scholarly journals Change by Activism: Insurgency, Autonomy, and Political Activism in Potosí-Jerusalén, Bogotá, Colombia

2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-81
Author(s):  
Juan Usubillaga
Keyword(s):  
Urban Design ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Urban Transformation ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
The One

Cities today face a context in which traditional politics and policies struggle to cope with increasing urbanisation rates and growing inequalities. Meanwhile, social movements and political activists are rising up and inhabiting urban spaces as sites of contestation. However, through their practices, urban activists do more than just occupy spaces; they are fundamental drivers of urban transformation as they constantly face—and contest—spatial manifestations of power. This article aims to contribute to ongoing discussions on the role of activism in the field of urban design, by engaging with two concepts coming from the Global South: <em>insurgency</em> and <em>autonomy</em>. Through a historical account of the building of the Potosí-Jerusalén neighbourhood in Bogotá in the 1980s, it illustrates how both concepts can provide new insight into urban change by activism. On the one hand, the concept of insurgency helps unpack a mode of bottom-up action that inaugurates political spaces of contestation with the state; autonomy, on the other hand, helps reveal the complex nature of political action and the visions of urban transformation it entails. Although they were developed at the margins of conventional design theory and practice, both concepts are instrumental in advancing our understanding of how cities are shaped by activist practices. Thus, this article is part of a broader effort to (re)locate political activism in discussions about urban transformation, and rethink activism as a form of urban design practice.

"THE SYNTHESIS OF WAR AND THEATRE": SOCIO-HUMANITARIAN DISCOURSE ON THE ESSENCE OF TERRORISM

2020 ◽  
pp. 10-23
Author(s):  
Irina V Malygina ◽  
◽  
Anna V Malygina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Terrorism ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Cultural Resources ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
The Status ◽  
World Cultural Heritage ◽  
The One ◽  
Strategic Object ◽  
The Given

The article reveals the heuristic potential of social and humanitarian knowledge in understanding the complex nature of terrorism. The given research optics allows to expand traditional frameworks of considering terrorism as a phenomenon caused by political, ideological and economic factors; to reveal and substantiate deep cultural and mental reasons of the given phenomenon; make sense of terrorism as a destructive form of cultural identity. The cultural and historical origins of modern terrorism, which is closely connected with radical Islam, are analyzed in the civilizational system of coordinates “West–East”. The system of argumentation is based on scientific concepts and current artistic practices that interpret the causes of inter-civilizational tension resulting in international terrorism. The change of the status of the artist in the “epoch of terrorism” is analyzed; the theme of theatricalization and aestheticization of terrorist actions and the role of media in these processes are problematized. As a newest trend, which has not received any serious theoretical reflection, the text considers the phenomenon conditionally designated as “sublimation of terrorist activity into a symbolic sphere”, which is manifested in the destruction of monuments of world cultural heritage, in the orientation to culture as a new strategic object of terrorist attacks, on the one hand, and the use of cultural resources for self-presentation and promotion of their ideology by terrorist organizations, on the other

scholarly journals Reassembling difference? Rethinking inclusion through/as embodied ethics

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Political Activism ◽  
Relational Ethics ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The Other ◽  
Feminist Activism ◽  
Feminist Writing ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Ethics And Politics

This article considers inclusion through the lens of embodied ethics. It does so by connecting feminist writing on recognition, ethics and embodiment to recent examples of political activism as instances of recognition-based organizing. In making these connections, the article draws on insights from Judith Butler’s recent writing on the ethics and politics of assembly in order to rethink how inclusion might be understood and practised. The article has three interrelated aims: (i) to emphasize the importance of a critical reconsideration of the ethics and politics of inclusion given – on the one hand, its positioning as an organizational ‘good’, and on the other, the conditions attached to it; (ii) to develop a critique of inclusion, drawing on insights from recent feminist thinking on relational ethics; and (iii) to connect this theoretical critique of inclusion, reconsidered here through the lens of embodied ethics, to assembly as a form of feminist activism. Each of these aims underpins the theoretical and empirical discussion developed in the article, specifically its focus on the relationship between embodied ethics, the interplay between theory and practice, and a politics of assembly as the basis for a critical reconsideration of inclusion.

scholarly journals Post-City (III): Co-spatiality Politics and New Mediality

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 232-266
Author(s):  
Dmitri Zamiatin
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Urban Communities ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Basic Element ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Political Ontology ◽  
Municipal Policies ◽  
The One ◽  
Urban Media

One of the most significant factors influencing the co-spatialities regimes of post-urban communities is the development of new urban media. On the one hand, new urban media symbolizes the complex transition to new post-urban communities and new spatial regimes of their existence; on the other hand, they are the basic element of the newly emerging policies of co-spatialities. From the phenomenological point of view, post-politics is treated as the growing dominance of flat communicative ontologies in post-urban spaces, characterized by the disintegration of the traditional modern methods of communication. A post-urban locality is defined as a medial co-being, centering the next here-and-now cartography of imagination, which can be considered as a post-political action. The de-territorialization of post-urban communities takes place through the “smoothing” of urban spaces, turning them into mostly “smooth spaces” with the help of the new media. Specific local geo-cultures, a new, “rhizomatic” type whose development is based on the post-political transcription of socialization and medialization of urban spaces, are formed. The affectivity of post-urban co-spatialities is manifested in the gradual increase in the number of new specific urban actors that herald the slipping away of traditional state and municipal policies. The post-political can be considered as a sphere of geo-semiotic violence aimed at the over-coding of co-spatial situations. The mapping of co-spatialities reproduces the Earth as a total chora of post-political ontology. The post-city nomos constantly forms a communicative periphery with the missing center, where any message can signal the transactions of imagination aimed at the devaluation of “center–periphery” systems.

scholarly journals Lefebvre’s Politics of Space: Planning the Urban as Oeuvre

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej Zieleniec
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Production Of Space ◽  
Space Planning ◽  
Planning And Design ◽  
The Social ◽  
Politics Of Space ◽  
The City

Henri Lefebvre’s project, developed over decades of research produced a corpus of work that sought to reprioritise the fundamental role of space in the experience and practice of social life. His assertion that there is ‘politics of space’ provides a challenge to the planning and design of the built environment by emphasising the need to understand the complex of elements involved in ‘the production of space’. Lefebvre’s approach and his ‘cry and demand’ for a ‘right to the city’ reflects the fundamental focus and importance he imparts to the practices, meanings and values associated with the inhabitation and use of the social spaces of everyday life. It will be argued that planning and design theory and practice should seek to address more fully and incorporate Lefebvre’s spatial theory as a means to reinvigorate and regenerate the urban as a lived environment, as an oeuvre, as opportunity for inhabitation, festival and play and not merely as a functional habitat impelled by the needs of power and capital.

scholarly journals Underground Architecture: Connections Between Ground-Level Public Space and Below-Ground Buildings

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Aimee Wright
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Ground Plane ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Underground Space ◽  
Physical Form ◽  
Successful Design ◽  
Below Ground

<p>The main objective of this research is to develop an underground space framework which establishes design solutions to underpin the successful design of underground buildings. The poorly conceived nature of contemporary underground space often means it has little, or no contribution to its above-ground environment, as it neglects the significant relationship between the ground plane, and above and belowground space. As a result of this omission towards its above-ground environment, urban design theory and practice have neglected the subject of underground space, where it is presented typically as ancillary spaces, of a highly fragmented nature. This problem is addressed through a literature review, establishing the treatment of underground space within urban design literature, a taxonomy analysis of the physical form of 90 contemporary underground buildings, and a discussion of the five archetypes of underground space. Developed from the findings of each of these research sections, an underground space framework is established. The framework is divided into six guideline categories with which each focusing on a major design issue relevant to underground space. The presentation of each guideline briefly states the issue, its objective, and then suggests various solutions for implementing the specific objective. The guidelines are intended to be flexible, where they are selected, developed and applied with regard to the underground buildings unique site and programme characteristics. The design case study, an extension of Wellingtons Museum of City and Sea located at Post Office Square, demonstrates how these guidelines can be used, through selecting, developing and then applying, suitable guidelines in response to its specific site and programme requirements. In total, the research suggests that the underground space framework can underpin the successful design of underground space through establishing strong physical connections between below ground and above ground public space. This can be achieved through blurring the boundaries between above and below -ground space, revealing historical underground elements above ground, and considering the underground as a viable option to resolving specific urban design issues present above ground.</p>

scholarly journals ROLE OF URBAN TRANSFORMATION IN SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY - A CASE OF INDORE CITY

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 108-117
Author(s):  
Soma Anil Mishra ◽  
Mayank Saxena ◽  
R.K. Pandit
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Irreversible Process ◽  
Social Bonds ◽  
Social Sustainability ◽  
Social Bonding ◽  
Urban Transformation ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Theory Review

Urban Transformation is an irreversible process and is bound to happen. The urban spaces also witness change in Social Sustainability with time. The question aroused out of this situation is that whether there is any linkage between Urban Transformation and Social Sustainability. The research paper is about Urban Transformation of Indore city and variation of Social Sustainability therein. Researcher’s aim is to analyze the level of social sustainability which persists along with the Urban Transformation faced in four distinguished locations of Indore city. The four areas are identified according to their social status. The researcher wishes to identify that process of Urban Transformation can make Social Sustainability better or worse despite of having citizens of similar background. Participation of the community, social bonding, cultural homogeneity and many such factors complement the process of Social sustainability. The paper is an effort for creating consciousness among designers of urban environment focusing upon their role as a social human being towards society. Cities should be designed in a manner so that they have proper interaction spaces and promote involvement of citizens for their own safety and security. Social bonds among neighbors develop a sense of responsibility in citizens. It should be taken care of and monitored as the conditions of society change along with Urban Transformation. To achieve the above objective, researcher has discussed various experts’ points of view regarding Urban Transformation and Social Sustainability. Then a field study is prepared complementing the theory review. The study comprises of ground observations and analysis of questionnaire, which is prepared to have residents’ view regarding Urban Transformation and Social Sustainability. The questionnaire is weighed in five point Likert scale. Later the results are subjected to statistical analysis for testing the hypotheses.

Save the Appearances! Toward an Arendtian Environmental Politics

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
LAURA EPHRAIM
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Environmental Politics ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Anthropogenic Contamination ◽  
Vulnerable Communities ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Critical Resources

Drawing critical resources from Hannah Arendt, this article argues for a revaluation of the appearances of nature in environmental political theory and practice. At a time when pervasive anthropogenic contamination threatens the very survival of vulnerable communities and species, it would be wrong to revive the timeworn mythos of nature as an untrammeled beauty. Instead, with Arendt’s help, I advocate an environmental politics rooted in an alternative aesthetic of nature, one that respects and seeks to protect earth’s diverse lifeforms for the sake of their strange, disquieting appearances of otherness. Earth’s living displays of alterity are valuable, I argue, for their propensity to upset the destructive logic of mass production and consumption and spur political action. In an Arendtian frame, we can better recognize interdependence between biological and political life and appreciate the role of nonhuman lifeforms in constituting spaces of appearance where human freedom and plurality may flourish.

The One-Party South

2018 ◽  
pp. 17-34
Author(s):  
Devin Caughey
Keyword(s):  
Electoral Politics ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Collective Decision Making ◽  
Democratic Regime ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
Political Exclusion ◽  
The One ◽  
Partisan Competition ◽  
Empirical Implications

This chapter develops a theory of electoral politics and representation in the one-party South, conceptualized as an exclusionary one-party enclave. It begins with a stylized description of the logic of electoral democracy and how it induces government to represent its citizens. Here, democracy is defined as a system for collective decision making that treats all participants as political equals. Next, the chapter considers the role of political parties, especially partisan competition, in democratic theory and practice. Having developed this framework with respect to democratic regimes, this chapter then proposes a modified version of it to describe electoral politics in the one-party South. It focuses on three important factors distinguishing the South from democratic regimes: its political exclusion of many citizens, its lack of partisan competition, and its status as a subnational enclave embedded in a national democratic regime. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the empirical implications of this theoretical framework and what we can learn through examination of the one-party South.

scholarly journals Pioneering urban practices in transition spaces

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Pittaluga
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Literature Search ◽  
The Other ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Space Management ◽  
Space Transformation ◽  
Design Requirements ◽  
The One

AbstractThe article suggests a set of design requirements to orient urban practices of transformation and space management when they work on transition spaces, which are difficult to interpret and classify in accordance with traditional dichotomous categories such as centre/periphery, urban/not urban, open/closed, abandoned/lived, public/private. The first part of the article explains how various disciplines describe and characterise this kind of space, which cannot be described precisely through traditional categories. Literature search indicates how transition spaces have a number of attributes that can be translated into requirements to steer design actions. The examples of urban practices, described in the central paragraphs of the article, quickly show how project actions actualize the requirements that can be inferred both from literature and from the examples themselves. The conclusions summarise the design requirements to transform and manage transition spaces, in order to orient “pioneering urban practices”, thus opening the way to different modes of intervention and offering new insights into the role of designers and users in this particular kind of practice. Promising prospects emerge not only for the design methodology of this type of spaces, but also for the possibility of addressing relevant issues in the current disciplinary debate concerning, on the one hand, the liveability and care of urban spaces and therefore the regeneration of public space, at a time in history when its existence is questioned, on the other hand the effectiveness of the involvement and empowerment of local societies in the processes of space transformation.

Study on Chinese Small Town Design Theory and Practice Explore

2013 ◽  
Vol 671-674 ◽  
pp. 2382-2385
Author(s):  
Sun Ming
Keyword(s):  
Urban Design ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Design Theory ◽  
Small Town ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Town Planning ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Chinese Characteristics ◽  
Town Design ◽  
Small Town Planning

It is new important task that urban design theory leads into small town planning. However there are less practice cases in domestic field. Lack of small town planning is mainly as follows: weak of town unique characteristic, little urban space form design, lack of Building group design. So this paper introduces urban design in the town planning field, gradually put forward small town design principle, its type, its different design stage, and its main design content with Chinese characteristics. According to explore urban design, the paper presents results extends the method to divide town design: regional town design, the general town design & detailed town design. Furthermore the article advance the key problem of studying town design theory and have a case application of Hang Zhou city Long Gang downtown design.

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