Resilience in an Urban Social Space: a Case Study of Wenceslas Square
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Resilience in an Urban Social Space: A Case Study of Wenceslas Square THESIS Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Landscape Architecture in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Cynthia E. Anderson, B.S., M.B.A. Graduate Program in Landscape Architecture The Ohio State University 2011 Master's Examination Committee: Assistant Professor Katherine Bennett, Advisor Associate Professor Jane Amidon Assistant Professor Jesus Lara Assistant Professor Charisma Acey Copyright by Cynthia E. Anderson 2011 Abstract Eastern Europe experienced a significant disruption of economic and political systems as communism collapsed in late 1989. This thesis examines how these rapid political and economic changes were manifested socially in public places, in their use, meaning and perception, and how these changes encourage or diminish resilience in an urban social space. The thesis also addresses an issue made particularly salient during the economic and political disruption seen globally since 2008: how design can influence the resilience of a social space. The subject of this case study is Wenceslas Square in Prague, Czech Republic, a space in the center of the city with an important history and meaning for the nation. It is also a place where the rapid inflow of Western capital can be clearly observed, and the effect of this flow on people, economics and bio-environment can be documented. The changing relationships in the square are examined within the context of the political and economic events that produced these new spaces. The thesis focuses on the social changes that have occurred, while recognizing related economic and environmental changes in the square. The 2005 design proposal for the square is reviewed; field observation, residents’ perceptions and contemporary theories of urban space, place, sustainability and resilience will inform the assessment of the social resilience of the sqaure. At the thesis’ core is an interrogation of the effect of disruption on the form, use and perception of public spaces; the principles of resilience and their application in the analysis and design of urban social space are discussed. Using Wenceslas Square as the subject, this thesis articulates the insights that may be gained by examining the issues arising in urban social spaces as a response to disruption. Western notions of sustainable design have diffused slowly eastward during the past 20 years; Prague is an example of a city where the appeal of seemingly unlimited investment from the West eclipsed the need for more comprehensive consideration of the longer term resilience of that investment. Cities farther east in the ii former Soviet bloc, the next frontier for Western investment, may be in a better position to balance the seduction of cash with the sanity of the need for social resilience. Cities in the United States subject to the disruptive effect of the housing crisis are presented the opportunity to incorporate new public spaces into the urban fabric. These cities may learn from Prague’s missed opportunities to create a diverse, resilient city with the first wave of foreign investment. This thesis highlights those lessons, and considers how changing attitudes towards social, economic and bio-environmental concerns may be considered in design of new public spaces. iii Dedication This document is dedicated to my family, my Prague ex-pat family and to Svenmark for encouraging me to live abroad. iv Acknowledgments I would like to thank my committee for their feedback and guidance throughout the writing of this thesis. v Vita 1982 ............................................................. B.S. Engineering, Cornell University 1988 ............................................................. M.B.A., The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, Dartmouth College 2011 ............................................................. M.L.A., The Ohio State University 2008 - 2011 .................................................. Graduate Teaching Assistant, Landscape Architecture, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Landscape Architecture vi Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. ii Dedication ........................................................................................................................ iv Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. v Vita ................................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... x List of Figures ................................................................................................................... xi Hypothesis ........................................................................................................................ 1 Literature of Urban Spaces and Resilience ....................................................................... 3 Urban Form and Urban Places ...................................................................................... 3 Social Space Theorists .................................................................................................. 5 Socialist Cities ............................................................................................................... 9 Tourism and the City ................................................................................................... 13 Sustainable Cities, Resilient Cities? ............................................................................ 14 Disaster and the Resilient City .................................................................................... 19 The Public, the Private and Resilience ........................................................................ 20 Socialist Countries and Socialist Cities ........................................................................... 22 Socialist Cities in Transformation ................................................................................ 26 Prague ............................................................................................................................. 32 A Physical Description of Wenceslas Square .............................................................. 34 Public Protest in the Square ........................................................................................ 36 Investment flows to Wenceslas Square ....................................................................... 38 Tourism and Wenceslas Square ................................................................................. 39 vii Berlin ............................................................................................................................... 47 The East ...................................................................................................................... 48 The West ..................................................................................................................... 50 Potsdamer Platz .......................................................................................................... 52 Reunification at Potsdamer Platz ................................................................................ 54 Resilience and the Post-Socialist City – A Framework for Analysis ................................ 65 Sustainability versus Resilience .................................................................................. 65 The Adaptive Cycle and an Urban System .................................................................. 67 Reading a Resilient City: A Framework for Evaluating Wenceslas Square and Potsdamer Platz .......................................................................................................... 72 Resilience in an Urban Social Space: The Framework Questions ............................. 74 Analysis of Resilience in Wenceslas Square .................................................................. 78 The Social Resilience of Wenceslas Square ............................................................... 79 Segregated, specialized spaces .................................................................................. 85 Social system comparator: Potsdamer Platz ............................................................... 88 Economic System and Resilience in Wenceslas Square. ........................................... 91 Economic system comparator: Potsdamer Platz ........................................................ 94 The Bio-Environment? ................................................................................................. 95 Bio-Environment Comparator: Potsdamer Platz .......................................................... 97 Using the framework questions to assess resilience of an urban social space ........... 98 Designing Resilient Public Spaces ................................................................................ 106 Role of regulation ...................................................................................................... 107 Reintroducing resilience to Wenceslas Square. ........................................................ 109 Enhancing Resilience in an Urban Social Space: ........................................................