History and Theory in Architecture IX

Abstract

This course offers a brief introduction to contemporary urban problems and challenges. Based on a thematic approach, the course explores how these issues pose a challenge to the fields of architecture, urban design and planning.

Objective

This course aims to offer a survey of the history and current state of urban theory for students of urban design and architecture.

Content

It is a somewhat commonplace to say thatwe live in an 'urban age': cities are the most common habitat for the inhabitants of the world, today. Moreover, while more than half the global population lives in cities according to the reports of the UN, it is expected that within the next few decades this amount will increase to two-thirds. This 'urban' condition, however, cannot be generalized. Within the term 'city' a broad range of different urban conditions are taken together: from metropolises to suburban neighborhoods, and from shrinking (old industrial) cities to the new cities that prosper under the conditions of globalization. It also generalizes too much with regard to the urban condition within cities in the so-called Global North as compared to the Global South. In other words: the urban condition is as diverse as there are cities. However, it is also true that it is precisely in the cities that the challenges of our time are most apparent: globalization, gentrification, poverty, climate change. These topics call for a response. The development of cities forms the topic of discussion, not only within the fields of architecture, urban design, spatial planning, but also among politicians, economists, anthropologists, philosophers, citizens and activists. The urban realm and reality has provoked them to think and write about its form and functioning, appearance and structure, to protest against particular issues, and to take initiatives to direct the development in a different direction. Designers and planners reflect on the urban developments as well, sometimes in participating in the development themselves, sometimes from the sideline. This is obviously not new, nor limited to the current urban condition. The discourse regarding the size and growth of cities, its functioning and politics, has a long pedigree in history, going back to the establishment of Greek and Roman city-states. This survey course aims to offer an introduction to issues at stake in cities, tailored to students of architecture and urban design. It will explore the past and current discourses, and will access a broad range of perspectives. It also does an effort to expand the scope beyond regular Western-European and North-American perspectives from Western world. The course will specifically address how architecture (positively or negatively) is involved in these issues. The aim of the course is to challenge the question how architects and urban designers can have an influence on urban developments and issues that we often regard as beyond the scope of architecture. With this challenge, also students are urged to reflect upon their own position regarding architectural interventions in the urban fabric, facing the current condition of the urban environment (in all its diversity). This course consists of weekly, one-hour lectures that address one particular topic at a time. In each lecture, this theme is investigated through different texts and case-studies that highlight crucial moments in the history and developments of cities. At the same time, the case studies will be structured so as to bridge between urban theories and concrete urban situations, design reflections and political ambitions. This will help convey to students the historical pedigree of current discourses on cities, whether simultaneously gain insight the role of designers in respect to the chosen topic. Students will prepare the meetings by reading fragments from core texts on the forehand. The course is finalized through the writing of an essay, wherein the student is challenged to question how architectural agency can address (a) contemporary urban issue(s). Lecture 01 – Introduction Lecture 02 – Politics Lecture 03 – Public Space Lecture 04 – Capital Lecture 05 – Climate Change Lecture 06 – Technology Lecture 07 – Tourism Lecture 08 – Migration Lecture 09 – Housing Lecture 10 – Participation Lecture 11 – Architectural Agency

Resources