Archive for Urbanism

Eutopia

In addition to the previous post ‘A Brave New Europe’ I’d like to share what inspired me to do this project in the first place. Theo Deutinger’s SNOG (Snapshot of Globalization) Eutopia.(click to enlarge the image)
The accompanying text goes like this:  
While in 1950 10 of the world’s 30 largest cities were European, by 2015 only one – Paris – will remain. The metropolises of the earth’s most densely populated continent will soon cease to be of central importance to the global discourse on the city. In Asia, Africa, and South America where some cities continue to experience double-digit annual population growth, the definition of the metropolis is now being re-written.Perhaps the continued relevance of the European city is dependent on the same sort of alliances that have allowed the once fractured continent to become a political and economic unit…. With an urbanisation rate of over 90% at its core, with an already existing network of infrastructure that provides easy access to its multiple centers, with its well-defined peripheries, Europe has the potential to re-establish itself as a single, interconnected urban core – city on a continental scale.

First published in Archis (#2/2004)

Dubai: History with a twist

see as slideshow
view at flickr
check the al manakh website

Moore’s Law Meets Sustainability

A thought provoking proposal about where we could be heading with sustainable building and urbanisation. The scenario presented is not that far-out i think, although the architectural proposals in the video are, but it is a thought experiment, so why not.

The fallacy of physical determinism vs. social engineering a.k.a SimCity Societies

Upcoming, SimCity Societies, I just watched a demo and it’s really the architects petri-dish for Utopia’s, Dystopia’s, Disneylands and Wastelands. Read this quote from 1up:

“As the working title implies, Societies adds a new layer of emphasis on the city’s citizens. The game introduces six “social energies” (such as Wealth or Obedience) that influence your city’s look and feel. Buildings and aesthetics change depending on how these six values develop. Focus on Obedience, for example, and your buildings will start automatically adding security cameras to monitor your citizens’ movements, Orwellian-style. Different energy balances unlock different building types, too.”

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It reminded me of a debate in architectural discourse about whether just purely physical changes in the built environment can really change the social characteristic of an area. Herbert Gans replied in his essay ‘Urban Vitality and the Fallacy of Physical Determinism’ (part of the book ‘People, Plans, and Policies‘, with criticism on city planning as a vehicle for social reform, such as proposed by Jane Jacobs

Watch, the demo and the explanation of the driving theories behind the game