living in cities, our way of living continuously changes as ever more people, goods, and data circulate within sprawling metropolitan grids. This October Freunde von Freunden and MINI Germany’s joint initiative The Sooner Now returns to Berlin to examine urban utopias then and now. Together with an eclectic cast of innovators—architects, designers, technologists, journalists, policy makers—we share inspiring ideas in a day-long program of dialogue, experiment, and play. The Sooner Now is a joint initiative by Freunde von Freunden and MINI Germany founded in 2016 to foster conversations about urban living and urban futures. Focused on innovative ideas and thoughtful interventions at all scales, The Sooner Now brings together creatives across all disciplines, raises awareness around urban challenges and generates visibility for projects and the people who tackle them. This year, the initiative is supported by the urban design magazine IDEAT. Speakers: Joe Halligan, Assemble, London Victoria Okoye, University of Sheffield Julian Schubert, Something Fantastic, Berlin Jeroen Beekmans, Pop-Up City, Amsterdam Corinna Natter, MINI LIVING, Munich Simon Uh Choll Lee, CRCLR, Berlin Natasha Grand, Institute for Identity, London Wilhelm Rinke, Berliner Ideenlabor Martin Bricelj Baraga, Artist, Ljubljana Laurence Bonvin, Filmmaker, Berlin & Geneva Zvi Hecker, Architect, Berlin Zara Pfeifer, Photographer, Vienna Lisa Tiedje, Architect, Berlin Host: Rabea Schif Other Highlights: Photography projections by OSTKREUZ Agency of Photographers CCCC.city, an interactive city building game designed by N O R M A L S Short film program curated by Berlinale’s Maike Höhne Reading corner in collaboration with SODA Books

Architects, designers, technologists, journalists, policy makers.

We are an international network of inspiring individuals from diverse creative and cultural backgrounds that we’ve had the pleasure to meet and collaborate with. Our website is a digital representation of a creative community brought together by a collective interest in art, urban living, food, mobility and design.