  We show that interpreting the inverse AdS_3 radius 1/l as a Grassmann
variable results in a formal map from gravity in AdS_3 to gravity in flat
space. The underlying reason for this is the fact that ISO(2,1) is the
Inonu-Wigner contraction of SO(2,2). We show how this works for the
Chern-Simons actions, demonstrate how the general (Banados) solution in AdS_3
maps to the general flat space solution, and how the Killing vectors, charges
and the Virasoro algebra in the Brown-Henneaux case map to the corresponding
quantities in the BMS_3 case. Our results straightforwardly generalize to the
higher spin case: the recently constructed flat space higher spin theories
emerge automatically in this approach from their AdS counterparts. We conclude
with a discussion of singularity resolution in the BMS gauge as an application.
