Alison Killing: What happens when a city runs out of room for its dead
Alison Killing: Qué sucede cuando una ciudad ya no tiene espacio para sus muertos
An architect and urban designer, Alison Killing uses journalism, filmmaking and exhibitions to help people better understand the built environment. Full bio
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but potentially lucrative
pero potencialmente lucrativa
de cementerio ha superado
has outperformed the UK property market
en una proporción de tres a uno.
que se están construyendo
with plots for sale to investors,
about 40 percent growth.
crecimiento de casi el 40%
un mercado con una demanda continua.
is a market with continuous demand.
de verdad están ofreciendo esta inversión.
that really are offering this investment,
sobre la muerte y el morir,
to death and dying
and the buildings within them.
a nuestras ciudades y sus edificios.
I did my first exhibition
mi primera exposición
la arquitectura en Venecia,
uncomfortable to talk about,
es incómodo hablar,
para que fuera bien lúdica,
to be quite playful,
entablar con los asistentes.
literally engage with it.
was an interactive map of London
era un mapa interactivo de Londres
of the real estate in the city
los bienes raíces de la ciudad
la mano por el mapa,
the building or the cemetery --
--edificio o cementerio-- aparece.
morgues y cementerios de la ciudad.
death and burial are things
son algo que no queremos hablar,
important parts of our cities.
importantes de nuestras ciudades.
die in the UK each year,
medio millón de personas muere
will want to be buried.
quieren que los entierren.
países de Europa Occidental,
Western European countries,
el espacio para los entierros,
las grandes ciudades.
has been aware of this for a while,
desde hace un tiempo.
el crecimiento de la población,
cemeteries are almost full.
existentes están casi llenos.
se considera que las tumbas
are considered to be occupied forever,
people want to use that same land
para construir casas, oficinas o tiendas.
algunas soluciones,
reuse those graves after 50 years.
reutilizar estas tumbas
like, four deep,
gente como de a cuatro.
in the same plot,
sepultadas en el mismo lote.
of the land that way,
más eficiente de la tierra.
will still have space to bury people
teniendo espacio para sepultar gente
no se ha hecho cargo de los cementerios.
haven't been taken care of
que para nadie es obligatorio,
there's no legal obligation
to provide burial space.
proveer espacio mortuorio.
by private and religious organizations,
organizaciones privadas y religiosas
un grupo con fines de lucro
been a for-profit group
the small size of a burial plot
el pequeño espacio del lote fúnebre
serious money to be made.
hacer mucho dinero.
and start your own cemetery,
emprender su propio cementerio,
and a load of fields next to it,
muchos campos alrededor
a caravan park,
para casas rodantes,
y el municipio dijo de nuevo que no.
hacer un cementerio.
of making a cemetery
subir el valor de sus tierras
the value of their land
to over one million pounds.
ganancias con cementerios,
of making profit from cemeteries,
of those burial plots
de los lotes mortuorios
refleja el costo de mantenerlos.
you need to maintain the burial plot --
for the next 50 years.
el césped por los próximos 50 años,
to make money from cemeteries.
ganar dinero de los cementerios.
they're run by the council
pertenezcan al municipio
el municipio les dio el permiso,
these people permission,
to build their cemetery.
kind of how this works:
en el Reino Unido,
for planning permission first.
el permiso de construcción.
office building for a client
edificio de oficinas para un cliente,
y quiero convertirla en una oficina,
and I want to convert it into an office,
para los permisos.
to the council for permission.
how it fits in the surroundings.
qué manera se integra al entorno.
like what impact is it going to have
como el impacto que tendrá
hacia estas cosas que construí?
that I've built?
like shops to the neighborhood
como tiendas,
and the disadvantages
con las desventajas
to build a large cemetery.
construir un gran cementerio.
un pedazo de tierra
a few people, like five or six?
pocas personas, cinco o seis?
permission from anyone!
¡no necesito el permiso de nadie!
in the UK around burial,
el Reino Unido para las sepulturas,
is about not polluting water courses,
no contaminar cursos de agua,
and make your own mini-cemetery,
who does this? Right?
¿quién hace esto? ¿Cierto?
and you have a large estate,
a una familia aristocrática
have a mausoleum on it,
un mausoleo ahí adentro,
un terreno de cierto tamaño
a piece of land of a certain size
to start burying people on it.
of your house in the suburbs.
de su casa en los suburbios.
intentar esto en casa?
to try this yourself at home?
that have guidance on their website
guías en sus sitios de Internet
of burial before you can go ahead --
de muerte antes de comenzar.
and put them under the patio.
a alguien y enterrarlo en el patio.
un registro de donde está la tumba.
a record of where the grave is.
los requisitos formales.
for formal requirements.
a sus vecinos no les guste la idea.
your neighbors might not like this,
nothing that they can do about it.
no pueden hacer casi nada al respecto.
esa idea de ganancias en la cabeza,
still had that profit idea in your mind
you might be able to make,
the value of your house
que el valor de sus casas
hay muchas posibilidades
your house at all after that.
su casa después de todo.
fascinante de esto
nuestras actitudes entorno a la muerte.
many of our attitudes towards death.
across Europe are probably similar,
es probablemente similar,
le ha dicho a alguien
have ever talked to anyone
have ever talked about this.
alguna vez de esto.
Uds. saben...
people give ... you know,
to make people uncomfortable
a la gente si hablan de eso.
who are taking care of things for us.
de esto por nosotros.
and bureaucracy around things
esta regulación y burocracia
a un muerto, por ejemplo.
los dueños de funerarias,
a trabajar en este tema.
working lives to this issue.
de nuestras ciudades,
death fits in our cities,
encaja en nuestras ciudades,
diseño y reflexión
and design and thought
que está pensando en esto...
are thinking about it --
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alison Killing - ArchitectAn architect and urban designer, Alison Killing uses journalism, filmmaking and exhibitions to help people better understand the built environment.
Why you should listen
Alison Killing is an architect and urban designer working to engage people with their built environment, via design of buildings and urban strategies, film making, exhibitions and events. She explores the relationship between death and modern architecture, looking at how cities are rebuilt after disaster.
Recent projects include Death in the City (and its first iteration, Death in Venice, which was shown as an independent event during the opening week of the Venice Architecture Biennale), a touring exhibition about death and modern architecture; work with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on better rebuilding after disaster and how to integrate relevant urban design tools into humanitarian response; and a study of financial models for arts and community projects temporarily using vacant buildings to help these projects become self-sustaining.
Alison Killing | Speaker | TED.com