Cib W110 Informal Settlements & Affordable Housing
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE CIB W110 INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS & AFFORDABLE HOUSING ! ECOLOGICAL CATHARSIS THROUGH URBAN ACUPUNCTURE Ali Arsalan Pasha Siddiqui, NesPak Ltd., Pakistan/Middle East Technical University, Turkey, [email protected] ABSTRACT Buildings as living machines entails the implication that context is merely a consequence of the geo-political dynamic between built forms, rather than a discernible progression of spatial motivations. Considering a broader perspective of terming cities as ecosystems that engage through a variety of interaction points, it is evident that the synergy of natural processes maintains its own progression independent of architectural intervention. The nature of public space and the genetic grains of urban fabric are similar, terming context as the precursor to architectural intervention rather than its sequential result. The traditional interactive relationships between natural ecosystems and built environment influenced by local culture and identity are gradually deteriorating; causing cities to lose their distinctive cultural identity and urban landscapes. If we consider the city as a living being in and of itself, growing exclusive of the built environment as an emergent entity similar to the cyclic evolution of a neural network, we can associate that both have an interconnected network structure and sustain the capacity to adapt and self-organize by manipulating morphogenetic information. Successful examples of such cities evolve in a very specific manner, retaining older patterns while responding to change by adding novel adaptations. As a result, a thorough initiative to engage the communities in active participation of urban renewal needs to be conducted, where individuals learn how to produce small-scale socially catalytic interventions through urban acupuncture, leading to the transformation of a larger urban context. The objective of this research is to establish the need to understand the paradigm of urban ecosystems and how the built environment is shaped through it, while investigating the phenomena of cultural landscape and ecology as part of city image. Cities with engaged communities are more resilient and adaptive, gearing their activities towards poverty alleviation and the achievement of sustainable ecological communities. KEYWORDS: Urban Acupuncture, Neural Network, Sustainable Neighbourhoods INTRODUCTION The city represents a multi-layered progression, similar to the transmission of multiple ripples; which conflict with each other and struggle to reach an equilibrium. Most architects have thoroughly emphasised the importance of understanding buildings as living entities, which grow and evolve with time. One could inquire why the built form is attributed a temporal and corporeal identity, while the urban fabric that houses the structure is simply considered as a consequence of geo-political dynamics between built forms. Context, which is observed as a mode of reference for architectural intervention, should be rightfully defined as an evident progression of spatial motivations, terming the city as a living ecosystem which maintains its own growth independent of architectural interference. The aim of this paper is to highlight the importance of observing the city as a living ecosystem, in lieu of which, lead to an observation of the processes and urban practices that give shape to public space. Since city infrastructure and built environment always need to undergo comprehensive revitalization, it would bode well to consider public space, as Lefebvre said, as a ‘the space thus produced also serves as a tool of thought and of action’, hence encouraging analysis on the processes of spatial production rather than merely the space itself. In this essence, it would be beneficial to consider the individual and communal motivations that give shape to the public space and are the core foundations of the city as an ecosystem. Far from a mechanical attribute, such an ecosystem is a living entity which consistently evolves and undergoes catharsis, as a means of purification and growth. ECOLOGICAL ECUMENOPOLIS In order to understand the dynamics associated with the evolution of cities as living entities, it is crucial to understand why cities exist; where to understand why cities exist we may begin by postulating a world without cities. Although they are characterised has highly complex spatial phenomenon, cities can be categorically defined by assessing a settlement with regards to productivity. The distinction of cities from large settlements took place, when not all inhabitants of a certain locale were engaged in agrarian activities, giving rise to specialised occupations, such as trade and food storage. For a world without cities 1078 UIA2014 DURBAN Architecture OTHERWHERE CIB W110 INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS & AFFORDABLE HOUSING ! to exist, each individual must engage in equal productivity, making them responsible for their own sustenance, preventing specialised occupations from occurring and negating the existence of cities. Since, the aforementioned is a highly idealistic and somewhat counterproductive situation, cities came into place as central hubs of trade, exchange of ideas and sharing of natural resources. A notable characteristic in the distinction between a small city and a large town, is the existence of organized government. Where a town accomplishes common solutions through informal agreements between neighbours and community dwellers, the city has professional administrations and regulations to handle policy making, in addition to a method of taxation. It is thus apparent that cities and urban space came into being; not due to architectural or infrastructure advances, rather due to developments in social arrangements and occupational habits, leading us to question when urbanization and city building became a purely corporal endeavour. The expansion of transport networks stretching farther than anticipated, has led to the emergence of ‘metropolis’ and ‘megalopolis’ where the primary concern with regards to governance, is urban sprawl. This comprises of the diaspora towards a suburban milieu, infrastructure development replacing rural land and high segregation between residential and commercial uses, causing negative consequences to public and private health, environmental degradation and socio-cultural disparity due to fragmentation. Such dispersion causes a large increase in cost for services, where provision of water, sewerage, electricity and security becomes substantially expensive per household. In addition, the environmental side-effects are even more problematic, where the quality of air in modern suburbs is more contaminated compared to smaller settlements, since the average suburban resident generates more carbon emission per capita due to increased transport. Cars and trucks account for approximately 30% of emissions of oxides of nitrogen and 30% of hydrocarbon emissions. An additional driving related emission is CO2, an end product of the burning of gasoline, which is the major greenhouse gas accounting for approximately 80% of emissions with global warming potential. As a result of this, automobile traffic is a major contributor to global climate change, which is a by-product of urban sprawl. Farmlands and wildlife habitats are constantly displaced in favour of infrastructure development, throwing the ecosystem out of balance, replacing forestry with impervious surfaces such as concrete and asphalt, which are less effective in absorption of rainfall into the ground. Negative side effects of urban sprawl, eventually lead to urban decay, where parts of the city, or in some cases the complete urban fabric, becomes debilitated, resulting in deindustrialization, economic starvation, rampant unemployment and an unreceptive cityscape. Even though there is no single cause of urban decay, it is mostly an outcome of inappropriate planning decisions and distribution of facilities; as a result of which, it is important to consider the design and planning decisions that have led to such degradation of the metropolitan tissue. Form-focused theories of urban design do not deal with society at large, rather the formal quality of urban space aiming to establish specific aesthetic prototypes of urban design. In this essence, urban design is seen as a means to repair the urban fabric, restoring the quality of urban space to a non-deteriorated previous state. CITY AS A NEURAL NETWORK The modern city can be observed to contain hybridized relations between the individual, ecology and urban space; where the structure of the city tends towards a synthesis between the physiological needs of the human body and the physical infrastructure of the city. If we consider the city as a living being in and of itself, growing exclusive of the built environment as an emergent entity similar to the cyclic evolution of a neural network, we can associate that both have an interconnected network structure and sustain the capacity to adapt and self-organize by manipulating morphogenetic information. In theory, a metropolis could constitute a form of organization of the city, analogous to a biological network that functions as the structural organization of the brain. Akin to the neural network, the city is continuous but not homogenous, articulated on different layers with varying connections and subdivided in thousands of different branches, defining the city essentially as an organic structure that is various and changeable, capable to incorporate mutations and self-organise.