Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Watson - City Scapes 05

    Uploaded by

    R.chiman
    5 views3 pages
    Watson - City scapes 05

    Original Title

    Watson - City scapes 05

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    Watson - City scapes 05

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    5 views3 pages

    Watson - City Scapes 05

    Uploaded by

    R.chiman
    Watson - City scapes 05

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 3
    16 TH SCACES 0S | DETHAVER DG OCRAP TH CASE TOWK, SA CONTENTS INTELLIGENCE 32 Fran Tonkiss (On the expanded meaning of design Vanessa Watson On architectural hubris Miguel Bucalem (On good urban design enc collaboration Caroline Kihato ‘On foreign wornen in Johannesburg Sean Christie (On the world’s newest country CITY REPORTS Istanbul ‘New Turkey és squaring off against its older, poorer self 82 Rio de Janeiro After a peried of growth, Brazil pauses card takes a breath Nairobi Mall culture after the terrorist attacks The people vs. Kenyo's new constitution Cape Town Anavant-garde shopping mall faces the wrecking bali ho FEATURES Cape Town ‘Ongoing protest action has potitictsed the totter Cambridge ‘We need to think about cities visually, says Richard Sennet S40 Paulo Designing housing sofutions for do Pauio's poor Medellin Sergio Fajardo on overcoming fear ‘and building citizenship Cape Town The carless highway as a sign of protest, closure and criss WIDEANGLE Dhaka ‘Mohammad Rakibut Hasan ‘on Bangladeshi park lie Maputo ‘Alipe Branguinho on work and self-definition Cape Town Dillon Marsh on tees that refuse 19 budge ‘Mogadishu Mark Lewis on acity reclaiming its pleasures ELSEWHERE ‘The Feminist unmailayo Ransome-Kutl was a wie, ‘mother activist and he frst woman in Nigeria to drive car ‘CHIYSCAPES 15 HAELIGENCE ANEW OLD STORY Vanessa Watson Architects and developers are scrambling to sell fantastical graphic visions of new satellite cities in the world’s so-called last property development frontier, Africa than design and architecturally-inspited visions of fantastical new cities of the future seem to bein fashion again. Not since the days cof French architect Le Corbuster back in the 1930s, have built environment professionals found their work attracting such public interest. And, significantly, chere are many elements in common between the grandiose, modernistic and technocratic urban solutions of Le Corbusier's day and the Dubai look-alike visions posted on property developer websttes for the rapidly growing cites of Africa and Asia, Glass-box skyscrapers separated by swathes of green and rapid transit routes have seemingly not lost het allute in the urban design worl, While the “rea?” world of informal shack dwellers and street traders is erased both ftom the map and the consciousness of politicians anc urban elite In an atticle published in 2010, Michele Acuto, using Dubal as @ case study, describes these promotional plans a5 exercises in the use of “symbolic power”, ascites try to establish themselves as "world class" and as attractive places forthe elite and investors, Acuto, a sesioz lecturer tn the Depatiment of Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy at University Colleye London, angues that the built envizonment has become an important vehicle for these promotional narratives with buildings needing to take on iconic identity: skyscraper towers ale commonly used but so ate ultra-modern and distinctive anrports, trade centres, office blocks and retail centres Indian cities have been subject to this Duba-ification fora good decade or so, as Gautam Bhan fas identified in his wutings, but African cities are more recent targets fn the post-2008 economic climate, Aftican cities have been labelled asthe world’s “las property development frontier” and international architects and developers Vanessa Watson is Profesor of iy Planning fn the ScholofArchrccture, Planning and Geomatics tthe Lnnesity of Cape Town [ | i i have scrambled to sell fantastical graphic visions of new satelite cities ‘or in some cases entire city makeovers— 10 gullible politicians. Visions such as the one for Kigale, Rwanda, assume that the largely inforrnal urban population will be wished away (a process that is actually underway im ‘this city). The new satellites such as those for Nairobi and Hope City in Ghana promise a modemised and. sanitised living environment for the middie classes, far temoved from the squalor and congestion of existing, cities. Hope City, designed by an Italian architect who was evidently inspired Dy Affican beehives, isa particularly futuristic conception of buildings that ‘contain all facilities needed for their resident and working populations, and seemingly remave the need to go outside at al Other cities are creating large land areas through infil to create new urban extensions. Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo is one of Aftica’s lagest and poorest cities, yet a major land infil of the Congo River wall support upmarket retail and. residential developments, and in the process many stall farmers along the banks of the river have had their livelihoods destroyed. In Nigena, Fko- Aantic is being cteated on an anificial ‘sland off the coast of Lagos: the island stretches for over 10 kin allowing some 250 000 people to disengage themselves from the congestion and Pollution of existing Lagos. Atthe same time, poor accupants of Lagos) waterfront-the floating shack-

    You might also like