scholarly journals Save-As Detroit: Connecting Successful Real World and Academic Projects

Author(s):  
Allegra Pitera ◽  

Over time I have seen various attempts, both successes and fail-ures to ‘save’ Detroit. Some of the late-20th Century development projects were intended to save the city, such as John Portman’s Renaissance Center downtown on the river. However, the devel-opment trend in that era was to turn their backs on the urban landscape, razie historic buildings and vibrant neighborhoods: the developers lacked a sensitivity to the existing urban context. They could not see the potential value of robust communities and a walk-able urban streetscape; they were trying to save Detroit. Before defining Save-As, let’s define what Save-As is not. The issue with saving Detroit is partly that those doing the saving often presume to know what the city needs, and worse, turn their backs on the communities and the citizens who live and work there. As we know when working on a computer, there is an option for saving a project you are working on without destroying the previous version. It is called Save-as. Urban visionaries understand that if we re-vision Detroit through a contemporary design lens, if Saved-As, we have the opportunity to merge modern urban design strategies with the strengths of the existing framework, such as Detroit’s communities, culture and beautiful architecture. In doing so, ultimately enhancing the quality of life for urban-dwellers as well as the surroundings, benefiting through economic growth and vibrant neighborhoods. In this context, Save-As is therefore about retaining what works–and building up from there. As an educator, I feel that this is an important distinction for students to understand: to not try to save Detroit. The current Detroit riverfront now boasts a renovated Renaissance Center: thankfully there is no more concrete berm. The riverfront now consists of walkable and vibrant public spaces. One of my hunches in this research is that successful projects like this retain less of an emphasis on saving as they do in Save-As: creating a hybrid urban landscape of the best aspects of the what–is now–with what could be, socio-politically and eco-culturally.

Author(s):  
Minou Weijs-Perrée ◽  
Gamze Dane ◽  
Pauline van den Berg

Urbanization brings major challenges with regard to livability and the health and quality of life of citizens [...]


2019 ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Antonio Díaz Sotelo

ResumenEl objeto de este texto es la exposición y análisis de los procedimientos de intervención pública en el paisaje urbano de la ciudad de Madrid. El objetivo último de ese análisis es identificar el modelo público para el paisaje urbano en Madrid.  Este texto se centra en la exposición analítica de documentos oficiales antes que en sus conclusiones definitivas, por lo que le corresponde la denominación de Informe.  Este informe se organiza en dos partes: una exposición teórica que enmarca el posterior análisis de instrumentos administrativos de intervención en el paisaje.  Se concibe como parte de la investigación de Tesis Doctoral titulada “Transformación Reciente del Paisaje Comercial en el Centro Histórico”, acotada en un marco temporal de apenas diez años, marcado por la crisis y la desregulación económica, y en un marco territorial limitado al centro histórico de Madrid. Esa investigación se enmarca en una reflexión general sobre la relación entre actividad económica y paisaje urbano. El interés de este informe para la investigación es sobre la utilidad de ese modelo público para el paisaje urbano en Madrid como parámetro para valorar la rentabilidad de los esfuerzos públicos y privados en la mejora de la calidad del paisaje urbano.AbstractThe purpose of this text is the exhibition and analysis of public intervention procedures in the urban landscape of the city of Madrid. The ultimate goal of this analysis is to identify the public model for the urban landscape in Madrid. This text focuses on the analytical exposition of official documents rather than on their final conclusions, for which reason the denomination of Report corresponds. This report is organized in two parts: a theoretical exposition that frames the subsequent analysis of administrative instruments of intervention in the landscape. It is conceived as part of the Doctoral Thesis research titled "Recent Transformation of the Commercial Landscape in the Historic Center", bounded within a period of just ten years, marked by the crisis and economic deregulation, and in a territorial framework limited to the historic center of Madrid. This research is part of a general reflexion on the relationship between economic activity and urban landscape. The interest of this report for the investigation is about the utility of that public model for the urban landscape in Madrid as a parameter to assess the profitability of public and private efforts in improving the quality of the urban landscape.


Author(s):  
Vicente Collado Capilla ◽  
Sonia Gómez-Pardo Gabaldón

URBAN LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT Vicente Collado Capilla1 and Sonia Gómez-Pardo Gabaldón21Servicio de Infraestructura Verde y Paisaje. Generalitat Valenciana. Ciutat Administrativa 9 D'Octubre-Torre 1, C/ Castán Tobeñas 77, 46018 Valencia; 2Servicio Territorial de Urbanismo. Provincia de Valencia. Generalitat Valenciana. Prop I, C/ Gregorio Gea, nº 27, 46009 Valencia. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]  Key words: urban_landscape, streetcape, landscape_value, andscape_assessment, landscape_preferences. The urban landscape assesment as an important element in the quality of life and the sustainable development of the city constitutes an incipient field of investigation from a new perspective that adds meanings and values. An analysis of the different methodological developments and national and international experiences in the assessment of these landscapes will highlight its importance as a strategic element to improve the quality of the city. It starts from the concept of assessment as a system where tangible and intangible values ​​are considered by the population and the experts. These include among other formal, economic, environmental, social, cultural issues (…) and the relationships between them. Consideration of the opinions of experts from different points of view such as urbanism and architecture but also environment, economy, geography, history, archeology, sociology, social assistance, etc. Together with the preferences expressed by the population regarding the spaces they inhabit on a daily basis and their aspirations, strengthen the sense of belonging and the identity of the place as key elements in the perception of the urban landscapes that allows to contribute new qualities, integration criteria and ​​contemporary values to any type of intervention. These are strategies and intervention procedures that start from the complexity of the city as a system and incorporate the perception that citizens have or will have of their immediate environment.  References: Czynska Klara and Pawel Rubinowicz (2015). ´Visual protection Surface method: Cityscape values in context of tall buildings´. SSS10 Proceedings of the 10 th International Space Syntax Symposium. Paquette Sylvain (2008). Guide de gestion des paysages au Québec. Université de Montréal Pallasmaa, Juhani (2005). The Eyes of the Skin. Architecture and the Senses. New York: John Wiley. Ministry of Environment and Energy The National Forest and Nature Agency (1997). International Survey of Architectural Values in the Environment. Denmark . The Landscape Institute and Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (2013). Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment. Third Edition, London: Routledge.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Syeda Faeza Hasan ◽  
Farjana Rahman

Dhaka is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world with a population of 21 million. With the constantly rising inhabitants, this urbanizing hub officially only has 122 public toilets, and in reality, most of them are not functional (Sanyal, November 05, 2016). Different studies also suggested that current situations of the public toilets in the city are unusable and unhygienic. Apart from a few good ones, most toilets have filthy floors, inadequate lighting and ventilation, and unbearable odor of human waste. Although unhygienic open defecation by men is a common scene in the city, for the woman it is not an option. While the city plans to construct a few, there still will be a huge need for public toilets to meet the demand of the vast population. It is critical to realize the challenges existing and evolving from the forbidding public hygiene situation and the lack of proper public infrastructure. Understanding the user group is crucial as modern and costly toilets end up being rejected than being used. Thus the paper tries to address the problems and suggests design strategies to achieve a feasible design solution for a sustainable public toilet that supports and empowers communal hygiene. The contribution of this paper is not only to promote a design solution but how this infrastructure can integrate with the surrounding urban context. A modular prototype is proposed which is adaptable, feasible, cost-effective, easy to erect, and can be plugged into any corner of the city. Rethinking public toilets as an adaptable prototype is not only about providing proper sanitation but also encouraging people about hygiene education, awareness, and innovation. The design is conceptualized as a prefabricated self-sustainable modular unit that can be altered, increased, or decreased as per the necessity of the surrounding area. 


Author(s):  
Valentyna Bohatyrets ◽  
Liubov Melnychuk

Nowadays, in the age of massive spatial transformations in the built environment, cities witness a new type of development, different in size, scale and momentum that has been thriving since late 20th century. Diverse transformation of historic cities under modernisation has led to concerns in terms of the space and time continuity disintegration and the preservation of historic cities. In a similar approach, we can state that city and city space do not only consist of present, they also consist of the past; they include the transformations, relations, values, struggles and tensions of the past. As it could be defined, space is the history itself. Currently, we would like to display how Chernivtsi cultural and architectural heritage is perceived and maintained in the course of its evolution. Noteworthy, Chernivtsi city is speculated a condensed human existence and vibes, with public urban space and its ascriptions are its historical archives and sacred memory. Throughout the history, CHERNIVTSI’s urban landscape has changed, while preserving its unique and distinctive spirit of diversity, multifacetedness and tolerance. The city squares of the Austrian, Romanian and Soviet epochs were crammed with statuary of royal elites and air of aristocracy, soviet leaders and a shade of patriotic obsession, symbolic animals and sacred piety – that eventually shaped its unique “Bukovynian supranational identity”. Keywords: Chernivtsi, cultural memory, memory studies, monuments, squares, identity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 00080
Author(s):  
Krystyna Paprzyca

The quality of the urban environment determines a lasting relationship between a man and his place of residence. Sustainable management of the urban spaces is crucial as it directly affects their quality. The article analyses the results of the sustainability regarding spatial, socio-economic, technical and environmental aspects, which are one of the many conditions that contribute to the proper functioning of urban life. They also influence the quality of life and residence in the urban environment. There are different ways of expressing the development of the cities defined by specific indicators. They focus mainly on development of the quality of life - social, economic and environmental development. The sustainable urban design is related to issues connected with the form and spatial management. This topic is presented on the example of the city of Oświęcim - the Old Town district with the surrounding area.


Revista Prumo ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 156-160
Author(s):  
Luiz Fernando Janot

Throughout history, cities have incorporated into their urban context a significant influence of migratory currents. Among Brazilian cities, Rio best reflected racial and cultural miscegenation in welcoming foreign migrants from other states in search of work. The lack of working-class resources led her to occupy hills, river banks, and other vacant areas of the city to raise her dwelling. Living in communities without urbanization and basic sanitation reveals the contempt of the public power towards the poorest sections of the population. This article aims to reflect on this and other issues related to urban development in Rio to level the quality of life in the city.


space&FORM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2020 (46) ◽  
pp. 165-186
Author(s):  
Wojciech Skórzewski ◽  

Local spatial development plans, are one of the most important urban landscaping tools. Their goal is, on the one hand, to protect urban space including, inter alia, prevention of creation of illconsidered developments, that are bad to the urban landscape, the environment or the local communities. For this purpose, there is a number of restrictions introduced into local spatial development plans. On the other hand, the role of local plans is also creating the space, so they should be conducive to projects with high-quality architecture, that are often unconventional and innovative, adding new value to the architectural landscape of the city, which could be blocked by too strict regulations. The trick is to create regulations in a way that can help reconcile that two goals.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Hassan Kharmich ◽  
Mouna Sedreddine

Embodying for a long time the image of an administrative capital where the functionary dominate, where the urban setting is aging and where quality of life is declining, the city of Rabat has recently embarked on a frantic race to reinvent a new image: a modern, innovative and qualitative image.In order to achieve this, several projects and programs of development, embellishment and construction, has been initiated with a common feature which is greatness (large theater, high towers, large stations, large arteries, new centralities, etc.). This greatness aspect is visible through the importance of the areas involved, the volumes and the shapes designed, the modes of transport developed, the means and resources deployed in add to the promotion of architectural signatures of the renowned architects, and the modes of governance and project management. Henceforth, Rabat shows its ambition as a city of culture, as a green city and as a “city of light”.  The time of Rabat, as administrative city, is over.However, the image displayed and publicized seems controversial compared to the reality of certain urban spaces, often with high heritage value, that develop on the margins of programs and projects initiated. Real deficits are observed in terms of basic equipment and services, in terms of transport network and in terms of urban coherence and social cohesion. Everything contributes to an urban image with two facets: one more qualitative, more modern and more elitist, while the other is more spontaneous, more vulnerable and more devalued.Faced with this identity transition and this double temporality, what image and identity do we want for Rabat? What vocations do we claim for this city which aspires to become a national and international metropolis? What developments should be advocated for a capital with such a rich and diversified history? What relationship can be established between the local identity and the global identity of the city? How does the citizen apprehend his living spaces in the face of such universal urban model, where social connections as well as the spatial relationship mutate towards new practices?These questions will be enlightened through the confrontation of major projects underway and urban realities, through the analysis of the new urban model which is universal, modern and generating a new image and a new urban identity, as well as through the impact of these major projects both on the urban landscape and quality of life. It’s with these considerations in mind that this paper is drawn up: « Rabat, a metropolitan city », between displayed image and reality of image and identity.


Author(s):  
S. Liu ◽  
S. Zhang

As the demand for visual quality of environment increases, visual analysis therefore plays progressively important role in current urban landscape construction and management. Guided by the City Image theory, this paper presents a covered scene index “X” to describe the visibility of the target scene, and formulates a digital analysis model based on ArcGIS and 3D simulation. This method is applied to the viewpoint analysis from the East Daming Road of the North Bund to the Oriental Pearl in Shanghai and optimized solutions are proposed according to the results. It turns out that this simple and objective technique can serve as a good tool for the reference of urban landscape planning and management.


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