Redefining Urban Planning

The young discipline of urban planning is often presented to students and external researchers as having a single storyline. Learning about the history of one’s discipline is important to understand its impacts but remains, without doubt, biased. Focusing on the built successes of past urban planners, planning history reinforces the voice of white cisgender male figures. The paternalistic nature of such discourse encourages the perception that we, planners, have the answers to urban issues and that the continuity of said issues is caused by other levels of authority choosing to ignore our wisdom. However, urban planning is much more complex than this. The discipline itself is dated to be no more than a decade. Before the recognition of the profession, cities were still planned, in other ways. Sandercock speaks of the multiple histories that are at the base of urban planning, by including insurgent planning in the historiography (1998). A striking example included in her work is the Blues epistemology, which includes music as an alternative form of change (1998). If protest through music is considered as a form of urban planning, can other types of activism be included in the process as well? In an era of performance activism, this idea may find several opponents. The truth remains that grassroots movements have increasingly taken their seat at the table, widening the horizons of what is considered urban planning. Modern practice now considers the efforts of many involved parties, which includes all governing levels. Future classes on planning history will surely present a much different vision of what is and is not planning.

References

Sandercock, L. (1998). Towards Cosmopolis. Chichester: Wiley.

Living City Cores: Reclaiming the City One Step at a Time

It’s September, early in the morning. I stand on the front doorsteps and breathe in the fresh air. The morning dew brings an ethereal look to my surroundings and takes me back to first-day-of-school photoshoots. I start walking, opus card in hand, ready to take over the city once again. This time it is real; we are heading back to school, office, library. We are ready, the city is ready, to welcome life in its center again.

Fast-track to the metro: a delayed car on the orange line. Only this time, there does not seem to be animosity in the air. Is it possible to long for an inconvenience? After spending so much time in our homes, it seems that the collectivity enjoys on some level the time spent traveling. However, the desire to get back to our pre-pandemic lives might not compensate for the reality of the present routine. Practically nothing has changed, except for new buildings here and there in the downtown core.

Heading back to the city brings a fresh perspective over the problems to fix and the path we should take towards better urban planning. Mary Rowe of the Canadian Planning Institute associates in an interview the pandemic with a ‘particle accelerator’, explaining that city issues ‘manifest themselves now in a much more acute way’ (Saunders, 2020). Considering the economic impact of the last year, it may even take longer to solve such amplified issues, while tackling the new demands of climate change and public health. What lies in front of us is a rethinking of the human factor in cities in a modern context, which will take years to fully input.

In the meantime, smaller changes will take place, one at a time. Urban design and transportation have been at the center of attention, being fields where modifications can be implemented quickly. In North America and Europe, more space is opened up to pedestrians and bikers or being reinforced through older projects (Leigh, 2020). An interesting Covid-19 direct response is the city of Oakland’s ‘Slow Street’ program, closing up to 119 km of the street to prioritize shared access (City of Oakland, 2021). The challenge lies in choosing which solution will provide the best transition to longer-lasting redevelopment. Only time will tell.

References

Leigh, Gweneth Newman. (2020, September 15). Reimagining the post-pandemic city. Architecture AU. https://architectureau.com/articles/reimagining-the-post-pandemic-city/

Saunders, Doug. (2020, November 14). The urban cure: How cities seize opportunity from the pandemic  crisis to change how they operate for the better. The Globe and Mail. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-the-urban-cure-how-cities-seize-opportunity-from-the-pandemic-crisis/

Doughnut in the City: From GDP to the Doughnut

My undergraduate major was in Agricultural Economics. For years agriculture-related themes have taken up a larger proportion of my attention (and interest) than economic-related issues. The term Doughnut Economics, I have to admit, grabbed my attention because of the word doughnut. How can economics, a hard-core, rigid field, be shaped, represented, and interpreted as doughnut, a cheerful and colourful treat?

English economist Kate Raworth shows us how. The concept of Doughnut Economics was first published in 2012 with the aim of offering a vision of what it means for humanity to thrive in the 21st century. The Doughnut calls for meeting the needs of all people within the means of the living planet. The Doughnut’s inner ring depicts the social foundation which sets out the basics of life on which no one should be left falling short. The outer ring represents ecological ceiling of which humanity should put no further pressure beyond the planetary boundaries.

The social foundation ensures that no one is left falling short on life’s essentials while the ecological ceiling ensures that humanity does not overshoot planetary boundaries. The doughnut comes in between these two boundaries—the doughnut-shaped space lies between the boundaries represent an ecologically safe and socially just space in which humanity can thrive. Raworth emphasises on the urgent need to shift the mindset from endless growth (i.e. the GDP) to thriving in balance—the Doughnut.

The Doughnut concept has been applied to cities to reimagine and remake the urban space.  Earlier this month the City of Barcelona in Spain announced its plan in embracing the tools and concepts of Doughnut Economics to guide actions to address the combat on climate emergency.  

Raworth sets out the seven ways to think like a 21st century economist and posits that when the goal is to achieve human prosperity in a flourishing web of life the economy should be best thought of and drawn like a doughnut.

Public spaces and cities: open access publications that you shouldn't miss!

Public spaces are inherently designed to be free spaces, open to everyone, regardless of the social class, age, gender, or race. They are tied to Henri Lefebvre’s concept of The Right to the City, which states that individuals should have equal opportunities to benefit from the various aspects of urban life. Despite their significance in transforming urban life and city functioning, they are often being overlooked for many reasons, such as poor urban planning or financial constraints. However, cities that focus on environmentally sustainable, economically vibrant, and socially inclusive public spaces perform better.

Interested in learning more about how public spaces can boost livability in cities? I have gathered in this post some inspiring open-access publications that highlight how city leaders, policymakers, and urban practitioners can better plan, finance, and manage public spaces to achieve livable cities for all. Check them out:

1.     The Journal of Public Space – City Space Architecture

The Journal of Public Space is a research project developed by City Space Architecture, a non-profit organization based in Italy, in partnership with the UN-Habitat. It is an international and interdisciplinary open-access journal entirely dedicated to the study of public spaces.

2.     Land Lines Magazine – Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Land Lines is a quarterly magazine of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy that aims to explore not only public spaces issues but also a broader range of correlated matters such as climate change, housing, and land policies.

3. The Hidden Wealth of Cities: Creating, Financing, and Managing Public Spaces – World Bank Group

Launched in 2020, this World Bank’s publication discusses the complexities that surround the creation and management of successful public spaces and draws on the analyses and experiences of case studies around the globe.

Enjoy your reading!

Urban Planning as a Catalyst Tool: The Case of Israel and Palestine

Urban planning can improve cities just like it can worsen them. Israel and Palestine have an ongoing conflict that has much to do with power and land occupancy. Urban planning as a weapon can be identified within this dispute. But, first, it is important to understand Israel and Palestine's historical narratives.

In the late 19th century nationalistic Europe, the idea for Jews to leave the continent and gather in their own space gained popularity. As a result, the Zionism movement led many Jews to Israel since it is known as the Holy Land and homeland in Judaism (Jubaer, Abdullah, & Rahman, 2021).

Mounting Jewish Palestinians focused on gaining occupancy and controlling land use to secure their community. Consequently, throughout the early 1900s, frictions between Jews and Arab Palestinians grew as the former were being suppressed (Jubaer, Abdullah, & Rahman, 2021).

In 1947, the United Nations Partition Plan intended to divide Palestine into two independent states – Palestinian and Jewish – equal in size but broken into abstract places (Jubaer, Abdullah, & Rahman, 2021). Being uncontented, the Arab–Israeli War erupted in 1948. Israelis won in 1949, gaining more land and debuting their nation. Palestinians' defeat would be referred to as Nakba (النكبة‎) – meaning catastrophe – where most of their community was displaced, and their homeland was demolished, including many deaths (Jubaer, Abdullah, & Rahman, 2021).

Since then, the Arab–Israeli War has been refined to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unfortunately, this dispute continues today, counting numerous casualties through violent protests, riots, invasions, wars, and more.

Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs are mixed and conglomerated. While Palestinian entities and amenities are being terminated, the Jewish are being developed, unified, and financed by the state (Katz & Haim, 2021). Hence, they share a space but are still spatially and socially separated.

In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the state uses urban planning to guide density, vulnerability, division, and dislocation (Katz & Haim, 2021). Unfortunately, the tool has been weaponized for the uprise of one community and the downfall of another. This example recognizes the power of urban planning and how it can affect communities for better or worse.

References

Haim, Y. & Katz, I. (2021) How Urban Planning Plays a Role in Israel-Palestine. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/how-urban-planning-plays-a-role-in-israel-palestine-161035

Kingsley, P. & Kershner, I. (2021) After Raid on Aqsa Mosque, Rockets from Gaza and Israeli Airstrikes. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/10/world/middleeast/jerusalem-protests-aqsa-palestinians.html

Jubaer, S. M. O. F., Abdullah, S. M. J. S., & Rahman, S. M. A. (2021). The Conflicts Between Israel and Palestine: A History Changed by The Historians. Emergent: Journal of Educational Discoveries and Lifelong Learning (EJEDL), 2(05), 143-173. https://ejedl.academiascience.org/index.php/ejedl/article/view/68

Benign Modernism?

The campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (better known as UNAM, in Spanish) is an uncommon example of modernism. Ciudad Universitaria (or CU as it is commonly called) was built during the height of modernism in 1954. However, unlike other building complexes of that scale, that are infamously bland and monotonous, CU has been widely celebrated for its sense of place. The complex is an assemblage of monumental functionalist buildings decorated with murals, sculptures and linked together by a system of gardens and parks. The granting of UNESCO World Heritage to CU is part of the relatively recent phenomenon in which modernist architecture is beginning to be considered as historical patrimony. This is ironic, to say the least, considering that the modernists often prided themselves in completely breaking up with the past and always looking towards the future.

The modernist dogma of “form follows function” and its obsession with efficiency and rationality was applied all over the world, particularly after the Second World War. Its universal scope was the reason why in the 1950, people began to talk about an “international style,” rather than a distinctively German or Scandinavian or American modernism.

In the case of Ciudad Universitaria, even though a relentlessly modern project, many of the rules of XX Century modernism were broken, and that is in many ways the reason of its success. There are at least three that the planners and architects of UNAM deliberately broke in the construction of CU:

1.  Many architects instead of just one. While modernist architects were being commissioned to design full cities (e.g. Brasilia, designed by Lucio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer or Chandigarh, designed by Le Corbusier), CU was designed by a vast group of architects. Architecture professors, students and young architects collaborated in the design of the buildings as well as the master plan and the landscape architecture of the complex.

2.  Plastic integrity instead of ornamentation. The modernists abhorred ornamentation. The elegance and simplicity of functions was always chosen above ornamental elements without utility. Ciudad Universitaria was designed under a different approach: the so-called integridad plástica. This entailed that, in the spirit of the architecture of the Renaissance, art, murals, sculpture, architecture are one and the same. Many of the architects that participated in the design of CU were consummated polymaths. Juan O’Gorman, the architect in charge of the Central Library of CU, designed and personally painted the murals that covers the façade, which is considered the largest mural in the world. Architect Mario Pani closely collaborated with Siqueros to integrate his murals into the building. Just to name a few examples.

3.  Parks instead of esplanades. The obsession with efficiency of circulation resulted in the creation of the typical modernist esplanades that plague our cities today. Often made from granite, esplanades are deprived of any obstacles in order to ensure the circulation of pedestrian. But they are also deprived of any benches, trees, planters or art on which you can rest your eyes. CU follows the rules of modernist modularity and seriality. However, instead of only using dry materials, they are often flanked by trees, bushes and the central esplanades alternate grass and stone materials.

Seventy years after the construction of CU, it is a good moment to revisit modernism and try to understand if there can be a balance between the rigidity and flexibility, between simplicity and complexity, and ultimately between order and chaos.