{"id":633838,"date":"2018-07-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-02T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/latest-news\/articles\/towards-a-complex-and-integrated-urbanism\/"},"modified":"2019-02-06T12:37:37","modified_gmt":"2019-02-06T11:37:37","slug":"towards-a-complex-and-integrated-urbanism","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/articles\/towards-a-complex-and-integrated-urbanism\/","title":{"rendered":"Towards a Complex and Integrated Urbanism"},"featured_media":636302,"template":"","meta":{"_has_post_settings":[]},"schools":[28],"areas":[16,21,23,24],"subjects":[],"class_list":["post-633838","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","schools-architecture-and-design","areas-competitiveness-growth","areas-innovation","areas-smart-society","areas-strategy"],"custom-fields":{"wpcf-article-leadin":["Master plans no longer make sense in urbanism. It\u2019s time we started thinking about cities in all their complexity and devising projects that integrate all possible variables. Nowadays, in the 21st century, it makes no sense to plan unalterable infrastructures that respond in advance to unpredictable events."],"wpcf-article-body":["The term master plan<\/em> has become outdated. It\u2019s time to change the language we use in urbanism and move away from the idea of immobile architectural structures. We need to take into account the context, the collective meaning of the enterprise, and consider whom it is built for. As the famous Scottish planner Patrick Geddes said in the 1890s: \u201cA city is more than a place in space, it is a drama in time.\u201d\r\n\r\nAt first glance, this quote might not suggest much, but it should prompt us to rethink certain ideas. Are we doing master plans correctly? Should we change the way we think? The conclusion is that we must think about urban development in another way. We have to imagine what a neighborhood or structure will look like in 20 years, as the city changes over time. It might project a different sort of image. Because of these sorts of circumstances, architecture must embrace complexity.\r\n\r\nThe architectural paradigm has shifted. Complexity adds value to structures. Once, when I was leading a project, the client told me that they were concerned about the large number of variables. They asked me to simplify things. I replied that complexity was, in fact, the project\u2019s main value. This anecdote is a reflection of the cities and places where we live. Even so, this element is difficult to incorporate into development plans. You have to think about what drivers of change can be introduced (energy, demography, climate change, etc.), what impact they will have, and where they come from.\r\n
We need to take into account the context, the collective meaning of the enterprise, and consider whom it is built for.<\/blockquote>\r\nGetting involved with the population<\/strong>\r\n\r\nIn order to keep myths out of general plans, it is necessary to consult and get involved with the people who are affected by new infrastructures. For example, in a project in London, we introduced a digital system capable of identifying patterns in responses given by local residents. This system provided invaluable assistance in terms of finding out what the residents\u2019 priorities were. We concluded that the initial plan needed to be adapted to the neighborhood\u2019s needs.\r\n\r\nHowever, other very important parameters also need to be considered in projects of this sort. Local job creation and residents\u2019 level of education and health directly influence the sort of urban development that should be undertaken. Parameter-based computer models make it easy to simulate scenarios and gain a better understanding of how neighborhoods are evolving. Countless variables can be crossed to obtain a very realistic image of where we are working and where we should direct our efforts.\r\n\r\nBrexit is a clear example. Who could have known what was going to happen? In integrated urban development, we have the ability to respond to an unpredictable event as quickly as possible. With a master plan, such a response is so much more difficult.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nInfluences for integrated development<\/strong>\r\n\r\nThis integrated and sustainable approach to development is subject to many influences that can vary rather easily. The environment, tourism, and economic development are just a few such factors. Figuring out how we can bring these factors together and integrate them is one of the great challenges in contemporary architectural processes. One example of how to build this sort of identity and embrace complexity was a project carried out on the south side of Amsterdam. One area was home to iconic buildings, but another area had not yet been developed. It was ultimately decided to plant a corn field in that area\u2014a move that changed the neighborhood\u2019s identity. None of this was in the master plan. This is a different way to bring people together, to diversify the city\u2019s complexity, and to introduce a certain degree of contradiction.\r\n\r\nAnother interesting example of adding value is what has happened in recent years in the King\u2019s Cross area of London. Since the 1990s, this neighborhood has increased its value by a factor of 80. Three developments have played a role in the neighborhood\u2019s evolution. First, the government passed a series of laws<\/a> that provided certainty about what could be built in the area. Second, a series of modern facilities, such as golf courses and dance clubs, were built. And third, investment money rolled in for the 2012 Olympic Games and subsequent construction projects. The master plan did not envisage one single policy for the development of King\u2019s Cross. The way things ultimately unfolded has been unimaginably profitable for the neighborhood.\r\n
In integrated urban development, we have the ability to respond to an unpredictable event as quickly as possible.<\/blockquote>\r\nUrbanistic priorities<\/strong>\r\n\r\nUrbanism needs to get back to having the right priorities at the right time. If all variables can be mastered and we can gain an understanding of how they are related to one another, we can design great places. A project can take into account everything from pollution control<\/a> to waste management. But we must go even further than that. We have to look at the greater context in order to understand the technical aspects, governance, and the relationships between local residents, so that we can transfer this knowledge to the project.\r\n\r\nWe need to absorb the many ways in which urban-development projects add value to the trajectories that shape cities. We must give society reasons to trust us. More important than buildings or other superfluous aspects, we need to ensure that people want to keep living in the area.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\u00a9 IE Insights.\r\n\r\n "],"wpcf-article-extract-enable":["1"],"wpcf-article-extract":["By Malcolm Smith<\/strong>. Master plans no longer make sense in urbanism. It\u2019s time we started thinking about cities..."],"wpcf-article-summary-enable":["1"],"wpcf-article-summary":["Master plans and immobile architectural structures have no place in today\u2019s fast-changing society. Urban development requires an integrated and sustainable approach. This includes getting involved with the people affected by new infrastructure and taking into account the influence of factors such as tourism, the environment, and economic development. The knowledge acquired through this sort of immersion in the context should be reflected in the design of urban-development projects. Such an approach allows projects to take into account everything from pollution control to relationships between local residents. In the end, the important thing is for urban-development projects to add value for cities and their inhabitants."]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/633838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=633838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"schools","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/schools?post=633838"},{"taxonomy":"areas","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/areas?post=633838"},{"taxonomy":"subjects","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ie.edu\/insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/subjects?post=633838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}