Peter A Gotsch
Technische Universität Darmstadt, Architecture, Associate Professor Design and Urbanism and International Cooperation in Urban Development
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planning and building in develping countries.
In the Afghan capital of Kabul, the problems of quickly growing
megacities and of disaster areas, of simultaneous growth and
destruction are combined and superimposed in a way unlike any other place in the world. Despite the devastation of large areas of the city, Kabul’s population has doubled in the last three years from 1.5 to more than three million, and it is projected to grow further. In addition, more than 60% of its residents survive in the informal sector. At the same time, almost nobody can explain how the city still functions.
In analyzing the 'production of space' in the information age, I want to point to new ways of understanding contemporary space. I will explore contemporary space and its 'production', and how it has experienced an increasing degradation as a social and spatial framework due to the tendencies of polarization, fractalization and homogenization. Indeed, it seems impossible to decode the forces which are creating this crisis in space, for these forces are creating a condition of space, in which meaning of space is hardly legible. Illegible as it may be, however, the following thesis is an effort to trace these forces, and to describe their interrelationship to the condition of contemporary space and the crisis of orientation. I will identify these forces within the nature of economic organization, specifically advanced capitalism, and within the technological sphere of our era, specifically communication networks and information. I am referring to this context of forces that characterize our era as 'informational production', because this term incorporates the economic as well as the technological aspect.
Talks
The private sector plays a pivotal role in urban innovation and development. Banks, infrastructure firms, industrial conglomerates, and construction enterprises control urbanisation processes. Projects such as New Cairo, Alsunuth, or Qatar's Pearl exemplify the trend in the MENA region. The desire for modernisation and world-class standards includes many green- and eco-city schemes.
Seeking to appraise sustainability issues most approaches cope with the externalities of private urbanisation. In contrast this contribution aims at a deeper appreciation of the phenomenon. We argue that the lack of a profound understanding of the nature of private urban development (and of the political economy of urban design) hinders us from developing more sustainable and resilient solutions – in particular when it comes to the scale of buildings, neighbourhoods, and towns.
The contribution draws on a comparative research project on privately developed towns (Gotsch 2010, www.neo-town.org). The lessons offered stem from Navi Mumbai (Mumbai), Alphaville-Tamboré (São Paulo), and Bumi Serpong Damai (Jakarta), a new generation of privately developed Neo-Towns.
planning and building in develping countries.
In the Afghan capital of Kabul, the problems of quickly growing
megacities and of disaster areas, of simultaneous growth and
destruction are combined and superimposed in a way unlike any other place in the world. Despite the devastation of large areas of the city, Kabul’s population has doubled in the last three years from 1.5 to more than three million, and it is projected to grow further. In addition, more than 60% of its residents survive in the informal sector. At the same time, almost nobody can explain how the city still functions.
In analyzing the 'production of space' in the information age, I want to point to new ways of understanding contemporary space. I will explore contemporary space and its 'production', and how it has experienced an increasing degradation as a social and spatial framework due to the tendencies of polarization, fractalization and homogenization. Indeed, it seems impossible to decode the forces which are creating this crisis in space, for these forces are creating a condition of space, in which meaning of space is hardly legible. Illegible as it may be, however, the following thesis is an effort to trace these forces, and to describe their interrelationship to the condition of contemporary space and the crisis of orientation. I will identify these forces within the nature of economic organization, specifically advanced capitalism, and within the technological sphere of our era, specifically communication networks and information. I am referring to this context of forces that characterize our era as 'informational production', because this term incorporates the economic as well as the technological aspect.
The private sector plays a pivotal role in urban innovation and development. Banks, infrastructure firms, industrial conglomerates, and construction enterprises control urbanisation processes. Projects such as New Cairo, Alsunuth, or Qatar's Pearl exemplify the trend in the MENA region. The desire for modernisation and world-class standards includes many green- and eco-city schemes.
Seeking to appraise sustainability issues most approaches cope with the externalities of private urbanisation. In contrast this contribution aims at a deeper appreciation of the phenomenon. We argue that the lack of a profound understanding of the nature of private urban development (and of the political economy of urban design) hinders us from developing more sustainable and resilient solutions – in particular when it comes to the scale of buildings, neighbourhoods, and towns.
The contribution draws on a comparative research project on privately developed towns (Gotsch 2010, www.neo-town.org). The lessons offered stem from Navi Mumbai (Mumbai), Alphaville-Tamboré (São Paulo), and Bumi Serpong Damai (Jakarta), a new generation of privately developed Neo-Towns.