The unprecedented urbanization presents a need for a novel way to facilitate the futuristic demands of cities on short notice. Challenges faced by Asian cities becomes a serious topic of discussion as their scale has global consequences. Get to know more on the context with the first post of the article series
This article-part 2 looks at the existing theoretical understanding towards city futures.
II. City futures-existing theory and challenges in practice:
This chapter present discussions on how to create successful cities exploring existing theory and knowledge gaps in the concepts of Sustainability, City Identity, resilience and liveability.
2.1 Sustainable cities:
Sustainability can be summarized and understood as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. It is “concerned about the accelerating deterioration of the human environment and natural resources and the consequences of that deterioration for economic and social development” (1987, Brundtland World Commission on Environment and Development).
A sustainable city should not be carried by bringing the concept down to the city level but also should be materialized, context-focused and localized. Also known as triple bottom line concept, sustainability includes economic, environmental and social quality of life as its 3 pillars (ADB,2006 )
There are three drawbacks in the current understanding of sustainable city conflicting these interests (Valeria, S 2017). These are presented for practitioners and educators in the field to reflect and further investigate.
emphasis placed on the internal equilibrium of the city, without attention to the negative environmental externalities of other cities or areas
Excessive stress on achieving equilibrium, while the embodiment of stages and regional differences is overlooked
Form of the city as an indicator to achieving sustainability is not available/overlooked.
Based on the study conducted by Valeria, S she recommends existing theory should be widened reflecting the spatial and temporal nature of cities. The dynamic relation of equilibrium between systems and surrounding areas also need to be considered.
Most of the theoretical definitions of sustainable cities stress on same goals but application levels, unprecedented factors pose challenges on how effectively they can be achieved. Is it equilibrium between all concerns in global scale we should be thriving for or interpreting sustainability goals in a regional context?
The sustainable city futures idea could be a container of contradicting interest and views, and in consequence, be an adaptive concept easy to use by many actors. ( Erik ,2001).The theoretical conflicts can still be tackled but challenges in practice are overlooked. This includes governance gaps, rigid institutional frameworks lack of fund, resources etc.
2.2 Liveability and resilience:
The concepts of liveability and resilience are subsets of sustainability. While rethinking authentic futures in context of drastic climate change, emergence of pandemics etc., it is recommended to aim for resilience and sustainability with equal focus.
Resilience is defined as the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance, such as a hazard or natural disaster, and reorganize itself while changing, thereby essentially retaining the same function, structure, feedbacks and identity. Liveability on the other hand focus on assuring a work-live-play balance for the community through its framework.
Liveability is a broad term interpreted in multiple ways and a consensus definition does not exist, but to summarize it denotes “the well‐being of a community and represents the characteristics that make a place where people want to live now and in the future” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). It has become vital quality as cities are expected to compete for economic activity with other nations (Scott, 1998)
2.3 Role of ‘Identity’ in authentic experiences:
While sustainability and resilient urban futures are explored in-depth and often incorporated in the planning and urban design interventions of cities the ‘identity factor is overlooked. Asian cities and what makes them special is their diverse culture and heritage with wide variation of characteristics within a city, region and country.
The upcoming growth rate would put immense stress on the economy which would make saving the identity a challenge. City experiences built the identity. The association built by individuals-residents and visitors via the morphological, visual and perceptual elements and authenticity is what makes a city beautiful in its own ways.
The Adaptation of urban fabric to evolving needs, enhancing the landmarks of the city, linking the movement network with consideration to the visual experience and planning the city with multiple users in play and the temporal associations of places are some urban design strategies that enhance the identity of the place.
Architecture has a huge role in communicating the sense of place. At present most of the new commercial spines(CBD), the most active public spaces of Indian cities look identical. They present high rise complexes with similar massing and enclosure, and bill boards resulting in homogeneous user experience. (ex: M.G.roads)
This is a persisting challenge, finding the middle ground between opting for globalization models and choosing context driven designs.
2.4: Reflections:
How do we address the situation?
The next chapter of article series looks at case studies to guide transformation.
TO BE CONTINUED
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N.B: Detailed reference and links for extra reading included in the first post.https://www.thevagabond-tales.com/post/embracing-identity-nature-and-transformation-for-sustainable-asian-cities
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