1.ATLANTIS #22.1 April 2011Paul Stouten 04 Justina Muliuolyte 08Wouter Vanstiphout 14MAGAZINE BY POLIS | PLATFORM FOR URBANISMMSc Urbanism TU Delft 22Hui Xiao-xi 26 The Why Factory 30 Luuk Boelens 34 Ekim Tan 40Rietveld Landscape 44MSc Landscape Architecture 48Gabriele Rendn 50BVR 55Henco Bekkering 60URBAN SOCIETY 1

2. 2 3. EditorialSince urbanism is a practical science, and therefore draws from different disci- The outline for Atlantis volume 22.plines, the challenge for the student urbanist is to construct a meaningful wholeIf you have ideas and would like toout of this input. In order to fulfill this, perspectives from different communities contribute, please do not hesitate tohave to be judged. contact us at atlantis@polistudelft.nlAt the TU Delft department of Urbanism these different perspectives are made #22.1 Urban Societyexplicit in eleven chairs. Four chairs are organized around what are consideredKeywords: society, regeneration,to be the fundamentals of the discipline, which are: Urban Compositions, Land- politics, housing, neighborhood.scape Architecture, Spatial Planning & Strategy and Environmental Technology.Alongside these chairs there are some practically orientated or thematic chairs,ATLANTISMAGAZINE BY POLIS | PLATFORM FOR UBANISM #22.1 April 2011concerned with the topical aspects of the discipline. They are Urban Design,Regional and Metropolitan Design, Environmental Design, Cultural History andDesign, Strategic Planning, The Why Factory and, the latest addition, Design asPolitics. URBAN SOCIETY 1These different chairs each provide, apart from the research side of matters,#22.2 Urban Forminput for the education of students. Because the chairs represent different worldKeywords: form, density, typolo-views, the challenge for the student is to deduct a narrative out of this. Thatgies, design, public space, urbanmeans finding relations but also question certain ideas. This synthesizing is, totechniques.my mind, the most important academic and professional quality one must have.The noun synthesis refers to compiling information together in a different wayATLANTIS #22.1 April 2011MAGAZINE BY POLIS | PLATFORM FOR UBANISMby combining elements in a new pattern or proposing alternative solutions.The purpose of Atlantis volume 22, published in 4 issues, is contributing to thischallenge by exposing different, maybe sometimes opposing perspectives on URBAN SOCIETY 1urbanism. It will be organized by setting up four frames. Within each frame dif-ferent ideas, methods and techniques will be shown. This is done by means of #22.3 Urban Economyarticles, essays, interviews, designs, photos and models obtained from students, Keywords: globalization, urbanacademics and practitioners. Finally, at Atlantis #22.4 a carton bookbinder will economy, competitiveness, brand-be provided to literally tie up all the issues. Hopefully this combination will form ing, foreign direct investment.a more coherent whole than a mere collection of isolated issues would have done.ATLANTIS #22.1 April 2011MAGAZINE BY POLIS | PLATFORM FOR UBANISMEvery issue will have a similar set-up. Paul Stouten will open this issue of UrbanSociety by providing a historical framework on the topic of regeneration. Jus-tina Muliuolyte shows her recent graduation work on the regeneration of social-ist neighborhoods in Lithuania. Hui Xiao Xi explains the urban renewal in URBAN SOCIETY 1Beijing and its existing challenges and The Why Factory proposes an inspiringalternative to these challenges. Wouter Vanstiphout introduces the new chair of#22.4 Urban LandscapeDesign as Politics. Luuk Boelens, BVR and Rietveld Landscape present inter-Keywords: landscape, metropolitan,esting ideas and insights derived from practice, while Ekim Tan and Gabriela urban-rural, biodiversity, borderRendon give us an insight into their current academic research. Finally, Henco conditions.Bekkering will reflect on the topics discussed in this issue. Along these lines, thework of students will be exhibited.ATLANTIS #22.1 April 2011 MAGAZINE BY POLIS | PLATFORM FOR UBANISMOn behalf of the editorial team, I want to thank all contributors, since it is theirwork that makes this issue of Atlantis possible! URBAN SOCIETY1Jasper Nijveldt2 4. From the boardA new Atlantis, a new board and five wildly enthusiasticCommittees 2011new committees! First we have to start with thanking the2010 board for putting Polis back on track. By organizing a Atlantisgreat amount of activities they made Polis visible again andJan Breukelman, Edwin Hans, Jasper Nijveldt & Janby that they gave the board of 2011 great opportu ities to nWilbersbring Polis again a step further. These ambitions we havesummarized in our renewed mission statement: OurLecturesgoal is to construct a network for intellectual transmissionThe lecture committee of Polis will organise lectureswithin the Department of Urbanism and beyond. Connect-throughout the year, and a symposium later this year.ing students, researchers and practitioners, by exposing andThe goal is to explore, and get new insights from fields ofinvestigating contemporary affairs and academic ideology. Urbanism that are not part of the traditional curriculum.We will do this by means of a magazine, organizing excur- The first lecture theme will be Digital Urbanism, consisions, lectures, debates, expositions and other activities. sting of two lectures, of which the first will be about theThe current activities play an important role in this, but we role of serious gaming in contemporary urban planning.want to strengthen our goal with the use of two pillars.Remmelt Oosterhuis, Sylke Koumans & Thomas PaulThe Polis board 2011 would like to dedicate more effort Small Excursionto the monitoring of the quality of education. We aim toThis years small excursion committee started with a sur-do this by organizing for example an evaluation meeting plus of ideas, and has already had their first excursion towith the students and coordinators after every quarter. Antwerp. Now the team, consisting of five enthusiasticBesides that we would like to focus more on the workstudents is looking for even more exciting places to go,field: connecting students to practitioners working atwhich would ideally match up with the changing themesdesign offices & municipalities by means of lectures, within the current urbanism stream.workshops and case studies. In doing so, Polis will Hannah Cremers, Gijs Briet, Andre Kroese, Verena Roell &become more than only the study association for stu-Wieke Villeriusdents. Through the mentioned activities and the Atlantismagazine Polis aims to become an interesting medium for Big Excursionacademics and professionals.Polis Big Excursion committee has been organisingexcursions since 2008. A group of Urbanism and Archi-Of course Polis is more than that. Polis organizes a com- tecture enthusiasts strive to combine the educational withbination of valuable and enjoyable activities. Not only the fun, having visited Paris, the city of light, and Ham-excursions, lectures and case studies, but we would alsoburg, the city of trade. This year we will go and explorelike to organize a Polis Urbanism Week in autumn. Fur-Vienna, the city of Sachertorte!thermore, we would like to plan small workshops for the Maike Warmerdam, Alicia Schoo & Liselotte van der Abachelor students to get a bit more in touch with urban-ism and landscape architecture. BorrelThe Polis Borrel committee is a newly found group ofFor all members we proudly present our new websitestudents which organizes social events for the students ofwhich is launched this month. On this website well informthe Master tracks Urbanism and Landscape Architecture.you about all kinds of events coming up inside and out- After the stress of a presentation you can count the Borrelside the TU Delft , let you browse through the Atlantiscommittee for some hard earned relaxation and funArchive, filter interesting internships and give you the pos- times! Keep checking the POLIS website and the Polissibility to sign up for Polis activities. Bookmark our newFacebook events for more party information!website (www.polistudelft.nl) and keep in touch!Maaike Zwart, Nazanin Hemmati, Ani Skachokova &Laurens de LangeUrban greetings from the Polis board 2011,Jorick Beijer, Karien Hofhuis, Vera Konings, Tim Ruijs &Noor Scheltema 3 5. Changing Contexts in UrbanRegeneration paul stoutenThe need to combat decay of obsolete housing and ser-Urban renewal, urban regeneration and sustainablevices in urban renewal areas has been recognized bydevelopmentevery major country in Western Europe, including the The 1970s saw a fundamental change in policy on urbanNetherlands (Couch et al., 2003). Urban regeneration inrenewal. Besides placing a greater emphasis on rehabili-general can be considered as developing an approach in tation and improvement rather than demolition of exist-a complex urban context that includes a variety of spa-ing building stock, the approach called for participationtial scales, sectors, actors and disciplines. Urban regen- of present residents in the renewal process and decentral-eration needs to respond to changing contexts with new ized control. The approach involved the decentralizedeconomic concentrations in cities that are accompanied direction of the entire process by local authorities andby new markets for new population groups within thetenant groups working in cooperation. The fact that pri-current urban population (Sassen, 1991). This situa- ority access to new or modernized housing was given totion is sometimes in conflict with the living conditions the lower paid made the aims of building-for-the-neigh-of specific groups in the urban population trapped inborhood (bouwen voor de buurt) unique in the historyeconomic difficulties, excluded from opportunities and of social housing. Building-for-the-neighborhood meantrights. The other side of the same coin and with as thethat the then present tenants got priority with regard tocommon underlying factor a change in economic struc- the improvement of their housing and living conditions.ture caused by global competition and technologicalinnovation (Drewe et al. 2008). Urban regeneration By the end of the 1980s a market oriented approach andneeds to respond to new conditions and can therefore the recognition of new sets of problems and challenges hadnot be a static phenomenon. Two basic concerns havebecome dominant in much of Europe. What was new inbecome part of the agenda in all new strategies for urbanthis approach was the acceptance of the need to take intoregeneration, namely the search for lasting solutionsaccount environmental objectives related to sustainableand an integrated approach to physical, environmental, development. In the Netherlands urban renewal becamesocial and economic programs.more or less part of a more comprehensive form of urban regeneration of a city or region. One of its core activitiesUrban renewal was and is an important issue in the relates to the functional obsolescence of buildings andNetherlands and particularly renewal of the city of Rot- the changing requirements of their users. Roberts (2000)terdam was an interesting example nationally and inter-summarized the essential features of urban regenerationnationally in the period 1975-1993 (Stouten, 2010). Dueby defining it as: comprehensive and integrated visionto large investments from financial and social capital,and action aimed at the resolution of urban problems andlarge parts of old neighborhoods have been modernized. seeking to bring about a lasting improvement in the eco-Fundamental changes on the labour and housing market nomic, physical, social and environmental condition of anput the housing question of the constructed buildings, area that has been subjected to change. The main compo-environments and living conditions on the agenda again.nents put forward as relevant to the regeneration of citiesSince mid 1990s approaches led to a degree of integrationare essentially a strategic activity, including economicof social, economic and building policies. Most of these regeneration and funding, physical and environmentalprograms of social renewal, subsequent Big City poli-aspects, social and community issues, employment andcies (Grote Stedenbeleid) and neighborhood approacheseducation (including training), and housing.started in Rotterdam and were later adopted by the cen-In 1987 the report of the Brundtland Committeetral government. Against this background, an evaluation(WCED, 1987) introduced sustainable development inof the results is very worthwhile, particularly becausea worldwide policy guideline. The committee pleadedurban renewal policy has to deal with a new context in for sustainable development to ensure that develop-the last decades, in which privatization and being marketment meets the needs of the present generation withoutdriven are the main topics.compromising the ability of future generations to meet4 6. their own needs. The point here is that besides its con-sible for much of the deterioration. Because these ownerssequences for the here and now, the way of developinghad made no investment or too little investment to main-affects the long-term prospects of the earth and its inhab-tain their properties, an attempt was made to bring theiritants. In this tradition sustainable development involves properties into the social sector by the use of compulsoryreaching a new balance between rich and poor, today andor voluntary purchase.tomorrow, mankind and nature. For our research into sustainable urban regeneration At the end of the 1980s greater emphasis was put on thewe have chosen a dynamic concept directed at the inte- status of the urban renewal areas in the city as a whole.gration of physical, economic and social factors (Stouten, Preparation of urban development plans started consider-2010). Sustainability will therefore be interpreted here asing the functioning of the citys housing market and thethe quality of a residential situation and human urban relationships with adjacent areas and boroughs. Futureenvironment which is suitable for continued use by its res-production should match the heterogeneity of the popu-idents and permits improvement in their physical, social lation in a better way by increasing the differentiationand economic conditions including an overall strategic within the housing stock by more variation in housingframework for city-wide development. typology, housing size, price class and type of financing. Developing new types of human environment includingUrban renewal and urban regeneration in Rotterdam: residential environments e.g. on the former harbor areas1974-1993became a great challenge.In the course of the 1970s, residents in urban renewalareas of Rotterdam, like residents in such areas in otherReflections on the building for the neighborhood periodcities, became actively involved in actions pressing for the Nearly 72.000 dwellings (60% of the total housing stockimprovement of their housing situation. The post-war in the old areas) were radically improved by new housingpolicies with their mass model of housing provision were and the modernization of pre-war housing estates. Addi-no longer able to meet the special needs and requirementstionally, 45 primary schools and a large number of newof tenants in old city areas. Their poor housing conditionswelfare provisions (community centers, medical aid cent-were an important reason for the change in policy that ers and so on) were built in the old areas. Moreover, urbantook place in 1974. Apart from the poor quality of housing renewal included the realization of 220,000m2 of retailand the residential environment, other important factors and commercial space. In 1976, 54% of the housing stockincluded the possibility (or impossibility) of improving the was structurally in a poor quality, whereas after urbanhousing situation and reducing social and economic dep-renewal this proportion fell to no more than 8%. Afterrivation. A cooperative planning and housing model was 1993 poor quality dwellings were mainly concentrateddeveloped to manage this improvement.in the housing stock supplied by private landlords. The The special attention for the lowest paid meant forfindings of urban renewal in other Dutch cities revealedexample providing affordable new housing for residents the same poor conditions in the private rental sector (ABFof the old areas including brown field areas. The purchase research, 2002).of private properties was an important instrument in the For reflections on the building for the neighborhoodurban renewal strategy. It meant that almost 69% of allperiod, a distinction should be made between changesprivate properties became social rented properties.in conditions for urban renewal brought about through external developments and those which could be tracedThe principles underlying the urban renewal strategy back more or less directly to the urban renewal policywere:itself, i.e. the building of social housing for the neighbor-- Building for the neighborhood, i.e. working in line hood population and purchasing housing from privatewith the needs and requirements of the population of landlords by the local government.the areas subject to urban renewal, thus avoiding forced External developments are implemented to includeremoval and displacement.the economic recession, long-term unemployment and-Decentralization and democratization, meaning that changes in the structure of employment, the affordabilitydecisions about renewal measures should not simply beof housing costs, changing ratios of immigrants to natives,taken centrally by municipal departments, but should social and cultural changes and new relationships betweentake account of input from and participation by the resi-central government, municipalities, housing associationsdents of the area involved.and residential groups.- Socialization of the housing provision, resulting from Economic developments in the 1980s including an eco-the city councils view that private landlords were respon-nomic recession had a radical effect on urban renewal.5 7. Area-based activities declined in the wake of national was mainly concerned with privatization. Urban housingdevelopments. A number of large industries and service policy was characterized by a decrease in the resourcescompanies moved to the edge of the city or beyond. About made available by government and a greater dependence18% of the loss of employment can be ascribed to exter-on private initiatives. The combination of urban renewalnal developments, i.e. the economic recession, and not toand decreased priority for inner-city regeneration led tourban renewal itself with its priority on housing. increased pressure on economic aspects. At the beginning The second point regards the affordability of hous-of this millennium the integral approach returned to theing costs, particularly for tenants. Unemployment in scene in the former urban renewal areas through the rein-the urban renewal areas led to a large proportion of troduction of the area approach, the designation of prior-the residents suffering a severe reduction in income.ity areas and the designation of prize areas (prachtwij-The affordability of urban renewal for tenants on lowken) in 2007.incomes was threatened. Another point of reflection arises if the changes incomposition of the population led to changes in the social "It is an illusion that withinfrastructure and social networks. New urban lifestyles,not based on the traditional family, clashed with more design one can change thetraditional lifestyles. Many urban renewal areas had for-merly occupied a position on the housing market as parturban fabric over 10-15of a transitional zone, in which accommodation was partlyoccupied by recently arrived house-seekers such as stu-years."dents and immigrants. In the meantime a highly heterogeneous area, but nonetheless an area where movinghouse became less frequent, was coming into being. InSustainable urban regeneration requires more than tra-these areas residents of old and new urbanites several ditional land use plans have to offer. There was a needof which practiced new forms of cohabitation, were betterto improve planning and develop new methods to dealeducated and lived a more luxurious life were housed with new problems. Strategic planning was no longerand lived next to one another. With regard to the partici- only concerned with so-called flagship projects, butpation of residents: by and large participation had worked helped to give shape to the renewal. The general strate-well for native residents of the area, but not so well for gies were based on the use of specific features of the city,immigrants. The new situation, which could be classedsuch as the river, the harbors, the canals and so on. Theseas one of stable heterogeneity, required those involved to strategies concentrated on the intensification of the exist-reshape social relationships.ing urban area in combination with high-quality public transport and services. Residential environments wereFrom the 1990s onwards: Urban regeneration developed for specific lifestyles, taking into account anBetween 1975 and 1993, urban renewal and social housingincrease in the flexibility of labour and the consequenceshad a major effect on urban planning in the Netherlands, of internationalization and migration. All this under theparticularly in its major cities. In this respect it should be expectation that phenomena as the home as workplacenoted that the Netherlands has the highest proportion of (teleworking), as school (tele-education) and as shop (tele-social housing in the EU, about 33% of the housing stock,shopping) were still capable of spectacular growth. Theand in the current large Dutch cities this percentage cancontent of the area-based strategy was different for thebe as high as 50%. From the mid 1980s onwards the poli-centre than for other urban areas. To increase the vital-cies of different ministries defined objectives creating a ity and attrac iveness of the centre the aim was to increase treal patchwork of urban policies and problems. Socialthe number of residents to achieve a ratio of 1:1 betweenmeasures were brought under the problem accumula- jobs and dwellings. At the time only 28,000 people livedtion areas policy. This policy was concerned with socialin the Rotterdams city centre, while the number of jobsrenewal and urban problems. Furthermore it is character- was 80,000. According to central government, a great dealized by an increase of the opportunities available to theof investment will be necessary in coming years to makelong-term unemployed and poorly educated, by improv- cities attractive to middle-income and higher-incomeing quality of life and social security and by measures to groups by increasing the number of owner-occupiedstimulate the integration of minorities. properties. This objective attracting higher-income The beginning of the 1990s saw an increase in socio- groups could to a considerable extent already be foundeconomic problems in the larger cities. Policy however in the policy of the city of Rotterdam.6 8. Till 2008, the central government expected an increase erogeneous social fabric. This situation could be threat-of the demand for the owner-occupied sector. As it was ened due to the development of a more homogeneousargued in a period of economic growth but also duringvulnerable social fabric. This development is caused by anthe current crisis policies are driven on stimulating this increase of households becoming dependent on social ben-tenure at the expense of the social sector. Since mid 1990sefits, decrease of purchasing power and new Europeanthe construction of 100.000 dwellings per year were fore-regulations on limited access to social housing for onlycasted but this number was never reached. At the sameincomes below 33.000 euro per year.time the waiting lists for tenants looking for new homeswere not cleared and prices in the owner-occupied sector Conclusionsincreased. Due to new European regulations, in the nearThe approaches of urban renewal areas fluctuate betweenfuture, middle class households will run into trouble in inward and outward looking strategies. The first is morefinding a decent home. They get sandwiched between driven by an area-based strategy while the second is driventhe social and owner-occupied sector. When they earn by developments beyond this level of scale e.g. changes onmore than 33.000 euro a year, they become excluded fromthe housing and labour market of the city or region. It isthe social sector and will have hardly any chance in get-important to develop strategies that connect these inwardting a mortgage. Moreover a lack of training and a low and outward looking approaches as seen complemen-level of education mean that a number of young peopletary. The determining condition for strategic planning inentering the housing market as starters will be in no posi-urban renewal areas is the heterogeneous character of thetion to buy. social fabric. This presumes to take account of the strong mix-use of housing, shops, amenities and services that isSustainable Urban Regeneration connected with the multi-cultural characteristics of theLast decade there have been a lot of critics on urbanpopulation. Strategies based on the so-called social climb-regeneration about failing measurement against socialers are recommended. That means to take a middle classdeterioration e.g. social safety and criminality. The posi-including different minority ethnic groups seriously intive results of urban renewal were mostly ignored whiledevelopment of planning strategies. It is an illusion thatpolicies contributed to vast improvements of the build-with design one can change the urban fabric over 10-15ing stock, services and amenities (see also ABF research,years. The population and her requirements will change.2002). According to my research (Stouten, 2010) floorFlexibility in use of the urban fabric is an instrument toplans of newly built housing were highly appreciated byadapt to eventual new requirements.the residents. The appreciation of tenants and profession-als of modernization of old housing is sometimes less posi-tive. The current residents rated houses flexible in use ofReferencesthe floor plan and specific dwellings for elderly highly.ABF research (2002); Stadsvernieuwing gemeten: Basisanalyse KWR Solving structural problems, e.g. unemployment and 2000. Delft: ABF research.income division, goes beyond the area level. In the period Couch, C., C. Fraser and S. Percy (2003); Urban Regeneration in1975-1993 urban renewal was part of welfare strategies Europe. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.with opportunities for low-income groups and minor- Drewe, P., J. Klein and E. Hulsbergen (eds.) (2008); The Challengeity ethnic groups to improve their living conditions.of Social Innovation in Urban Revitalization. Amsterdam: TechneDue to urban renewal strategies including a broad soci-Press.etal orientation of housing associations the development Roberts, P. (2000); The Evolution, Definition and Purpose of Ur-of ghettos was avoided. One of the important aims that ban Regeneration. In: Roberts, P and H. Sykes (eds.): Urban Regen-were reached is to prevent displacement. Residents of theeration: A handbook. London, Thousand Oaks and New Delhi: SageOude Noorden area did not want to move house fromPublications, 9-37.their newly-built or modernized housing (Stouten, 2010). Sassen, S. (1991); The Global City; New York, London, Tokyo.Also, middle class households did want to continue their Princeton and New Jersey: Princeton University Press.housing career in this urban renewal area. The quality of Stouten, P. (2010); Changing Contexts in Urban Regeneration; 30the services and facilities is well appreciated but concern- years of modernisation in Rotterdam. Amsterdam: Techne Press.ing social safety, drugs and crime the balance is still shaky. WCED (World Commission on Environment and Development)Despite these negative experiences most of the tenants (1987); Our Common Future. New York: Oxford University Press.wanted to stay living in the area and a small majority saidthat people live together in a pleasant way though theyhardly know each other. Urban renewal areas have a het- 7 9. City, catch the time!Rediscovering socialist neighborhoods in a new capitalist society.Study case - Vilnius, Lithuania justina muliuolyteThe graduation project City, catch the time! Rediscovering socialist neighbor-hoods in a new capitalist society focuses on the regeneration of large scale hous-ing estates in post socialist cities. The case study is Vilnius, the capital city ofLithuania. The combined research, planning and design project which was car-ried out in the graduation year intends to offer alternatives on how to develophousing estates in post-socialist micro districts by overtaking coming threatsand satisfying current city needs. Since the restructuring of socialist neighbour-hoods is an important topic in all post socialist cities, the proposed strategy anddesign could become a pilot project for other similar sized cities in Lithuania, inthe Baltic States, or even in all of Eastern Europe.In 1970s western European cities have recognised the problems of modernist hous-ing and started regeneration strategies. Contrary to this, the former USSR contin-ued the construction of modernist blocks up until the 1990s and on a much largerscale. Currently huge housing estates in the peripheries of post socialist cities showtheir first signs of decline. If revitalisation strategies are not started soon, mostcities in the entire Eastern Europe will face serious urban problems. After the analysis of Vilnius, it was found that the city has more problemsthan the housing estates alone. There is a big threat of urban sprawl and envi-ronmentally unsustainable developments. Currently, housing estates are popu-lar among citizens for their public transportation, green spaces and room fordevelopment and changes. All in all, Vilnius needs to search for a more sustain-able vision of future development.The graduation project focuses on two scales: city and neighbourhood. Theadvantages of socialist housing will contribute to the new structure of the city,while the new city structure will be the way to revitalise neighbourhoods. The project can be explained in three main parts: vision for the city (1), regen-eration strategy for the housing estates (2), and design of the public space systemin the new centrality (3).Vision for the city Polycentric city with network of centralitiesVilnius has the characteristics of a compact European city, as well as featuresof a modern socialist city. Its development can be defined in three main phases(image 1). In the beginning Vilnius was a compact European city with a busy oldFigure 1. Vilnius development and vision8 10. Figure 2. Qualities of the siteJustina Muliuolyte (www.justinamuliuolyte.eu)town, diverse functions, houses and neighbourhoods. During the rule of the socialist regime, Vilnius was developed as a modern city, with the separation ofGraduated June 2010, Urbanism, functions and the development of huge housing estates in the peripheries of the Complex Cities studio.city centre. Currently the city is sprawling and losing its boundaries, whereasMentors: Roberto Rocco, John Westrik, Qu Lei all the functions are concentrated in the centre and housing estates are declin- ing. What could be the future structure of Vilnius? The graduation project suggests a development of the city utilising the qualities of all the past phases: to learn from the old town structure and apply these features to the modernist nucleus. Consequently the city should be developed into a compact city with a network of centralities connected by better public transport links. The sub cen- tres could be those same modernist estates but enhanced with extra functions, diversity and connections. The area selected for the proposal is a huge socialist housing estate in the north of the city, which is supposed to become one of the new centres. Regeneration strategy From the periphery into the centrality Currently the estate has 150.000 residents and covers an area comparable in size to Delft. It has only one dominating function which is residential, just one type of housing, and the same open modern space everywhere. The goal of the strat- egy for the housing estate is to change the monotonous periphery into a diverse and compact centrality.The revitalisation strategy was designed according to local site qualities (image 2), TOD principles and general planning rules on how to change a 9 11. Figure 4-00. Design route and program4-01. Design urban centre 4-02. Create urban street and add program4-03. Define closed and calm courtyardsFigure 4-04 Add new housing typology10 12. modern city into a compact one while keeping its existingqualities not through demolition, but by addition. Thestrategy promotes the development of a mixed use districtcentre according to transit oriented development (TOD)principles: where the highest density is in the most acces-sible point, decreasing to the edges of the neighbourhood.The centre will be in the triangle where three main roadsare crossing, the tram is passing and a transport inter-change hub is planned. The road structure of the cen-trality is changed from a branching modern tree into anetwork, by adding extra links and connections. A con-tinuous urban area is created to replace the existing frag-mented neighbourhoods. The new centrality will containa diverse set of functions, housing typologies, densities andopen spaces. This new system of public space would con-nect the socialist neighbourhoods with the new sub centre,surrounding landscapes and other neighbourhoods. In thedesign phase one of the routes linking the housing areaswith the centre was elaborated.Design of the route from the housing estate to thecentreThe project presented here is a route that covers all inter-vention areas: the transformation of the centre, the revi-talisation of housing estates and park design. The route asa connection to the centre is a tool to revitalise neighbour-hoods by changing their public space system and addingfunctions to the nodes. The goal of this project is to create Figure 3. Design toolboxa mixed use environment in a vital urban artery. Currently the open space on the route has two main project is to have less open space but of higher quality andcharacters: in the housing areas it is very empty and to create spaces for new low rise housing. The result ofunmaintained, whereas in the planned centre it is these interventions is a combination of lively, integratedunfriendly to pedestrians, dominated by roads and car housing areas, centralisation, and a polycentric city.parks. Before designing the route observations were madeabout common open space problems and based on theseobservations principles were suggested on how to make Evaluationpublic space more attractive. Public space problems withAll in all the revitalisation strategy demonstrates a new,their suggestions for improvement are collected into acreative and feasible approach on how to transform dulldesign toolbox (image 3). socialist estates into lively and attractive sub centres. The route project (image 4-00) is split into a few phases. The modernist city is changed, but by keeping its exist-Firstly the mixed use district centre is designed (imageing qualities, diversity in housing is created, functions are4-01), with a high density, a multitude of functions, urban added, a higher density is generated and the public spacestreets and squares. Subsequently the centre is linked with becomes dedicated to pedestrians instead of cars. Thethe neighbourhoods and parks by a main street - form- fragmented periphery becomes an integrated centrality.ing the route (image 4-02). The proposal provides missing The effect of this strategy could have an influence on theconnections and added functions along the nodes, whilecity as a whole, since it focuses on compact developments,some functions are replaced entirely. Finally, a distinctionon low rise housing within the city and not in suburbia.will be made between private and public spaces. ModernThe proposal opens opportunities for real estate in theblocks will be closed by creating private courtyardsmodernist housing areas through its emphasis on public(image 4-03). The empty plots are developed into a newtransport and mix of uses. The approach is realisticallytype of housing (image 4-04). All of these interventionsapplicable and can contribute to new town developmentwere made using the design toolbox. The approach of the and regeneration at the same time.11 13. adaptationaging airport architecture barrierbloccivil-engineering climate coast communicationcommunitydepthmapdesigndevelopment disaster diversityformfragmentation gardengentrification glassglobhousing identityindustryinformal infrastructure intemapping marketmasterplanmetropolis migrationmixenetwork nodenomadic olympicpark parpoliticspost-warpoverty problemprogrampubrecreationregenerationregionrenewalresearch restsport sprawlsquarestakeholderstationstratheorythird-world transforma- transportTU typotionvinex virtual vitalitywaste-land waterwind 14. ck businesscampuscemetery centrechild compactcomplexity connectionculturedelta density economy energyenvironment exclusionflexibility forestbalization harbour heat-island helofytenfilterheritagehistoryegration interventionknowledge landscapeleisure liveabilityed-use mobilitymorphologymovement multimodalneighbour-hoodrticipationpatio pedestrianplaceplanningpolderblic public-spacepublic-transportqualityrailrandstadtructure revitalizationrural segregationsocialspaceategystreetsuburbansustainabletemporality territoryologyuniversityurban-designurbanism urbanizationvillage This datavisual shows the most used keywords from master theses, books, dissertations and articles which are digitally published in thedrepository by the Urbanism department of the TU Delft. A total of 206 entries of the last five years are used. 15. Design as PoliticsInterview with Wouter VanstiphoutIn this recurring segment, we zoom in on one of the in formulating a description of society in which certainchairs within the department of Urbanism in Delft, to get interests are consciously given higher values than others,a more detailed overview of the background, the current and the skilled use of a toolset to physically enforce thisstatus, and the future plans of the chairs, with particular descriptive approach.focus on the views on education and current events. The chair of Design & Politics does not consider design For this edition we approached the relatively new chair and politics to be two separated worlds, but rather con-of Design as Politics, led by Prof. Dr. Wouter Vanstiphout. siders politics to be an important dimension of designIn this interview he explains the role of the chair withinand, simultaneously, design an equally important tool forthe Faculty of Architecture, and within the current politi- political action. An alternative name for the chair couldcal climate. Furthermore he gives his views on education, thus be Design as Politics. This means that the toolsetthe chairs work for the IABR (International Architec-of the designer will be renewed by looking at the realmture Biennale Rotterdam) and a must read list of booksof politics, while the spatial perspective of developmentsthat are related to his work approach.in society will be considered to enrich the existing set ofpolitical instruments. The chair is explicitly looking forAbout the chair alternatives for classical top-down planning methods andInitiated by the ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning andcontrol mechanisms, through which governments havethe Environment (Volkshuisvesting, Ruimtelijke Orden- manifested themselves in the 20th century.1ing en Milieu) of the Netherlands and housed within thefaculty of architecture at the Delft University of Tech-Background of the Chairnology, the chair of Design as Politics will be exploring,There is a longer running project called Design and Poli-researching and defining the boundaries, commonalitiestics which is run by the Department of Planning at whatand tensions between the fields of politics and design. used to be the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and The chair understands politics in the widest sense pos- the Environment. This project resulted in a number ofsible: it defines it as that level in society on which con- books, four by now, and in the creation of a chair at theflicting interests of groups of people become visible and Technical University of Delft.are being solved, oftentimes through debate and nego- The idea behind the whole program and the chair is totiation, but possibly by exerting power or using physical bridge the gap between planning, architecture and poli-violence. The political consequently implies succeeding tics. This means that designers should know more aboutDrawing by Yu Zhang, In the Ghetto studio14 16. politics and should involve the political process and agendas more into theirWouter Vanstiphout graduated in 1991work. The other way around, which was maybe more specifically aimed at,in Art and Architectural History and Ar-there could be a revival within the political world of the interest in planning andchaeology at the University of Groningen.architecture as real tools to get what they want.He is currently a member of the research When I started with the chair, one of the very first things that we did wascollective Crimson Architectural Histo-to change the title from Design and Politics into Design as Politics, because Irians, which he founded in 1994 togetherwanted to avoid the idea that you would see design and politics as two sepa- with Michelle Provoost.rate entities. What I found much more important to stress is the fact that design Crimson Architectural Historians car-beyond a certain scale, beyond the interior, is always political by definition. Theries out historical research, creates cultural-other way around politics has nearly always had a spatial dimension to it. Thishistorical value assessments and developsis because its about a lot of things happening at the same time in a limited space, visions on the organisation of exhibitions.forcing people to make choices. If everything would happen with no spatial orThe collective also focuses on issues relat-temporal relation to each other no one would have to make choices. But it is ing to regional development and deliversbecause of the fact that things influence each other that you have to. keen observations and interpretations of current design and planning issues. Van-Therefore politics is always spatial and planning and architecture is always stiphout also give lectures and fulfils guestpolitical, because youre always spending other peoples money and yourelectureships at various educational insti-always doing something that has an effect on people that you do not know.tutes at home and abroad, and is ProfessorIf you make that effect happen you better have a good explanation for it, so itof Architectural and Urban Design at thehas to be legitimate in some way. You can either enforce that legitimacy or thereTechnische Universitt Berlin.is a real legitimacy, but its always an issue. For me these things are more fun- For the Akademie der Bildende Kn-damental than the instrumental definition, which is that architects need politi- ste in Vienna, he developed the new his-cians, and politicians can use architects. But without those instrumental aspectstory and theory of architecture curriculum,the chair would have never been launched. which focuses on the social embedding of architecture and urban development. AsCurrent and future projectsProfessor of Politics and Design, he willThe first year we were up and running mostly based on a autonomous defini-again focus on this social embedding oftion of the chair, we needed that to create our own identity that students could architecture and urban development, buthook up to, or stay far away from. This is why we did the In the Ghetto gradua-with the emphasis on the political-admin-tion studio and the Blame the Architect lecture series on the relationship between istrational aspect. (bk.tudelft.nl)riots and planning. These courses do not have a direct instrumental relation-ship with any of the agendas of the ministry, for instance segregation or problem1) designaspolitics.wordpress.com/about/areas. Of course these things are hugely important to the ministry and to localpoliticians, but this was a very autonomous content-based way to deal with it. This year the Biennale has become our main focus, in which we deal with 15 17. things in a very instrumental way. Apart from the collaboration with theBiennale organisation, partly run by the ministry, we are also working directlywith people from the ministry on projects that are instrumentally important tothem. These are for instance the new infrastructure through the green heart,planning the edges of the green heart, dealing with vacancy in office buildingsin central cities, the role of finance, etc. This year we hope to be useful in themost direct possible way.One of these instrumental projects the chair will be working on is a study for theA3 highway through the Green Heart.The highway is a direct result of the new government, and the only reason itson the agenda is because of the PVV, the freedom party. What we found inter-esting is that a highway which has been out of the question since the late 60s,early 70s is now on the agenda again. Its a combination of everything for high-ways, and everything for cars, a populist right wing obsession. The other thingis resentment against environmental protection, against an open green heart assome sort of fetish of environmental protectionism. So the party wants a high-way through it in a straight line from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. We will start agraduation studio on it coming September.Rotterdam Biennale 2012The chair is also working on the TU Delft contribution of next years Biennalein Rotterdam. Themed Making City, it explores the relation between planning,design, and politics.The whole point of the Biennale is to study similar projects in entirely dif-ferent contexts, in order to learn about them, and to expand the range ofpossibilities that we can see for these projects. One example, we are goingto study a new highway around Sao Paulo and a new highway through thegreen heart. We will study them in parallel and propose solutions in parallel.Sao Paulo was given as one of the locations for the Biennale, we created theequivalent in the Netherlands and as a saviour Geert Wilders came and pro-posed this new A3 highway. The interesting idea is that whereas in Sao Paulo you would say everythingis different than in the Netherlands, it is often the conservative liberal rightwing agenda or institution that push large scale infrastructure to deal withthe city. The left wing progressive institutions push for more planning, moreenvironmental protection, and more social housing. You see the same role andthe same interaction, or no interaction between infrastructure, planning anddesigning in a place like Brazil as in the Netherlands. The problem is thatwith a more progressive definition of planning, highways always land on theground as UFOs. Nobody has anything to do with their design except engi-neers, and then it is up to planners and landscape architects to mitigate. This isalso happening in Sao Paulo.If a highway like this is coming anyway lets, instead of being passively againstit, completely embrace it and see what happens if we would be able to designit. Can we design a highway that is the biggest, most brutal insult to decades ofDutch planning and nearly a direct molestation of the green heart, and is there away to deal with it? One of the things I am interested in is this head-on confron-tation with something that comes from another part of the spectrum. Another thing of course, is that politics is the art of the compromise, not just16 18. One of the things I am interested in is this head-onconfrontation with something that comes from another part ofthe spectrum.in the Netherlands but everywhere. Bismarck once saidthat politics is like sausage; you do not want to know howChanging planning cultureit is made. It is always a dirty compromising business in With the formation of the new government, the plan-which two parties try to keep hold of their side of the ide-ning culture has also changed, with most projects noology for as long as possible. So in that sense the designlonger being on a national level, but on a provincial andstudio should not just be about designing exactly the thing municipal level, which will have an effect on planningthat you want, in the sense of purifying everything that is culture in the Netherlands.bad. Rather, it should be about a confrontation. Of course There are different ways of speculating about this.there are loads of architects in Delft who love highways, The realistic, slightly fatalistic view about it is that noth-so, that will be the big problem.ing will change, because this is the Netherlands, wherenothing ever changes. There will be ways in which theWith the new government in place, the ministry of infra-system and its institutions absorb any change that isstructure and the ministry of spatial planning have beenforged on them from above into a kind of stasis. But letsmerged into one.not go on that road. In that sense it is a very instrumental studio, its a direct Another way of speculating is that it will create a sit-translation of the new challenges for this ministry into auation of action is reaction. The government has saidgraduation studio. The infrastructure people and planning there are certain things that will be planned and exe-people didnt even speak to each other for the last 40 years, cuted nationally. They will plan things like infrastruc-they didnt know each other. And now they are forced into ture, power plants or airports, and locally, provinces andone building, literally, to do projects together. Now theymunicipalities will have to mitigate that and embed ithave also been forced to study this highway proposal, and into the area. Within these provinces and municipalitiesthey dont know what to do with it. So everyone is push-there is less and less money and professionalism, and lessing it around, and in the end we said: we will study it. money for professionalism, so they are getting an extratask, but they are not getting the extra means. This willcreate a situation in which officially these provinces haveto embed, mitigate, absorb, and plan whatever comes atthem. The Ministry now says they do not want to do allthat planning and all those details, but I think in the endit will come back like a boomerang. It will mean, I hopethat once they start laying out highways they will have totake in account all these contextual things, and they willhave to start designing anyway. At least then they will notbe designing on the abstract planning scale that they havebeen used to for the last fifty years, because they will haveto design much more in context. So I think design willmake its comeback within national institutions in a cer-tain way.Im not even so negative about what is happening rightnow on that level, because I think that the whole tradi-tion of spatial planning in the Netherlands, with hugebills for spatial planning for the entire country, and a veryabstract, extremely bureaucratic, map based way of plan-ning, was already completely bankrupt for fifteen yearsanyway. Therefore this more realistic action is reaction 17 19. based practice has a lot of potential. even deal with the whole idea of architecture being about One other thing to speculate on is a more extreme sce-professionalism, because then I would have no place innario. If you think through the idea of letting provincesteaching it at the school in the first place.make their own planning policies on a more fundamental One of the ways to deal with politics right now is tolevel, in which it would be regionalised on a deep legal make young architects and planners understand thatlevel, then it would be interesting. It would be more like the business that they are in is deeply political. It is notAmerica, where the planning is up to the states and onejust internally political, like the politics of getting a job,state has no planning at all, nothing, and another state or getting a commission, but it is undistinguishable fromplans everything.politics in general, it is politics in its most concrete form. In places like the Randstad, because of their tradition, I am not from the school that says you can have righttheir density, their history and their culture, planning iswing architecture or left wing architecture as a result,still very dominant. Everybody accepts that their neigh- but I think architecture is political during the wholebour cannot just do anything he wants in his backyardprocess. Where do you get the money? Where do youbecause planning has a big acceptance here. In places like get your legitimacy? Which parts of the program do youBrabant there is a more Belgian culture of do-it-yourself, implicitly or explicitly see as more important than otherit is much more autonomous and anti-planning. There is parts of the program? In that sense, for each buildingmore illegal stuff going on, and much more informality.that is bigger than the interior, these questions are beingSo you could even speculate on every region of the Neth- answered every day, even if they are never being posed.erlands having a completely, really utterly different idea That is, I think the school of thought about the relation-of planning. I find that interesting because on the Euro-ship between architecture and politics that I would some-pean scale, you notice that these things are much more how like to describe and get across.regionally and culturally bound, rather than by national-ity or within national borders. It would mean that someSomething that I find increasingly interesting in Delft isregions make a structural plan while others make a realthe fact that more than 50 per cent of the master studentsmaster plan, and a third group does nothing at all. That isin Delft are, as the Dutch would say niet westerse alloch-something that could be interesting.toon, meaning they come from outside of Europe. Delft is always worrying about having an international repu-Education and politics tation, but I think that it should be turned around. ThePolitics does not play a big role in education at the Facultyinternationalism within Delft is something that shouldof Architecture at the TU Delft, but perhaps it should be used in a much more concrete and direct, and morebecome a more integral part of education.expressive way than it is now. Having come from teaching I think there are three dominant schools in Delft. in Vienna and Berlin, especially Vienna is the most terri-Theres one that is all about a quality, professionalism,fying provincial city in the world. The most exotic peoplecraftsmanship, and it is mostly apolitical. Then theres you could find there are Czechs, who live 60 km away.the school of for instance the Why Factory, which is In Delft its the other way round and it creates an enor-about architects and politics being wound up, or joining mous opportunity to study other situations and otheron a kind of visionary ray. Its about building the future cities in depth, and to do that in a kind of no-budget orand visionary thinking, so it is political, but also apoliti-low-budget way. We can do amazing things by usingcal, because it doesnt talk about it exactly. In that vision- the master student body in a much more pragmatic andary sense of architecture, politics plays an important roleprofessional way, by having them work much more withbecause politics is power, and you need power to makethe knowledge and the networks of the students them-this architecture. Then there is the third school, which selves, which I think you can expect from a student inis the activists school. Its wound up with this anti-glo-the master phase.balist, left wing, bottom up, outside of the system alter- Our instrumental studies for the Randstad are nownative or independent position.embedded in a very wide research in which we study All of them more or less avoid the issue and go around cities all over the world and we try to understand thempolitics, and I think that is the niche where our chairon an equal basis. In all these cities we try to understandcomes into, because we try to deal with politics in a politi-the relationship between the political situation, econom-cal way. We do not try to keep our hands clean by just ics, the size of the city, the fairness of the city, the way thestaying in an activist enclave. We are not obsessed with city is built, the way it is designed, planned, by whom thepower as a tool to make visions because I am really notchoices are being made, and we try to understand cities asinterested in visions, and of course as a historian I cannot political entities. There are cities that are extremely politi-18 20. cal, that are on the political headlines too; cities like Teheran, Cairo or AmericanSelected readingscities like Detroit. In a ridiculously easy way we are able to find people who areA book that I really like is Seeing like afrom there, and are doing their PhD on those cities, have lived there forever and State by James Scott. Its a book by a socialknow everybody there. This is something I am trying to mobilize, much morescientist who writes about how big plansstrongly now. that were made with the best intentions toreform entire countries have resulted inViews on regeneration terrible failures. Its an interesting book,The funny thing with regeneration is that it assumes the death, or at leastnot that you have to completely agreethe near death of an area, and that is rarely the case. So one of the first ques- with the author, but to see how the outsidetions you could ask is: what are motives behind it? The motives are of course world looks at the visionary planning thatintimately connected to the parties involved. Its often very predictable which architects love so much.motives a party has. For example, when we (Crimson Architectural Historians) worked inHoogvliet, we actually came in because of a huge regeneration project thatwas being started by three parties; two housing corporations and the localmunicipality. They had a very simple motive, which was to destroy two fifthsof the housing stock, thereby creating a new housing stock that would bringin more money and that would exclude the most difficult inhabitants, eitherbecause they were too poor, too criminal, or too ethnic. We rode in piggybackon that agenda, and then once we were in we jumped off, and we created ourown regeneration agenda. Their agenda was in a way generic, it said thereis some sort of spread sheet of quantitative criteria to check the housing areaon, and when it didnt respond, it didnt comply. So they started changing thehousing area until it did comply with the spread sheet. That is, you could saythe modernist way of doing regeneration. We tried to do it the other way around, and I hesitate to use the term bottomup, because we were both top down and bottom up. We tried to do it from anunderstanding of this specific place, but then as a whole, instead of the mostAnother book that I found a breathlessinstitutionalised way of looking at a very limited number of elements or crite- experience to read is Bombay Maximumria; like the size of the housing, the price of the housing, or the ethnic make-City by Suketu Mehta. Hes an Indianup. This is very housing based approach, which is logical because these days thejournalist from Mumbai, and he writesentire initiative for regeneration lies in the hands of the housing corporations, about daily life in the city. Its an incred-and no longer in the hands of the planners, or the city. The city planners wouldibly busy book, like the city, in which heby definition have a more integral view.describes for instance the way in which theIndian mafia or the Bollywood industryThese corporations look at a very limited number of elements, but they look atworks. Basically he writes about the lifethese elements in a universal way. In a way you could say they are more limited in the city, the climate, and the impos-and smaller than what we do. We look at the entire community, everything, and sible density in this city. In a sense it isnot just everything now, but also everything in the past and everything in thecomparable to the TV-series the Wire,future. So in a way we are much more megalomaniac and more modernist than because it peals open a part of the city as anthese corporations. We try to wring a narrative out of that, and use that narra-interlocking system; school system, drugstive as the legitimisation of the interventions that we propose.system, the port system, the police system, Its like the whole modernist project has split in two directions, in which weetc., but it does this from an extremelywould look at everything, but then just for one place, and they would look at a subjective and personal point of view.small selection, but then for all cities. I think our way is the best way, to look atthe whole thing as one unique thing. (JW)Lastly, my personal biggest hero as an ar-chitectural historian is Reyner Banhman.A personal favourite is his book on LosAngeles; Los Angeles; The Architecture ofFour Ecologies, a book from 1971.19 21. Blame the ArchitectRiots in Riga Viktorija PrilenskaThis project is a follow up on the BlameLe Corbusier called houses machines for living. Frances housing projects, asthe Architect lecture series given by Wout- we now know, became machines for alienation.er Vanstiphout at the Faculty of Architec-Christopher Caldwell, New York Times, November 25, 2005ture, TU Delft on the relation betweenlarge scale housing projects and riots. ThisAs a hot spot for Blame the Architect research by design I have chosen the citystudy explores the possibilities for riots to of Riga (Latvia). In this view, Riga does not have components for an urban riot,occur in other, imaginative situations, insince there are no compact areas where people of certain ethnicity or incomethis case the city of Riga. live. Besides that protests and strikes are usually well-organized and go off withno incidents. The only time when a peaceful demonstration resulted into anThis visual essay by Viktorija Prilenska, outbreak of violence followed by looting and hooliganism happened on 13 Janu-gives the background to these riots, the ac-ary 2009 during the hardest phase of the financial crisis. Back then the policetual riots, and the results of the riots from troops suppressed the riot in several hours, property damage was negligible anddifferent angles, including different forms there were no casualties. However, if there had been a strong political party orof media. The full poster presentation cantrade union behind the riot, the march might have had severe consequences. As,be found at polistudelft.nl/atlantis/archive/ for instance, in 1991 during the collapse of the Soviet Union when the peopleerected barricades all over the old town and blocked major governmental andmedia centers protecting the legal government from the militaries. (figure 1)In my doom scenario for the city of Riga the riot begins as a protest againstthe state policy. Demonstrators demand from the president that he dissolvethe parliament and sets a date for the new elections and introduces a fair andtransparent governance (figure 2). However, the dominant coalition does notreact to these demands and the people lay a siege to the building of parliament.Further on the events develop rapidly, the city core with all the governmentalinstitutions, the entrances to the city and the bridges are blocked by improvisedbarricades and heavy machinery (figure 3). The president and the ministersintroduce the state of emergency and give an order to the army to put down theuprising. (figure 4, 5, 6) During the clashes between the military and the rebelsthe first casualties occur and the army splits up. Anarchy spreads all around thecountry, mass disorders are stopped by foreign peacekeepers who intervene inthe country. A new president and parliament are erected. Latvia turns from theparliamentary republic into a presidential.TV and radio provide a full live coverage of the riot. There are mass discussionson internet forums, blogs and social networks. (figure 7, 8) Although media doesnot give any appraisal of the events or involved parties, the rioters are supportedby the people and thus depicted as national heroes. Afterwards some independ-However, the described riot is a fiction and ent journalists reveal some unwanted truths about the riots, but the informationcannot be used as a case study. In my opin- does not spread out into masses.ion, urban conditions have little influence The new coalition launches big infrastructure projects, such as bridges andon urban violence, it is the modern society,roads, in order to prevent the city from being blocked in case of a new riot. Thethe gaming, movie and music industry that governmental buildings are secretly connected via a network of undergroundcelebrate violence and encourage youth to escape tunnels. Despite of an economic recession architects, urban planners andcommit crimes. developers receive big governmental commissions.20 22. Figure 1. Blocking goverment centers in Riga, 1991 Figure 2. Demonstrators hit the streetsFigure 3. Improvised Barricades blocking goverment buildings Figure 4. Results of the riotsFigure 5. Results of the riots Figure 6. Results of the riotsFigure 7. Online video coverage of the riots Figure 8. TV News coverage on the riots 21 23. MSc 1 UrbanismQ1 - Analysis and Design of City Fall 2010Figure 1. Plan drawing of the new city centerZwolle in the WetlandsA. Skachokova, R. van Dijk, W.VilleriusAlthough Zwolle is located in a delta this is not tangiblein the city. Our masterplan consists of four interconnectedprojects aiming to reconnect Zwolle with its waterscapes.A new promenade will connect the center with the canalsand its surrounding areas. A new residential area inte-grating water storage and housing and the reopening ofthe Willemsvaart will make new connections betweenZwolle and its surrounding rivers. To deal with futurewater level rise we proposed a `bypass` combined with acity extension. We used the designs made for the existingcity as a toolbox (Figure 2).Detail - City RingFigure 2. Masterplan for ZwolleR. van DijkThe borders surrounding the city center will be designedas a promenade. The promenade defines the character ofthe connection between the city center and the area sur-rounding the city center. It also connects the surroundingareas with each other. The northern part of the prome-nade will be defined as a quay area, the southern part asa singel area. New program will function as a steppingstone to the surrounding areas. The north mixed-use areawill be a wharf area, connected to the quay typology. Thenew residential area in the south east will be an avenuearea, connected to the singel typology (Figure 1, 3).Figure 3. Plans for the city center22 24. Figure 4. Public spaces behind residential buildings Apeldoorn Day Trip City E. Machedon, J. Berg, T. Galesloot, A. Stobbe Apeldoorn is a Dutch mid-size city located on the east- ern borders of the Veluwe. The city faces the danger of shrinking partly because of its young inhabitants emigra- tion. Our main aim is to ensure the population continu- ity, on a regional scale by better positioning Apeldoorn in its city network and on a city scale by improvingt hous- ing supplies and amenities for young people. We defined the citys profile as a Day Trip City thanks to its existing recreational features which should be further on strength- ened and better connected in order to increase the citys attractiveness (Figure 5). The detailed projects focus on a new city window along the rail tracks, a new residential area for starters and two public space interventions. Detail - Backgarden E. MachedonFigure 5. Masterplan for Apeldoorn The main goal for Apeldoorns city centre is structuring a higher quality public space. This will not only serve the citys day trip visitors which have little time to explore along their way but also the citys inhabitants which need a wider set of activities for spending their free time. The distinct quality of this detail project is its use of public spaces situated behind collective residential buildings, now used under their potential as parking lots (Figure 4, 6). The projects ambition is to integrate these spaces in the citys public space network by using soft urban design interventions. This green pedestrian path will connect theFigure 6. View on the public spaces from the street. train station to the city hall plaza.23 25. MSc 1 UrbanismQ2 - Socio-spatial processes in urban societiesBoulevard as a windowLiang WeiNijmegen is facing a challenge. A plan has been made toconnect the two parts of the city segregated by De WaalRiver by means of a city ring with an extra bridge. Thisprovides opportunity for the development of Citadel andLent. This new city ring will integrate the urban contextand become an interesting route with a diversity of urbanactivities (Figure 1). The River Park with the boulevardis a strategic spot within this city ring (Figure 2). Insteadof being an edge of the city, the River Park will becomean important place where people meet as a recreation areainside of the city. Eventually, River Park will be incor-porated in the mental map of Nijmegen citizens andbecomes a booming place. The boulevard is the centre of the River Park is facing Figure 1. Diversity along the ring roadNijmegens historical window, namely the waterfront ofthe old city centre. The goal of this project is triggeringdevelopment at the boulevard in order it be the best spotwhere people could see the beautiful panorama of oldcentre of Nijmegen and the Waal (Figure 5, 6). Mean-while, the opposite view to this Boulevard could be attrac-tive as well. A variety of space, interesting program, andcollective activities represent spatial, social quality of thisplace to become a new window for Nijmegen. Therefore two strategies are applied. The first strategyis adding new programs of recreation and events. Thiscould be the Wandelvierdaagse as an international eventto catalyze activities on the boulevard. The second strat-egy is making the area well accessible. At present mostcity activity happens in the old centre of Nijmegen. Whenthe Citadel plan is executed there will be a lot of socialmovement between the old centre and the new Citadel Figure 2. Orientation of the River Parkcentre. In this way, the Boulevard could be a hub for theflow between the two centres and one of to the island aswell. (Figure 3, 4). In the end the Boulevard will become adestination from both sides of Nijmegens river.Figure 3. Section towards the water front24 26. Figure 4. Model of the River Park developementsFigure 5. View on the new boulevard along the water front See more projects? Go to http://polistudelft.nl/ atlantis/archive/Figure 6. View towards the bridge and old centre of Nijmegen 25 27. Urban Renewal in Beijing:Its Transition and Existing ChallengeHui Xiao-xi, SebastianAs with many other cities, urban renewal is a critical question in the urbanIr. MSc. HUI Xiao-xi, Sebastiandevelopment of Beijing. The idea of large-scale urban reconstruction can be Director, Beijing Institute of Sustainabletraced back to the dream of modernization in the 1950s, but the pro-growthHousing and Urban Renewal (BiSHUR),engine within market-oriented economic reform has also accelerated its reali- Beijing University of Technologyzation. While urban reconstruction has significantly changed the cityscapeand promoted urban development, it has also resulted in the destruction ofthe citys historical urban morphology and led to an increase in social conflicts.Since 2004, many urban renewal projects have started to come to a standstill.Although some new strategies of urban renewal were developed in recent years,the urban renewal of Beijing is facing a dilemma. In this short essay, I wouldlike to briefly review the transition of urban renewal in Beijing and reveal thechallenges it faces at present.The history of urban renewal in Beijing 1) Under the planned socialistic system,In Beijing, urban renewal was first proposed under the ambition to fundamen-the housing provision was thought a basictally reconstruct the old city in the 1950s. But under the planned economic system, welfare for Chinese urban residents andin which either urban development or housing construction is highly dependent the responsibility of the government.on public investment, large-scale urban renewal was never really implementedThe socialistic public housing was largelydue to a lack of funding. From the 1950s to the 1980s, urban renewal only con-developed in Beijing and other Chinesesisted of a few reconstruction projects for the development of public buildings orcities. But till the 1990s, many public hous-infrastructure, with housing renewal considered a non-priority for the govern-ing areas that were developed in the 1950sment. Until the middle of the 1980s, many of the older housing areas had dete-immediately after the Peoples Republicriorated considerably, and thus urban renewal became a key issue in the plan of was founded also started to be aged andurban development.outdated. After the success of several pilot projects in the late 1980s, the municipal gov-ernment decided to launch the large-scale urban renewal of decrepit and oldhousing areas at the beginning of the 1990s. Many historical Hutong areas inthe old city, as well as the earlier developed socialistic public housing areas,were earmarked for demolition and reconstruction (see figure 1). In the transi-tion from the planned economy to the market economy it has been proposedto combine large-scale urban reconstruction with real estate development inorder to solve the funding problem of urban renewal. Several years later, theradical housing reform in 1998 fundamentally changed the urban housing pro-vision system and the approach of urban renewal. After 1998, the era of socialis-tic public housing finally ended, with the majority of public housing becomingprivatized, and the task of solving the housing problem in the city was com-missioned to the market. In Beijing, the policy of Urban Renewal by Hous-ing Reform, which intends to promote urban reconstruction through housingprivatization and monetized rehousing, further boosted the market-orientedurban reconstruction. However, the urban reconstruction combined with for- Figure 1) The presently most popular ap-profit real estate investment caused an inevitable series of new urban problems: proach of urban renewal in Beijing:many historical neighborhoods were demolished completely and with this cameWholesale demolition and reconstruction26 28. 2) According to the policy of Urbanthe displacement of local residents, as many could not afford the newly con-Renewal by Housing Reform, the publicstructed dwellings.housing tenants in the urban renewal Along with the increasingly potent argument for private property, the con-areas are asked to buy the subsidized stitutional amendment in 2004 and the promulgation of Property Law in 2007resettlement dwellings. The rehousing inlegally confirmed the protection of private property for the first time in the his-the urban reconstruction is defined as atory of the Peoples Republic. As a result of the legalization of private property,marketized and monetized process. housing speculation and the conflict between different actors and social groupsThe original tenants are impelled toincreased. During the same period, historical conservation was emphasized forbecome the homeowners.the first time. After 2004, disagreements with residents and difficulties in bal-ancing investments led to the suspension of a large number of urban renewalprojects.The latest attemptsWith the current dilemma of urban renewal in Beijing, new solutions need tobe explored. As of 2007, social housing development has been re-emphasized inChina. Among the new social housing policies, the renewal of old housing areasis listed as an important theme by the government. In Beijing, some new strate-gies for urban renewal have been tested. These latest attempts include:The rehabilitation of historical Hutong areasIn the historical conservation areas of the old city, the municipal government ofBeijing has finally abandoned the ambition for wholesale reconstruction. Thesmall-scale and gradual rehabilitation of historical Hutong areas was initiatedin 2008 with the aims of Renovation, Improvement and Evacuation. The newapproach combines housing renovation and reconstruction and is planned toimprove living conditions (see figure 2). In order to decrease the residential den-sity of these populous areas, the government has provided attractive rehousingconditions to encourage the relocation of residents. At the same time, the pri-vate purchase and restoration of courtyard houses are promoted.Pinggaipo project - a renovation program in the former public housing areasFor the later developed former public housing areas4, which are absent from the reconstruction plan, the government supports urban renovation. TheseFigure 2) The housing renovationrenovation projects are mostly identified by the replacement of flat roofs within a historical Hutong area pitched roofs (for the purpose of aesthetics and improved insulation) and areoften referred to as Pinggaipo (flat to pitched) projects. In Beijing, Ping-gaipo projects were largely initiated after 2007 and often publicly funded. Aswell as roof replacements, these projects would also usually consist of repaintedfacades, the repair or replacement of building components, landscaping andimproved communal facilities (see figure 3).The new rehousing strategy for urban reconstructionThe latest proposal for urban reconstruction focuses on the modification of Bei-3) If a household involved the rehabilita-jings rehousing strategy. In 2009, a new municipal decree on rehousing wastion chooses to relocate in resettlementannounced with two creative emphases: the prioritization of eligible householdshousing out of the old city, the replaced to apply for newly developed social housing, and compensation for housinghousing area will be equivalent to at expropriation in accordance with market price. Some pilot projects for theleast 1.75 (for public housing) 1.85 (for reconstruction of decrepit housing areas have been launched according to these private house) times of its original hous-new strategies. In January 2011, new national legislation was introduced thating floor area. demands all property expropriations to be sentenced in court, thus reducing thegovernments influence.27 29. 4) Since most of socialistic public housinghas been privatized via the radical hous-ing reform, those housing areas have to benamed as former socialistic public housingareas.Figure 3) The implementation of aPinggaipo projectPublic participation in urban renewalThe current renewal strategy has also caused an increaseof the market-oriented rehousing in whatever the recon-in public participation as well as a more transparent deci- struction or rehabilitation will not avoid the displacementsion-making process. Residents are beginning to haveof low-income residents but induce socio-spatial segre-more opportunities to influence decision-making. Nego-gation. In general, the urban renewal of Beijing is stilltiations for rehousing have changed from black-boxbound to the capitalized and speculative housing stockdiscussions to public announcements. At the same time,and therefore cannot get away from conflicts of interest.residents now have more input into the design process.Public participation is now an integral part of the urban The existing challengerenewal process.The dilemma of urban renewal in Beijing is not just an Although the new urban renewal strategy in Beijing issue of urban planning but of society as a whole. Differ-is a welcome improvement, it has not overcome many of ent from western civilized society, traditional Chinesethe existing issues, and, to a certain degree, has broughtsociety was identified by its centralized, hierarchicalnew problems. The Pingaipo projects in many cases structure, of which the collective comes before the indi-have only beautified the urban environment rather thanvidual. The centrally controlled, planned socialism in afundamentally improved living conditions. Furthermore,sense inherited this top-down tradition, which in manypublic participation is often manipulated for private ben-aspects still influences the present social, economic andefit. In an urban housing stock where the property owner- political mechanisms of China. But through the transi-ship is the priority over the housing right, the emphasis tion from the planned economic system to the socialisticmarket economic system, China has been involved inthe process of globalization, and thus is undergoing theThe Pingaipo projects radical social diversification, stratification and polariza-tion that comes parcel with it. In this modernizationin many cases have only (which to a certain extent means westernization) process,the traditionally top-down mode of public interventionbeautified the urbaninevitably has to change in order to adapt to an increas-ingly diversified urban society. However, the misunder-environment rather than standing and superstition of the term free market,which is visible in the over-privatization and capitali-fundamentally improvedzation of housing stock, did not contribute to a balancebut rather intensified social polarization and conflict.living conditions.Without the tradition of bottom-up collectivism, the28 30. The capitalized private interests in urban renewal have beenunprecedentedly exaggerated.rising, sometimes unlimited sense of individualism is challenging traditionalnations of authority, but is increasingly manipulated by capital. The distinc-tion between the public and the private, as well as the collective and the indi-vidual, has been further blurred. In this transitional society, there are not onlysocial, economic and political considerations but also ethical and moral ones.In comparison with western modern society, which can be summarized to beestablished under a hybrid ethos, the contemporary Chinese society is identi-fied by the hybrid of ethos.The dilemma of urban renewal precisely presents this hybrid situation. On theone hand, there are individualized, diversified, but to a certain extent social-oriented requests; and on the other hand, it is the dominant approach of top-down, unitary, and often market-driven urban reconstruction. The conflict ofinterest is thus inevitable. In particular since the housing privatization and mar-ketization, urban renewal has become a means to accelerate GDP growth, andthe capital and the political power increasingly tie up. The so-called residentsshould not be regarded as one group who are only fighting for their housingright, but have differentiated into different interest groups the occupiedhomeowners, the non-occupied landlords and the new tenants of private-rentedhousing, the latter of which are still largely neglected in the existing mecha-nism of urban renewal. The capitalized private interests in urban renewal havebeen unprecedentedly exaggerated, whatever in the form of profit-hungry realestate investment or individual housing speculation. But preceding the seriousconflicts between private interests, the public interests of urban renewal, suchas social integration, economic sustainability, historical conservation, environ-mental effect, and, most importantly, the housing rights of people, are ironi-cally ignored. The originally proposed, social objective of urban renewal, whichmeans to solve the urban housing problem and to improve the integrated urbandevelopment, has been distorted and alienated. Therefore, the most criticalchallenge for the urban renewal in Beijing is to answer a key question: Howto balance the differentiated and conflicting interests on the one hand, and torecover the social objective of urban renewal on the other? In order to answerthis question, the alternative urban renewal strategies instead of the unitaryapproach of market-oriented reconstruction, such as social housing interven-tion, socio-economic revitalization, social and programmatic mixture, commu-nity participation, as well as physical renovation/rehabilitation, are still awaitingto be explored.29 31. Vertical Villagethe why factoryUrban villages are a common typology in many Asian cities. The densequarters VerticalVillage project by The Whyin Shenzhen, the hutongs in Beijing or the kampungs in Jakarta all are part of Factory i.s.m. MVRDVthis urban phenomenon. Where Asian cities grow and become more dense, theWiny Maas, Hui-Hsin Liao, Ulf Hackaufurban villages are under pressure. They are being demolished at an increasingpace. To replace them, large fields of repetitive, monotonous blocks are being Workshop VillageMaker by The Why Fac-built. The new blocks may answer the need of comfortable apartment space, buttory, TU Delft, Berlage Institutethey lack the social coherence, spatial diversity and flexibility that the complexurban villages can provide.Tutors: Winy Maas, Daliana Suryawinata, Ulf Hackauf, Jeroen Zuidgeest,The VerticalVillage project proposes an alternative. Dense urban villages,Participants: Alfred Ho, Eduard Lepp,stacked to allow for the necessary height, informal and flexible, individual and Zhiwei Lu, Chao Yue, Lingxiao Zhang,evolutionary. The vertical village allows for flexible use. It includes open publicUlrich Gradenegger, Magnus Jrgenson,spaces, organized by tenant communities. It growths evolutionary, reacting to theTimur Karimullin, Hyun Soo Kim, Rie-needs of its inhabitants. Individual units can shrink or extend over time or changemer Postma, Yushang Zhang, Juan Carlostheir function. It combines the quality of a village with the density of the city. Aristizabal, Maria Iglesias Martinez, The concept of the VerticalVillage has been develop in various studios,Sangbo Park, Giorgio Ponzo, Yuichiworkshops and individual research projects. The outcome is currently com-Watanabe, Maarten Filius, Karel van derbined and edited, leading to a mayor exhibition in Taipei in August 2011.Kaaij, Gretha Kuurstra, Pei-Lin Hsieh, Chu Liu, Neslihan Parmaksizoglu, SijmeIn the MSc program of the Why Factory, a studio and a workshop were held van Jaarsveld, Vesna Jovanovic, Wannesunder the topic of the VerticalVillage. Peeters, Rajiv Sewtahal, Ji Hyun Woo, Tzu-Hua Wu, Chien-Ting Chen, BarbaraWorkshop VillageMakerCostantino, Chun-Yu Hsu, Ivan Kur-In the workshop, the challenge of evolutionary vertical urbanism was testedniawan Nasution, Christy Sze, Zhouerwith a game-like set up. Six groups worked for six days on a plot of 50 x 50 Wang, Na An, Raquel Drummond,metres, arranging pixilated housing units in an optimized spatial configuration. Andreas Faoro, Sebastian Haufe, SamiaThe designs were build in physical models, scale 1/100. Each group aimed atHenni, Taiwan Kim, Sarah Nichols,optimizing one parameter: Access, Energy, Economy, Structure, Climate, Com-Stefano Pendini, Eliot Rosenberg, Kubamunity. Within one day, each group planned 200 units, simulating the growthSkalimowski, Jung Hyun Wooof a village over the course of two to three years. The next day, the models wererotated and each group added 200 more units to the previous design. The spa- Studio 5 Villages by The Why Factory,tial challenges were translated into rules and guidelines, forming the base of anTU Delftplanning software. Tutors: Winy Maas, Alexander SverdelovStudio 5 VillagesParticipants: Alfred Ho, Eduard Lepp,In the studio, five villages were planned on the scale 1/500. The designs are less Riemer Postma, Yushang Zhang, Maartenabstract and show possible real versions of vertical villages. Each design is basedFilius, Karel van der Kaaij, Grethaon a different hypothesis, related to lifestyle cycles, rural romanticism, multipleKuurstra, Neslihan Parmaksizoglu, Sijmenatural environments, a collective void or 3-dimensional diffusion. Each designvan Jaarsveld, Eliot Rosenberg, Kubaillustrates the unpredictable results of evolutionary vertical growth. The designs Skalimowski, , Sebastian Haufe, Rajivpropose different growth protocols and structural principles. The diversity of Sewtahal, Christy Sze, Timur Karimullinthe designs lie both in the overall configuration and in the detailed living spaces.The Why Factory, March 2011Photography by: Frans Parthesius Netherlands30 32. 31 33. 32 34. 33 35. A Changing Attitude towards UrbanismInterview Luuk BoelensThis interview is about the work Luuk Boelens has doneThe problem we have to deal with in the Dutch context iswith his office Urban Unlimited on transformation topicsthe need of an annual realization of 80.000 houses becauseand how this relates to current events. Furthermore, we otherwise the whole building sector will collapse. Thisget to know more about their innovative mapping meth- sector is organized completely different in other Europeanods, which lie at the basis of the offices philosophy. Com-countries. In Belgium just as in Nordrhein-Westfalen orbined, these insights provide a basis for the argument of a England they build up to 35.000 houses a year.new attitude towards urbanism.This situation is due to the historical development Urban Unlimi