We need geo-historians, offline and online.
Craig Mod recently finished his TOKIO TŌKYŌ TOKYO newsletter / walk. The concept is simple, giving readers a brief but temporary view into the neighbourhoods of Tokyo via email missives and photos. It’s simple yet compelling - I read because Craig pulls me into the fleeting characters and the shifting environment around them.
I had two thoughts after this most recent project:
- We need more Craig Mods, exploring the (mega) cities of the world and documenting their history - past and emerging - for the generations to come. I’d subscribe to Replica Mods across NYC, San Francisco, Toronto, London, and more.
- Who is / will be the Craig Mod of the virtual cities? Already Fortnite has seen demolition, construction, and the passing of the torch between players. These could be the environments we each spend decades exploring and the cost of change is effectively zero - things will be created, iterated, and deleted faster than a Digital Mod could type.
Sidenote: I’m a longtime Special Projects Member of Craig’s, his work is outstanding and I highly recommend starting with essays like Tiny Loops or How I Got My Attention Back.