James Conley

ARC 505_Thesis Preparation

Crisis City:
Architecture as Economic Initiative

Primary Advisor:
Anda French

Secondary Advisor:
Ted Brown

Crisis City Primary Faculty:

Julia Czerniak
Anda French
Brian Lonsway
Brendan Moran,
Francisco Sanin

It is the intent of the Crisis City Collaborative to seek out defined or perceived crises
within our cities and propose ways in which architecture’s role can be mediated or transformed
to offer alternative systems and modes of thinking as a means to mitigate present issues.
 In seeing the city as an economic construct and recognizing its sustainability is
contingent upon economic processes, my thesis will explore the ways in which architecture
exists and can engage with the vital capital process. It is innovation and invention that allows for
cities to maintain relevance. Failure for cities to adapt and retool lead to gradual decline and
lead them to be matters of obsolescence within the global economy.
A city is in crisis when it fails to function as a sustainable economic unit, incapable of
serving the widespread financial needs of its inhabitants. Most cities within the ’rustbelt’ of the
US have failed to retool themselves to a degree necessary to advance in the global markets of
information technology, microelectronics, renewable energy, biotechnology and advanced
materials. These giants of post industrial US exhibit stubborn economies, gradually leading to
population decline, poverty, and urban blight as invention and production levels diminish.
The link between the city and economics have been both synergetic and parasitic.
Urbanity exists as a byproduct of economic exchange but it also helps feed it. As a location
expands and becomes more ‘urban’ it often begins to see industry specialization break off into
separate markets as businesses attempt to define themselves in hopes for a customer base,
leading to greater diversification and producing more resilient economies. Corporations generate
the capital that produces the city, and the spatial relationships of the urban condition stage
opportunities for further invention and creation.
In a global economy cities have become increasingly fluid. Barriers such as
transportation, communication, tariffs, etc. have largely been overcome, producing what
Thomas Freidman refers to as a ‘flat world’ condition. The development of transnational
corporations by both their name and very existence prove this heightened non-alliance to place.
Without a large draw or incentive there is no longer corporate responsibility to place, and
America’s Midwestern cities prove this. In order for cities to offer stability and growth there
must be a greater sense of loyalty and identity to help attract and retain development.
Through this process, architecture’s existence has been predominantly downstream
from all economic decision making practices. It is one of the most highly responsive systems to
economic conditions and its very existence acts as a physical representation of past and present
industry development. The only moments when architecture has developed beyond the
reflective image of capitalism, and acted as an economic agent itself, has been through
successful speculative development.
In effect speculation and branding are the only tools in which architecture holds to
influence the resurgence and retooling of cities with diminishing innovation. It is important for
architecture to play this role as it can then act as a means to revitalize and reinvent both the
social and economic structures of these cities. It is this relationship between innovation - the
city, and speculation - architecture that I would like to explore for my thesis. As a means to
better understand the implications of speculative development my research will look at both
successful and failed speculative projects, considering current and historic rates of
unemployment and overall population changes and regional quality of life rates. Further
research will attempt to analyze corporate loyalty to place, programmatic structures which
create stronger entrepreneurial qualities, and attempt to uncover the conditions which allow for
cities to act as centers for growth and innovation on a micro scale.
Bibliography

Bishop, Bill. 2008. The Big Sort. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Companies.
Political studies which analyses how America has become increasingly ideologically polar
between regions and what this might mean for our country and communities moving forward.
Florida, Richard. 2009. The Great Reset.
 Discusses how the economy will reshape after our current recession. Through analyzing past
economic ‘resets’ Florida discusses the phenomenon of geographically transformative capital that lead to
moments of economic prosper, analyses different city industry bases and what the future might hold for
them.
Florida, Richard. Who’s Your City?: How the creative economy is making where to live the most
important decision of your life. New York: Basic Books, 2008.
Florida has created a city rating system, considering opportunities, entertainment, job offerings,
cost of living, etc. and complies this data to help determine desirability of cities in the US. These factors
offer helpful criteria for valuation.
Florida, Richard. Rise of the Creative Class. New York: Basic Books.
Florida famously discusses the importance of young, educated, creative individuals and how their
talents are working to reshape geography around America.
Fainstein, Susan. 2005. CITIES AND DIVERSITY Should We Want It? Should We Plan For It? New York:
Columbia University.
Analyses the importance of visual and cultural diversity within our cities and tries to determine
the extent to which thee are beneficial, as well as analysis several community types in terms of resilience
and economic productivity.
Ingels, Bjarke. 2008. YES IS MORE: An Archicomic Architectural Evolution.
An architect who uses iconography and simple branding as a means to address a larger audience.
In his discussion regarding his work it is clear that he has a fairly well versed knowledge of building
development principals and gladly accepts those into the design. His mode of working attempts to appear
controlled at times but its reality is that it is often contingent.
Jacobs, Jane. 1969. The Economy of Cities. New York: Random House.
Sets the stage for an age of urban theorists to recognize that is it cities, rather than nations what
are the true generators of wealth. Her notions towards import replacement and city growth have made a
strong impact on economic theorists and remains influential to this day.
Jacobs, Jane. 2000. The Nature of Economies. New York: Random House.
Discusses the similarities between ecological development and economic development,
encouraging the discipline to recognize these factors are in sync with one another and therefore
compatible.
Koolhass, Rem. 2006. Found In Translation. Ubiquitous China.
Koolhass, briefly discusses the financial process of the architectural process of working to get bids
and how to follow through with clients.
Till, Jeremy. 2009. Architecture Depends. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Looks at the Contingency of architecture and how the profession makes attempts to constantly
appear to clean things up and have a smooth linear process. Architects tend to want to ignore the outside
forces at work instead of working with them.
Willis, Carol. 1995. Form Follows Finance: Skyscrapers and Skylines in New York and Chicago. New
York: Princeton Architectural Press.

Further Reading:

Jacobs, Jane. 1961. Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York: Vintage.