VRMNTR

First up is Reprogramming the City: Doing More with What We Have by Scott Burnham.

If the 20th century was defined by its excesses, the 21st century will be defined by its limitations. Reprogramming the City reveals how cities around the world are reimagining and repurposing existing urban assets in innovative ways to benefit their residents by doing more with the assets they already have.

From billboards in Lima, Peru repurposed to generate clean drinking water, to bus shelters in Umeå, Sweden that swapped their advertising lights for anti-SADD light therapy tubes to give commuters a mood boost during dark winter months, Reprogramming the City uncovers a new spirit of creative resourcefulness that is transforming cities around the world.

With over 40 richly-illustrated projects from dozens of cities, Reprogramming the City offers an unparalleled collection of real-world examples of how existing urban elements are being reimagined to perform alternate functions, or assume entirely new roles in the city.

Reprogramming the City is the first shipment of ideas because it defines what we do: spreading resourceful ideas and empowering people to do more with the things they already have.

Hong Kong’s Cascade, picture above and featured in the Reprogramming the City book is a perfect example of this. The central business district of Hong Kong has little space for rest and relaxation, but it had this stairway. Edge Design Group realized the stairs could do more than their initial function. They could also support a mini urban park for people to rest and relax.

Though we’re a long way from home, or as Bruce Springsteen said, “home is a long, long way from us”, the core principles that make Vermont what it is – resourcefulness and respect for our surroundings – are the foundation of our company.

The truncated version of Vermonter comes courtesy of The Phonographic Manual by Charles Morrell, published in 1901, where he outlines the most efficient and resourceful pronunciation of words in the English language. Efficient and resourceful is what we’re all about. It seemed like a good fit.