Climate Change Implications On Present and Future Public Space - Final

Faculty of Architecture – Technical University of Lisbon
Masters in Architecture with Specialisation in Urban Planning

Final Project / Dissertation
A. Santos Nouri
Climate Change Implications on Present and Future Public Space ‐ Modern Day Paradigms for Urbanism and Urban Design
Faculty of Architecture
Technical University of Lisbon
Climate Change Implications on Present and

Future Public Space
Modern Day Paradigms for Urbanism and Urban Design :
The Case of Lisbon
Andre Naghi Lopes dos Santos Nouri
Dissertation to obtain Masters in Architecture with

Specialisation in Urban Planning
Supervisor – Dr. João Pedro Teixeira de Abreu Costa
President Examiner – Doctor João Rafael Marques Santos

External Examiner – Doctor Pedro Filipe Pinheiro de Serpa Brandão
Supervisor – Doctor João Pedro Teixeira de Abreu Costa
Lisbon, FAUTL, November, 2012
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Figure 1 - Sketch of Bairro da Bica Lisboa
Source: Author’s Sketch

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“Good urban design is sustainable … this involves much more than

simply reducing energy use and carbon emission. Instead it involves a
much more profound basis on which to make decisions that impact the
social, economic and environmental sustainability of the built
environmet. It requires a holistic – sustainable place making – view
that considers each dimension of urban design in terms of its impact
on local and global contexts, and through associated delivery
processes.” (Carmona, Tiesdell, Heath et al., 2010, p.367)

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Document cover image source: By Noberto Dorantes – Lisbon | Plaza de Comercio|
sketch draw with 200 participants | 2011 in Sketchers, U. (2012). Urban Sketchers em
Lisboa drawing the city. Lisbon, Quimera. Back cover image source: Based on sketch
by Florian Afflerbach – Lisbon Alfama 2007 in ibid.
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Abstract
Public spaces can be separated into diverse typologies that
provide different usages and environments. These differentiations are
nevertheless interwoven by their role in nourishing urban culture,
diversity and identity. This sustenance is conversely being burdened
by uncertainties and contemporary preoccupations in light of climatic
changes.
This investigation shall analyse how the diverse typologies of public

spaces shall contribute to new developing practices of urban design
and planning that enforce adaptability and city life cycles. As a
consequence this research shall analyse which contributions public
spaces can have upon smart city preservation and growth. Relating
these issues with the Lisbon case, a discussion will depict upon the
development of its public realm, and how its resulting contemporary
identity shall be defied by future change.
Lastly, and as a result of this research, it is argued that the smart

growth agenda establishes numerous goals that aid cities towards
enforcing their climatic resilience. Namely, upon a selection of
precedents this thesis exemplifies how urban design, urban planning,
landscape architecture and architecture can improve city areas
through the implementation of smart growth components.
Key Words:
Public Space | Lisbon | Climate Change
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Resumo
Os espaços públicos podem ser separados em diversas
tipologias que os caracterizam segundo diferentes usos e ambientes.
Ainda assim, estas suas diferenças interligam-se no seu papel na
cultura urbana, diversidade e identidade. No entanto, esta realidade
tem vindo a ser ameaçada pelas incertezas e preocupações
contemporâneas associadas às alterações climáticas
Esta investigação propõe analisar como as diferentes tipologias de

espaço público podem contribuir para o desenvolvimento de novas
práticas de desenho e planeamento urbano enfocadas na
adaptabilidade e aos ciclos de vida da cidade. Consequentemente,
esta pesquisa visa analisar quais as contribuições que o espaço
público pode ter na preservação e crescimento do ‘Smart Growth
Agenda’. Relacionando estes aspectos com o caso de Lisboa, será
ainda discutido o desenvolvimento do seu domínio público e o modo
como esta identidade contemporânea será desafiada por futuras
mudanças.
Como resultado desta investigação por fim, é argumentado que o

‘Smart Growth’ visa vários objectivos que contribuem para as cidades
melhorarem a sua resiliência climática. Nomeadamente, após uma
selecção de precedentes, esta tese exemplifica como o desenho
urbano, planeamento urbano, arquitectura paisagista e arquitectura
podem melhorar áreas da cidade através da implementação de
componentes de ‘Smart Growth’.
Palavras-chave:
Espaço Publico | Lisboa | Alterações Climáticas
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Acknowledgments
Along the journey of writing this thesis, I would like to thank the
following people for their:
Academic
João Pedro Teixeira de Abreu Costa | Pedro Filipe Pinheiro

de Serpa Brandão
Encouragement, time and guidance during the development of this

topic and document
Maria Cabral Matos Silva
Helpful and pragmatic nature
Ahmad Molla Esmail Nouri
Continuous support and presence
Anabela Vieira Lopes dos Santos
Continuous support and presence
Liliana Raquel Gomes Cruz Tavares Silva | Ricardo

Salgueiro dos Santos Fernandes Estrela | Vítor Manuel dos
Santos Francisco | José Guilherme Igreja
Motivation and patience
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List of Acronyms:
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
ACCSP Australian Climate Change Science Program
IAUC International Association of Urban Climate
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change
CABE Commission for Architecture and the Built

Environment
EEA European Environmental Agency
PDM Municipal Master Plan
SIAM Climate Change in Portugal: Scenarios, Impact, and

Adaptation Measures
CECAC Executive Committee for the Commission of Climate

Change
DGOTDU General Directorate for Spatial Planning and Urban

Development
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List of Figures:
Figure 1 ‐ Sketch of Bairro da Bica Lisboa ............................................ II
Figure 2 ‐ Menashe Kadishman, Installation Shalekhet (Fallen Leaves),
1997‐2001........................................................................................... 31
Figure 3 ‐ Plan Proposal by Eugénio dos Santos with the aid of
Antonio Andreas to insert three major avenues that linked Rossio to
the north and Terreiro do Paço to the south. .................................... 38
Figure 4 ‐ New alignment plan by Santos and Mardel ....................... 39
Figure 5 ‐ Embellishment project plan for Praça of D.Pedro IV.......... 42
Figure 6 ‐ Artists impression of the interior of Passeio Público ......... 43
Figure 7 ‐ Top: Suggested cross‐section plan of Faria da Costa for the
Avenida da Liberdade profile. Bottom: Transverse Profile plan for the
Avenida da Liberdade ......................................................................... 44
Figure 8 ‐ Pavement and streetscape profile design plans ................ 45
Figure 9 ‐ Drawing schematics of street furnishings as part of the
public refurbishment program for the Avenida da Liberdade in 1885
by Frederico Ressano Garcia .............................................................. 45
Figure 10 ‐ (Left) Tile Panel by Carlos Botelho (Middle) Tile Panel by
Rolando Sá Nogueira (Right) Detail of Tile Panel ‘The Sea’ by Maria
Keil ...................................................................................................... 48
Figure 11 ‐ Present Public spaces network in Lisbon ......................... 52
Figure 12 ‐ Methodology of the ENAAC Adaptation Cycle ................. 57
Figure 13 ‐ Seasonal maximum temperature anomalies ‐ (a) winter (b)
spring (c) summer (d) autumn ............................................................ 59
Figure 14 ‐ Annual and seasonal precipitation anomalies due to
precipitation rates between 1mm/day and 10mm/day..................... 60
Figure 15 – Existing Daytime summer thermal patterns in Lisbon .... 62
Figure 16 ‐ Impact of Heat Shift / Humidity Shift / Pollution Shift on
Human Body Analysis ......................................................................... 72
Figure 17 ‐ Park Plan with overlapped ‘meteorological maps’ .......... 73
Figure 18 ‐ 3D Renderings of the project ........................................... 74
Figure 19 ‐ Anti Heat / Humidity / Pollution Methods ....................... 74
Figure 20 ‐ Sound wave pattern inspiring the walking path within the
park ..................................................................................................... 76
Figure 21 ‐ Plan, section, area designation and flora layout for the
Callwood Park ..................................................................................... 77
Figure 22 ‐ Night view of the Forest ................................................... 78
Figure 23 ‐ Rendering of the park's largest clearings ......................... 78
Figure 24 ‐ 3D Render of winter view of Ephemeral Garden ............. 79
Figure 25 ‐ Illustration of the incorporation of over 100 objects within
the Superkilen Park ............................................................................ 81
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Figure 26 ‐ Rendering of the Red Square area within the Superkilen
Park ..................................................................................................... 82
Figure 27 ‐ Rendering of the Black Square area within the Superkilen
Park ..................................................................................................... 83
Figure 28 ‐ Rendering of the Linear Green area of the Superkilen Park
............................................................................................................ 83
Figure 29 ‐ Inventive design generators for each section of the
Superkilen project .............................................................................. 84
Figure 30 ‐ Render of Gardens The Bay by Grant Associates ............. 86
Figure 31 ‐ Perspective and section of the cooled conservatories in
the South Bay ..................................................................................... 87
Figure 32 ‐ Illustrations of the Supertrees during the day and at night
............................................................................................................ 88
List of Tables:
Table 1 ‐ Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) ranges within
different grades of thermal perception by human beings and
physiological stress on human beings ................................................ 11
Table 2 ‐ Lisbonesque Public Space Typology Chart ........................... 50
Table 3 ‐ Identification parameters of Lisbonesque public spaces
categories and sub‐categories ............................................................ 51
Table 4 ‐ Some expected climate change impacts (regarding
temperatures) in Southern European countries and examples of
possible adaptation measures ........................................................... 58
Table 5 ‐ Comparison table between the different selected
precedents and Smart Growth outcomes .......................................... 93
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Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................... 1
Problem & Justification of Theme ................................................................1
Objectives of Thesis.....................................................................................2
Document Structure .....................................................................................3
Methodology ................................................................................................5
Research Scope Diagram ............................................................................6
Chapter 1: The Burden of Climatic Uncertainty at the Local Scale ... 7
1.1 Industrial Revolutions and Urbanisation .........................................7
1.2 Trepidation within Scientific Knowledge ..........................................9
1.3 Scientific Climatology & Urban Planning .......................................11
1.4 Considering Locality as a Bottom-Up Approach ...........................14
1.5 Chapter 1 Synopsis ......................................................................18
Chapter 2: Identity and Social Harmony at the Local Scale ........... 20
2.1 An Emerging Spirit of Place ..........................................................20
2.2 Social Space within the Contemporary City ..................................22
Chapter 3: The Lisbon Case ........................................................... 36
3.1 The Modernisation of Lisbon.........................................................36
3.2 The Emerging of Lisbonesque and Local Public Realm ...............41
3.3 Modernist Lisbon and Contemporary Public Space ......................46
Chapter 4: Considering the Climatic Impacts on Lisbon ................. 56
4.1 Emerging Portuguese National Strategies ....................................56
Chapter 5: Planning Public Space for a Changing Climate .............. 65
5.1 Directing Smart Growth towards the Local Scale..........................65
5.2 Applying Flexibility and Adaptability Measures .............................67
5.3 Innovation and Invention ...............................................................71
Conclusion .................................................................................... 94
Bibliography ................................................................................. 99

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Introduction
Problem & Justification of Theme

If we define public space to be “a founder of urban form, the space
between buildings, that configures the domain of socialization and
‘common’ experiences, and likewise of a collective community”
(Brandão, 2011, p.34, author's translation), then we must “recognise
the important role that public spaces play in extreme
temperatures/combating climate change” (CABE and Practitioners,
2011).
Public spaces are divided into different typologies, providing different

uses, environments and functions. Yet these differentiations are
intertwined by their role and function of sustaining urban culture,
diversity and vivacity. Irrespective of their typology, their stature in
contemporary cities now has to adapt to a shift in culture, one that
now “plays a role in informing human practices connected with global
environmental change” (Proctor, 1998, p.239). Although the term
culture is hard to define, it is argued that it is “the way in which a
community of persons makes sense of the world” (Gross and Rayner,
1985, p.2). This personification however is being burdened by new
uncertainties, new preoccupations, and new phenomena in light of
climatic changes. This sponsors an adjustment in culture that is
entrenched with preoccupations that are “direct (e.g., acute or
traumatic effects of extreme weather events and a changed
environment); indirect (e.g., threats to emotional well-being based on
observation of impacts and concern or uncertainty about future risks);
and psychosocial (e.g., chronic social and community effects of heat,
drought, migrations, and climate-related conflicts...)” (Doherty and
Clayton, 2011, p.265).
To accommodate a new shift ‘towards a culture of sustainability’

(Varadaan, 2010) in the present socio-economic ‘third modernity’
(Ascher, 2010 [2001]) there is a need to “understand present and
future risk factor dynamics, and interiorizing their unpredictability in
extreme scenarios, linking security with urban quality, and managing
these risks through the design of cities and their public spaces”
(Costa, 2011, p.88, author's translation).
Ultimately, public space is sustained by people, and “People make the

city, so [we] must support their ambition to realise unique
opportunities, with soul and dignity…Self-organisation is the social
base for sustainability. And sustainability is an inspiring theme for the
creation of social organisation.” (Ven, Gehrels, Meerten et al., 2009,
p.52). If we are to maintain a fluid and harmonised relationship
between people and climate change however, we need to be “focused
on the relationships of things, people, forces and processes and the
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moods and spirit of place…it is this relationship focus that is essential
to any really sustainable building. The gadgets – from solar panels to
composting toilets – are only bits and pieces. Essential, but not in
themselves enough for wholeness and harmony.” (Day and Parnell,
2003, p.33).
This thesis shall suggest that to enforce a fluid and harmonised

relationship between people and climate change, we need to orientate
our considerations upon the future – in that “the best way to predict
the future is to design it” (Fuller, 2010).
Objectives of Thesis
Hypothesis:
The hypothesis of this research identifies public spaces as a social

domain that fosters elements such as community and culture. In a
warming climate, and within a new modernity, public spaces can be
used to aid adaptability and the flexibility in uncertain horizons.
General Objective:
To research the contributions public spaces can have upon smart city
preservation and growth – an identification of how local adaptability2
and flexibility3 are to enforce city quality and social harmony. By
limiting the research scope to the Lisbon case, its public realm shall
be dissected in terms of its chorological development and their
possible future contributions to a warming city.
Specific Objectives:
1) To understand the new forms of rationality in contemporary

cities that has incorporated new planning measures such as
bottom-up approaches and focus on the local scale.
2) To identify the phenomenological and psychosocial aspects of
identity and social harmony that are invigorated and sustained
by public spaces.
3) To analyse the modernisation of Lisbon and identify the
progression, development and flourishing of existing
contemporary Lisbonesque public realm.
4) To identify the predicted impending climate change impacts
on Lisbon; and the emerging national climate adaptation
agendas relevant to the local scale.
5) To comprehend how public spaces can aid adaptability and
reflexivity within a warming city thus maintaining social
communality and city quality.

2
Term that describes the way and efficiency of the local scale is to adapt to obstacles in
the long term.
3
Term that describes the way and efficiency of the local scale to be flexible enough to
incorporate a range of issues in the short term.
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Document Structure
Chapter 1 shall discuss the implications of how climatic uncertainty

and innovative planning approaches (such as bottom-up approaches)
are now dealing with contemporary paradigms. There shall be an
identification of how a new modernity has encouraged a change in
planning and design approaches/models. By establishing that public
spaces are a vital component within the local scale, this chapter
launches the question of how do public spaces sustain a “domain of
socialization and ‘common’ experiences, and likewise of a collective
community”? (Brandão, 2011, p. 34, author's translation); and (2) how
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can they continually support emerging and maturing life cycles in
order to fortify our sense of ‘collective community’ and identity in
uncertain, problematic, and eventful horizons.
To answer these two questions, Chapter 2 launches an investigation

on how public spaces sustain ´domains of socialisation´ and ‘common
experiences’. Consequently there is an in-depth analysis of the social
and psychological phenomena that are embedded within local identity
and social diversity. This aims at discussing the voices from numerous
authors to demonstrate the intricate ingredients needed to attain local
distinctiveness and uniqueness – both at the physical and social level.
Chapter 3 undertakes an in-depth historical analysis of the

modernisation of Lisbon and resulting contemporary spaces. This
approach is based on understanding the contemporary composition of
Lisbonesque public realm as “getting to understand a place-effectively
is to understand the past that has formed it. Through this we [can]
learn what the place is – it’s character (genus loci). In doing so, we
begin to recognise what it needs to maximise its health, what it is
asking for that design can fulfil.” (Day and Colquhoun, 2003, p.5).
Following the detailed analyses of Lisbon’s existing framework,

Chapter 4 looks at the expected climatic impacts upon Lisbon and
national climate change agendas. This suggests the necessity of
transposing local climate change scenarios onto Lisbon. This,
however, requires the understanding of the expected impacts,
evaluation of vulnerabilities; and the launching of a strategic
adaptation plan (Prasad, Ranghieri, Shah et al., 2008). As part of this
adaptation plan, and as a way for Lisbon to prepare for future
horizons, Chapter 5 returns to the previously established question -
how can we continually support emerging and maturing life cycles in
order to fortify our sense of ‘collective community’ and identity in
uncertain, problematic, and eventful horizons?
The final chapter focuses on how we can plan public spaces for
climate change, not only as a measure to sustain impending impacts –
but to maintain collective community through innovative, inventive,
flexible and adaptable urban design. This chapter shall illustrate
examples of international case studies that: (1) effectively
accommodate climatic impacts by “understand[ing] present and future
risk factor dynamics, and interiorizing their unpredictability in extreme
scenarios, linking security with urban quality, and managing these
risks through the design of cities and their public spaces” (Costa,
2011, p.88, author's translation); and (2) strengthens socio-economic
dynamics and local identity for future timeframes.
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Methodology
The research for this project was carried out by synthesising
different voices, opinions and concepts from varying spheres of study.
In other words, this thesis is based on secondary research in the fields
of urban design, urban planning, architecture and psychosociology.
Considering the hypothesis of this thesis, various research questions
are proposed in order to investigate its validity and legitimacy. The
different chapters have been organised to analyse each question and
to formulate individual conclusions that shall be congregated into a
general conclusion at the end of the document.
Independent of the chapter, a thorough scrutiny will be undertaken in

three areas, those being, public spaces, climate change and Lisbon.
Respectively, the initial interest that initiated this research was public
spaces being a ‘city-void’ that serves as an assembly of social
communality and representatives of culture.
This spectrum of research however requires a further focus around

the analyses of how future horizons shall influence the functioning of
contemporary public spaces. This necessitates the comprehension of
how the chronological evolutions of cities are transposing new socio-
economic cultures upon public spaces. This originates in
unprecedented contemplations of present and future risk dynamics
that are influencing the balance between objects, people, and
ultimately, genus loci. This shall lead the research to consider new
direct, indirect and psychosocial impacts that climatic change will have
on people and the environment around them.
This desk research shall focus on the following research questions:
1. Being presented with new unprecedented forms of urban

living and city growth – how are new forms of rationality and
reflexivity affecting the practices of urban design and urban
planning?
2. How do public spaces foster a ‘domain of socialisation’ in
order to achieve a consensual representation of urban identity
and vivacity?
3. Taking into consideration it’s chronological and historical
development, how has the modernisation of Lisbon influenced
the stature and quality of contemporary urban public realm?
4. How are Portuguese national strategies evaluating
vulnerabilities, and launching respective adaptation plans in
light of climatic impacts?
5. How can we plan public spaces for climate change as a
measure to sustain impending impacts and maintain collective
community through innovative, inventive, and adaptable urban
design?
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Research Scope Diagram

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Chapter 1: The Burden of Climatic Uncertainty at
the Local Scale
1.1 Industrial Revolutions and Urbanisation

Having entered the twenty-first century, we are presented with
new unprecedented patterns of urban living. The global economic,
political, and social structures are having profound impacts on the way
Man fashions his lifestyle and daily regimes. Understanding how cities
have modified due to the industrial revolutions requires an analysis
that spans over numerous topics. Due to the multidimensional,
multifaceted, and intercultural nature of cities, it is becoming
continually more difficult to specifically conclude the definition of what
constitutes a city. Comparatively, sociologists and anthropologists are
finding the definition of ‘culture’ continually more complex; just as
urbanists, urban designers/planners and architects are continually
being challenged by concepts such as identity and placemaking.
The transformation of cities also implies changes over time and thus
requires an appreciation of the historical development of the
respective city (Thorns, 2002). The urban fabric of contemporary cities
has resulted from the consecutive generations of settlers that have
shaped their encapsulating landscapes. Consequently part of
comprehending a city, is acknowledging that its present structure is
not a piece of art that has frozen in time – instead, it should be seen
as a continually evolving framework that has accommodated different
chronological cycles of human existence (Ascher, 2010 [2001]). One
of the largest accommodations to human needs can be found in the
eighteenth and nineteenth century. The industrial revolution had an
unprecedented and radical impact on cities, starting with the rapid shift
of countryside settlement to city inhabitation. The first revolution
ushered cities into a world where manufacturing and production was
the driving force of most societies and communities (Thorns, 2002).
As a result, this new era required the harnessing of new resources,
and forms of energy to accompany the ever-growing number of
factories.
Furthermore, and additional to the requirement of new resources and

energy, there was an essential need for labour. This served as a
catalyst to rapidly build new residential locations that were also
sharply differentiated by social class (Weber, 1889). With a new
labour market in place, and with the expanding industrialised city,
urbanisation was a dominant process in the nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. As an example, in 1801, 85 per cent British
inhabitants still lived in rural areas. By the middle of the nineteenth
century, however, more people lived in urban areas and almost one
third lived in towns with a population over 50,000 (Mellor, 1977). As
power and wealth shifted from older merchant cities to industrialised
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ones, migration became a characteristic phenomenon in the
nineteenth century.
Similar to the early years of the industrialisation and the impacts on

urban life, the later years of the twentieth century saw another set of
radical transformations. The industrialised “modern system of cities
based around wealth created from large commodity production for a
mass market place” transformed into a “new system based around the
generation of wealth from information services which are globally
rather than nationally organised.” (Thorns, 2002, p.4). Nevertheless, in
an era of international cooperation and competition, local identities
survived and strengthened the competitive advantage as increasingly
the quality, as well as the quantity, of life has become an important
global issue (Thorns, 2002).
As the industrial age evolved, technological advancements and

practices of capitalistic interest encouraged the de-industrialisation, re-
industrialisation and expansion into new areas. The focus of this
capitalist based society was to ultimately boost their competitive
advantage – directing their priority towards efficient labour access,
price of raw materials and closeness to escalating markets. The latest
transformations on cityscape that deeply affected urbanisation
patterns are the arrival of knowledge and information industries. This
greatly diminished the necessity to be located close to human labour
and/or raw materials. Raw material many times consisted of ideas and
knowledge that were to be efficiently diverged through knowledge
flows with the arrival of the World Wide Web.
Contrariwise, authors such as Mike Featherstone, analyse the

contextual and contingent aspects of change rather than the motives
for change. In other words, these authors are less concerned with
predicting the pattern of change and are more attentive towards the
significance attached by individuals and groups to their place – such
as their home, community, neighbourhood and city (Featherstone,
1991). The thrust of transformation in developed cities has shifted
away from Fordism and mass production (the original catalyst for
urbanisation) towards producer and consumer services. Thorns view
is once again valid here as he describes the “growth of the urban as
spectacle, the greater concentration upon urban place making and
inter-urban competition over the growth agenda of consumption
spaces” He then ends his argument stating that we must now
understand how “our sense of self and identity is created within the
contemporary urban world. The impact here of changing place/space
relations and the question of whether we need to secure ‘place’ to
create our sense of who we are has been taken up in both academic
and policy debates” (Thorns, 2002, p.7).
The third industrial revolution is argued to be the current era that

combines communication technology and renewable energy
measures. In an industrialized world catalyzed by the previous
industrial revolutions, buildings and activities within them consume
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almost half the energy we generate and are responsible for half the
carbon dioxide emissions (Foster, 2008). Sustainability, a concept that
has grown in popularity in the last decade, requires our cities to
challenge the balance of this equation. In other words, there is now an
ever-growing preoccupation with the location and function of buildings
that considers: (1) flexibility and life span; (2) orientation; (3) form and
structure; (4) heating and ventilation systems and material choices;
and (5) the impact upon the energy required to construct, maintain,
and travel to and from the building.
It is now appreciated more than ever that “things, including buildings,

looked after, work better and use less energy as well as last longer...
Moreover, buildings that result from this process revere both people
and place, the life of nature and of human activities.” (Day and Parnell,
2003pp. 31-2). Day’s words particularly address flexibility and the life
span of not only buildings but the place amongst them. Depicting once
again on the concept of loci; the interconnection between space and
their adaptation to future horizons becomes a vital consideration within
a new socio-economic modernity.
1.2 Trepidation within Scientific Knowledge

Comprehending the events and scenarios that loom in
nebulous future horizons is a deliberation that is strongly imprinting
upon the practices of urban design and urbanism. As a consequence,
these spheres of practice are continually in pursuit of effective
adaptation measures to diminish the impending climatic impacts on
respective cities and territories.
In the present socio-economic ‘third modernity’ (Ascher, 2010 [2001]),

it is becoming increasingly recognised that adaptation to climate
change is unavoidable. The new challenges and paradigms
invigorated by climatic change are having a consequential impact on
the way urban designers and urban planners conceive urban
frameworks and infrastructure. Similarly, uncertainty is also having a
significant impact on scientists and their ambition to disseminate
future projections and estimations. The challenges that are being
debated by global scientific investigations such as “issues related to
the rate (and magnitude) of change of climate, the potential for non-
linear changes and the long-time horizons” (Dessai and Sluijs, 2007,
p.5) are filled with substantial uncertainties. Inevitably, these
uncertainties enclosed within the scientific arena, are further hindering
both urban planners and designers to apply these ambiguous
projections in their own interdisciplinary sphere of practice.
The encumbrance of uncertainty, nonetheless, also originates the

opportunity to strengthen the pledge between scientific investigation
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and urbanism (Costa, 2011). This pledge yet requires the effective
communication of continual scientific outputs between the
private/public sectors with investigation centres. As an example of this
effective communication between these entities, one can refer to the
ACCSP that are internationally recognised for their: (1) “Investing in
high-quality climate change research…”; (2) “Citation of [their]
publications in the Assessment Reports produced by the IPCC”; (3)
“Funding scientists to contribute to important bilateral and multilateral
relationships between Australia and other countries”; (4) “Supporting
Australia’s participation in international research priorities through
such bodies as the World Climate Research Programme…”; and (5)
“supporting the Global Carbon Project, which aims to develop a
comprehensive policy-relevant understanding of the global carbon
cycle.” (Pullman, 2012).
There is a distinctive line between the definition of risk and danger

(Ascher, 2010 [2001]), danger constitutes a threat to safety, whereas
risk portrays an eventual and less predictable danger factor.
Consequently, considering uncertainty is to consider risk factors. In a
new era of modernization, risk is becoming a continually important
contemplation; this is complemented with an increasing efficiency of
global information divergence and dissemination. Comparatively, this
information flux is accelerating the shift in culture, one that is
transposed upon society’s fears and insecurities in light of future risk
factors. It can be hence argued that although conceptions of risk can
be initially invigorated by scientific research and discovery, the
consequential results of these outputs are socially constructed.
In other words, the multiplicity of choice that individuals are confronted

with raises a further differentiated life ‘profilisation’ and consumer
choices (Ascher, 2010 [2001]). This increases the disparity of social
groups or what Andersons describes as ‘imagined communities’
discussed in the next chapter of this thesis. Subsequently, these
diversifications bring new paradigms and problems to existing socio-
economic dynamics. There is now a greater need to explore need,
demand and expectation of users and the now expanded and
individualised ‘market’. This strongly contrasts the dynamics of
previous industrial revolutions where ‘limited rational’ and mass
production were the key characteristics of modernisation and
urbanisation.
As the evolving socio-economic dynamics are encompassing a

greater social differentiation; and the divergence in professional
spheres of practice is mirroring this phenomenon. Factors such social
differentiation and globalization are greatly increasing the pallet of
professional specification and specialization. The origin of Urban
Design was a direct result of a modernizing society that needed a
compromise between the practices of architecture and town planning.
In the twenty-first century, concepts of urban design have further
diverged into the independent and recognized arenas such as place-
making.
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This is a direct result of rationality accompanying an ever growing
society of individualization, especially one that is facing impending
risks masked by the future.
1.3 Scientific Climatology & Urban Planning

It has been accepted for centuries that the physical design of
cities affects climatic variables such as temperature, wind patterns,
humidity, precipitation, and air quality. Consequently, these variables
have direct consequences on the liveability in contemporary cities
(Hebbert and Webb, 2007). This suggests that urban form can
enhance or reduce the quality of urban life, thus suggesting the
prominence between spheres such as urban design and climatic
adaptation.
Previously, urban climatologists dwelled on anthropogenic issues that

were also well acquainted by urban planners. Amongst others, these
issues shared by the two spheres of practice were: street orientation,
street width-to-height ratios, building spacing, architectural detailing in
streetscapes, heat-reflectiveness from materials, the location of street
trees, parks and water spaces, and finally, the effects of traffic (Givoni,
1998; Erell, Pearlmutter and Williamson, 2011). Subsequently,
streetscape became a field that shared contributions from
climatological considerations and design concepts. Within this field of
investigation, various phenomena were objects of study such as street
dimensions, the componential characteristics of the materials, the
angle of the street and its geometry that determined the amount of
sun-light and loss of micro-heat during the night. With the aid of
technology, investigations supported more sophisticated studies such
as “integrating design concepts and climatic effects with
biometerological variables so human comfort levels can be estimated
under different climate scenarios and design settings” (Matzarakis,
Mayer and Iziomon, 1999).
Table 1 - Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) ranges within

different grades of thermal perception by human beings and
physiological stress on human beings4
PET Thermal Perception Grade of Physiological Stress
≤ 4ºC Very Cold Extreme Cold Stress

4ºC Cold Strong Cold Stress
8ºC Cool Moderate Cold Stress

4
Table based on an internal heat production of 80 W (from the human being) and a
heat resistance of clothing of 0.9 clo. These figures are established by Matzarakis and
Mayer as a baseline average.
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13ºC Slightly Cool Slight Cold Stress
18ºC Comfortable No Thermal Stress
23ºC Slightly Warm Slight Heat Stress
29ºC Warm Moderate Heat Stress
35ºC Hot Strong Heat Stress
41ºC Very Hot Extreme Heat Stress
Source : (Matzarakis and Mayer, 1996)
Contemporary organisations such as the IAUC have undertaken these

genres of studies in order to ensure the maintenance of urban
ecosystems, and human comfort in all sorts of events - including in
hazardous scenarios. The objective of the organisation5 is another
exemplar demonstration of the accord between scientific investigation
pertaining to climate issues and urban planning.
Contrastingly, although the scientific exploration of urban climatology

advanced in the mid twentieth century, the same could not be said for
its practical application. Due to a variety of possible reasons (such as
the decline in pedestrianism) urban planning became less climate-
sensitive after the 1950’s. As a consequence to this discrepancy,
climatic factors were poorly understood and regulated. This inevitably
affected the composition of urban frameworks where:
“In the name of traffic flow streets were often widened and sidewalks
narrowed to the detriment of outdoor air quality. Small city blocks were
consolidated to allow the construction of large-scale climate controlled
buildings, blocking air circulation or creating man-made wind tunnels.
The higher heat absorption capacity of man-made materials, such as
asphalt and cement, boosted urban heat island effects. The
impervious surfaces of buildings, roads and parking lots accelerated
storm-water run-off and flood risk. Tree removal deprived streets of
pollution filters and exacerbated outdoor temperature extremes…”
(Hebbert and Webb, 2007, p.124)
During the latter twentieth century, the communication between

climatologists and urban planners continually decreased. Scientists
specialising in city weather patterns knew that if these trends
continued, there would undeniably be adverse effects on the liveability
and quality within urban frameworks. Amongst others such as
Chandler, Bitan, Giovani, the German climatologist – Helmut
Landsberg stated that “the heat island is a reflection of the totality of
microclimate changes brought about by man-made alterations of the
urban surface.” (Landsberg, 1981, p.84). With the aid of institutional

5
Amongst others, the IAUC have technical interest and responsibility in: (i) ‘climatology
and meteorology of built-up areas’; (ii) ‘urban air quality’; (iii) ‘wind turbulence in the
city’; and (iv) ‘micro-scale processes and patterns associated with urban landscape
elements (buildings, canyons, parks, roads etc)’ Halpin, S. (2012). "International
Association for Urban Climate." Retrieved 05/07, 2012, from http://urban-
climate.com/wp3/about-us.
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networks6, the scientific community made extensive efforts post World
War 2 to caution urban planners to anthropogenic climatic changes at
the local scale. Nevertheless the warnings to climatic awareness were
prominently ineffective (Hebbert and Mackillop, 2011).
Escalating now from the local scale to the global scale, one can note a
significant difference in climate change awareness and regulatory
practice. The IPCC and the UNFCCC have had a strong impact on
decision makers and policy frameworks and invigorated the creation of
action plans in many leading countries. Nowadays carbon mitigation
and/or adaptation to global warming are part of many international
agendas with monthly initiatives being disseminated throughout the
global scientific community. Although this global dissemination is
imperative, it is argued that it is frequently “focussed [on] the exposure
of cities to hazards that have a huge impact but low frequency. It has
little to say about the high-frequency and micro-scale climatic
phenomena created within the anthropogenic environment of the city.”
(Hebbert and Webb, 2007, p.126). Accordingly, this has diminished
the comprehension of mitigation and adaptation at the local scale.
Local factors such as wind patterns, spatial patterns of sunlight
exposure, pollution and its dispersal through breezes are overlooked
in regional weather models. Yet it can nevertheless be argued that
although less serious, these phenomena also have a ‘continual’ affect
human comfort, health, and ultimately, quality of life.
The progression of scientific research and outputs are changing the

way cities are being maintained and conceived. Hence the realms of
scientific research are aiding the elaboration of new decisions in light
of new paradigms that cities are to face in uncertain horizons. This
progression is substantiating that available resources to attain a
determined result can be variable in uncertain scenarios. This has
radically contributed to the diversification of rationality with regards to
the adaptation of means to a determined end. This theory has had an
invigorating and fundamental contribution to the development of
ongoing scientific research.
The next chapter discusses the mental organization and ones train of
thought when experiencing encapsulating contexts. The progression
of research in this area of cognitive science equally opens new
perspectives and paradigms. This area of investigation has expanded
the understanding of experience and perception, allowing an
invigorating insight into the comprehension of human thought
processes. Consequently, there is an ever-growing attentiveness with
how the mind grasps it’s surrounding; stimulating fairly recent focuses
such as Environmental Psychology and Eco-Psychology.

6
Including the: World Meteorological Organisation; the United Nations Environment
Programme; the International Society for Biometeorology; the International Federation
for Housing and Planning and the Confédération Internationale du Bâtiment.
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As already mentioned, the diverse and seamlessly boundless theory
of post-modernism raised a lot of discussion and criticism. Amongst
many others, one of the topics of debate had to do precisely with the
amount of diverse scientific research and theory. Considered as the
‘crises of reasoning’, the vast spectrum of knowledge was regarded as
‘over-assorted’ and many times contradictory. Yet this thesis argues
that this is another clear demonstration of an expanded and a further
rehearsed rationality. This expanded rationality is the gearing of a
further reflexive society and thinking that encourages vital inquisitions
that were never pondered before. An effective example of these new
investigations tackles issues such as uncertainty, urban complexity,
and societal chaos. Day addresses this very new form of thinking,
one that does not deny margins of error, yet portrays a very valid point
when contemplating uncertain horizons – “Even if we’re wrong about
how we picture the future developing, we’re unlikely to be as far wrong
as if we had never considered it.” (Day and Parnell, 2003, p. 33).
It is undeniable that the challenge of global climate change has

launched contemporary cities into a new era of unprecedented
paradigms. On the other hand, it is also a fact that only recently are
urban planners, urbanists and urban designers beginning to consider
the full spectrum of climatology and its effects on the local scale.
1.4 Considering Locality as a Bottom-Up Approach

Although climate change and uncertainty go hand in hand,
climate change adaptation is not a ‘vague concept’ (Bourdin, 2010).
Inversely, it is the concrete bond within specific localities that
substantiates its preciseness (Costa, 2011); nevertheless, this means
that climatic “effects cannot be downscaled from a regional weather
model, they are complex and require local observation and
understanding.” (Hebbert and Webb, 2007, p.125).
So far, a considerable amount of research relating to ‘locality’ has

been carried out through a top-down approach. This concentrates on
methods of impact prediction through global models as a starting point
to anticipate climate change scenarios. As these global models have
little regional or local specificity, there “has been a growing interest,
however, in considering a bottom-up approach, asking such questions
as how local places contribute to global climate change, how those
contributions change over time, what drives such changes, what
controls local interests exercise over such forces, and how efforts at
mitigation and adaptation can be locally initiated and adopted.”
(Wilbanks and Kates, 1999, p. 601).
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Similarly, and with the limitations of the top-down method being
progressively established, scientific research endeavours are being
carried out to improve the adaptability of global climate models. This
has encouraged the climatic models to move downscale and to
interchange between scales more efficiently and cohesively. As a
consequence, there has been a resulting downscale analysis of
emissions, climate change models and climatic impact estimations.
By shifting our glance at the local scale, and thirsting to understand

how these spaces can contribute to a global climate change, we are
also presented with new contemplations. Climate change presents
urbanists and urban designers with new choices, and in turn, their
decision shall affect the efficiency of how well a town or city can adapt.
Good design solutions should aim at enhancing sense of place and
identity (CABE, 2008) instead of “an after-the-fact cosmetic treatment
of spaces that are ill-shaped and ill-planned for public use in the first
place.” (Trancik, 1986, p. 1).
Institutions such as CABE believe that adapting to climate change

means making towns more resilient, and that well designed and
flexible public spaces are the best tool in doing so (CABE and
Practitioners, 2011). This by no means discredits that some of the
catalyst propulsions for global change operate at a global scale7, yet it
can also be argued that comparatively important socio-economic
dynamics also arise at the local scale (Wilbanks and Kates, 1999).
Focusing on the question of how the local scale contributes to global

climate change, consequently, requires comprehending the “important
role that public spaces play in extreme temperatures/combating
climate change.” (CABE and Practitioners, 2011). This analysis
nurtures further inquiries that can be addressed through a bottom-up
approach: (1) how do public spaces sustain a social “domain of
socialization and ‘common’ experiences, and likewise of a collective
community”? (Brandão, 2011, p. 34, author's translation); and (2) how
can we continually support emerging and maturing life cycles in order
to fortify our sense of ‘collective community’ and identity in uncertain,
problematic, and eventful horizons?
Once engrained at the local scale, the analytical discernment upon

public spaces must be orientated towards people. In other words,
being appreciative that public space is sustained by people and that
“people make the city, so [we] must support their ambition to realise
unique opportunities, with soul and dignity… Self-organisation is the
social base for sustainability. And sustainability is an inspiring theme
for the creation of social organisation.” (Ven, Gehrels, Meerten et al.,
2009, p.52). It is indubitable that climate change requires us to

7
Amongst others, the aid of global financial entities and the green-house gas
composition of the atmosphere. Wilbanks, T. J. and R. W. Kates (1999). Global Change
in Local Places: How Scale Matters Climatic Change. The Netherlands. 43: 601-628.
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“understand present and future risk factor dynamics … linking security
with urban quality, and managing these risks through the design of
cities and their public spaces” (Costa, 2011). Yet, and without
diminishing the importance of risk management, there additionally
needs to be an understanding between social dynamics and climatic
adaptation.
According to Thomas Joseph Doherty and Susan Clayton8’s article on

the ‘Psychological Impacts of Global Climate Change’, they portray
three classes of psychological impacts: (1) “direct (e.g., acute or
traumatic effects of extreme weather events and a changed
environment); (2) indirect (e.g., threats to emotional well-being based
on observation of impacts and concern or uncertainty about future
risks); and (3) psychosocial (e.g., chronic social and community
effects of heat, drought, migrations, and climate-related conflicts...)”
(Doherty and Clayton, 2011, p.265).
Similarly to the burdensome weight that uncertainty has on scientists,

uncertainty also encumbrance’s socio-economic dynamics. Following
the root of indirect psychological impacts; concerns and uncertainty
regarding the future can have deep impacts on psychosocial well-
being.
Just as there needs to be physical resilience measures that address

climatic impacts, there is also a need to promote emotional resiliency.
This emotional resiliency is one that shall fortify and maintain identity
during both emotional and physical impacts. Ultimately, if we are to
maintain a fluid and harmonised relationship between people and
climate change (and in this way tackling problems originating also
from uncertainty), there is the need to be “focused on the relationships
of things, people, forces and processes and the moods and spirit of
place … it is this relationship focus that is essential to any really
sustainable building. The gadgets – from solar panels to composting
toilets – are only bits and pieces, Essential, but not in themselves
enough for wholeness and harmony.” (Day and Parnell, 2003, p.33)
The passage into the twenty-first century raised multiple reflections

upon the unprecedented progressions undertaken in the twentieth
century. Modernization is, and always has been, a source of
discussion and many times of hostile reactions. Yet in the last thirty
years, most discussions have been focused around post-modernism,
a concept “that joins a category where everything can be fit into”
(Ascher 2001, p.32, author’s translation). Philosophers, sociologists,
architects, and urbanists are hence deliberating on a vastly
interdisciplinary society, where the professional, social, economic, and
political boundaries are becoming ever more undistinguishable. It is
suggested by authors such as Ascher that modern society is liberating

8
Licensed psychologists that specialise in teaching and researching human
relationships with the natural world, and environmental conservation. Also the Editor-in-
Chief of the journal Ecopsychology and member of the American Psychological
Association Climate Change Force.
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itself from a period of limited and simplistic rationality. Technically
speaking, the envisaged characteristics of modernity are shifting, and
this is having an invigorating impact on modern culture. Although
culture is a difficult term to decipher, this thesis believes that it is “the
way in which a community of persons makes sense of the world”
(Gross and Rayner, 1985, p.2). In a ‘world’ that faces inevitable
climatic impacts, contemporary cities must now adapt to a shift in
culture, one that now “plays a role in informing human practices
connected with global environmental change.” (Proctor, 1998, p.239).
This has launched society into what is described as a new socio-
economic modernity. The steam-powered modernization of the first
industrial revolution and the petrochemical mass modernization of the
second industrial revolution – have now given way into a new form of
modernity. A modernity that is reflexive, individualistic, and social-
economically orientated towards the present and the future.
Returning to Ascher, rationalization is one of the base processes for

modernization as it continues to have a deep interrelationship with
collective and individualistic actions and decisions. It leads a
“’reflexivity’ of modern social life that can be defined as ‘the constant
revision and examination of social practices, in light of the information
respective of those very practices’” (Ascher, 2010 [2001], p.33,
author's translation). What the author means by this is that using
previous knowledge to study social practices is no longer sufficient,
there also needs to be a permanent reexamination of communal
interactions.
It can be further argued that each individual, just as each community,

shall be confronted with an increasing amount of dissimilar situations
and/or circumstances. As Mankind faces the future, there will an
increasing amount of scenarios that cannot be resolved by looking at
past experiences or resolutions. This raises the imperativeness of
reflexivity, one that promotes the creation of appropriate solutions that
address future issues. Consequently, the ‘limited rational’ of
continually relying (and depending) on typical practices or procedures
is to be diminished in the modernizing city. This reflexive thinking is
further ushered by an ever developing social complexity, scientific
research and technological progressions.
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1.5 Chapter 1 Synopsis

As discussed in this chapter, the words of Thorns play an

important role in establishing that our ‘sense of self’ and identity face
new paradigms within the modern city. There is now a preoccupation
in maintaining a ‘secure’ place whilst exposed to the continual
alterations our cities are exposed to. Accompanying these changes in
place/space relations, are new forms of thinking, a more elaborated
rational that further considers the flexibility and the life span of cities.
Amongst others, professions such as urban design and urban

planning are hence now tasked with considering the future
implications of their projects, plans, and proposals. This infers the
analytical eye towards considering paradigms that were scarcely
considered in previous centuries. In other words, and in what is
considered to be a ‘third modernity’, we are presented with: (1) New
socio-economic paradigms that are resultant of a maturing human
rationality demanding constant revision and examination of his social
practices; (2) considering the future as eventful horizons, requiring the
dissemination of future projections and estimation that are grounded
by the continual outputs of scientific endeavors. These factors present
new paradigms when we are to consider the public spaces within the
modern city, firstly, there is a need to acknowledge an emerging
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cultural shift that considers aspects of sustainability orientated towards
establishing well-being in the future. Secondly, overcoming uncertainty
and not permitting future ambiguity to hinder professionals to
continually challenge aspects such as future climatic changes.
These unprecedented paradigms that are presented upon

contemporary cities however raise an array of new opportunities.
Such that, there is now a keen interest both at user and professional
levels to embark on maintaining city quality and public realm
exuberance both now and, more importantly, in the future. To prepare
for climatic impacts and being presented with issues such as
uncertainty, there is now a more pivotal focus on the local scale.
Although not a new concept, the focus on the local scale is a vital tool
when challenged with unclear future impacts upon cities. This bottom-
up perspective is argued to be a way in which we can defy uncertainty
and simultaneously focus on public spaces, an unblemished
representation and symbol of city liveliness and quality.
The next chapter shall consequently dissect various secondary

resources to establish how these spaces foster a collective
representation of people and fortify an underpinning representation of
urban quality and vivacity.
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Chapter 2: Identity and Social Harmony at the
Local Scale

2.1 An Emerging Spirit of Place

From 750 BCE the Romans began to introduce their concept
of spirit of place. A genus locus was perceived to symbolise the
containment of ‘spirit of place’. Spirit of place suggested that a place
was actually protected by a spirit encapsulated within the place. The
Romans believed that light had a very symbolic and meaningful
connection, for it was the light that brought this symptom to one’s eye.
This continually developed during the years of Roman rule in Europe.
Perhaps due to their strong beliefs in religion and Gods, they found it
even more vital to continually build places that supposedly
encapsulated the spirit of their Gods.
Nonetheless with the decline of the Roman Empire this concept of

spirit of place also deteriorated into what the Latin’s called saeculum
obscurum (dark ages); “Originally, the term characterized the bulk of
the Middle Ages as a period of intellectual darkness between the
extinguishing of the light of Rome, and the Renaissance or rebirth
from the 14th century onwards” (Mommsen, 1942, p.226); as a
consequence this concept of genius loci was weakened during the
Middle Ages. Nonetheless during the later years, Gothic architecture
began to revive some of the concepts of phenomenology. Around
1270, awareness of the spatial qualities in the built environment
started to be re-inserted by philosophers such as Witelo. Witelo’s
theory of light was the starting instrument that inserted atmospheric
qualities into the interior of Gothic buildings. Cornelis Van de Ven is a
practising architect and urban designer, that stated, Witelo’s
“interpretation of space, especially, his psychology of perception of
space, culminated in a phenomenological awareness of different
qualities.” (Ven, 1987, p.22). It was this concept that reinitiated the
identification of space phenomenon, and reinforced the “unique
atmospheric marvels we perceived during that period” (Ven, 1987,
p.22). In Witelo’s point of view, light was the element that brought
people close to God as light symbolised the purity and omnipresence
of God. Again one may refer back to the Roman strong
interconnection and enthusiasm for light during their years of influence
and supremacy.
Witelo’s connection with light was also one of the churning ingredients
that resulted in the art of staining glass and rose windows. This was a
renowned development in the Gothic period, for not only its beauty but
its ability to raise perceptual sensations to a subconscious level. This
connection with light and the phenomenology of perceptual sensations
was even further rehearsed in the fifteenth century. This was the
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period of re-birth where people thirsted for further experimentation and
discovery to depart from the Dark Ages.
Marvin Trachtenburg, a professor of History and fine arts, further

debates that the period was “based on new concepts of the spiritual
and intellectual autonomy of the individual...” (Trachtenberg and
Hyman, 1986, p.281). The movement initiated in early 1500’s in
Florence, where an Italian sculptor named Fillippo Brunelleschi
designed the dome of Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. As the built
environment and culture started to develop so did the spirit of
community and self-recognition. Simultaneously, as buildings got
bigger and more sophisticated, the issue of beautification and
embellishment became more of a concern. With such new discoveries
in the architectural, cultural and educational fields, the once differing
lost and mundane communities started working towards common
goals. These common goals served as a catalyst for unity of human
creativity and inspiration to further mature. One of the most successful
outcomes of this was Mannerism, an art form based on human figure
and complicated artistic stylistic expressionism. Communities that
lacked the knowledge and experience to follow the footsteps of
Brunelleschi were experiencing this cycle of discovery by using their
bodies in architectural forms.
From this point onwards, genus loci became more of an ambition

rather than an occurrence through vernacular forms or cosmetic detail
during the Rationalism periods. Place making, spirit capturing, and
environmental sentiment were cornerstones to achieve genus loci in
modern architecture. This spirit of a place started to break off into the
theoretical and philosophical branch of phenomenology. This diverged
into the topics of placemaking and the subconscious experience, as
phenomenology encouraged the union between the functional and
metaphysical. Consequently, the functional characteristics of the site,
such as diversity, vitality and activity automatically root themselves
into a personification within the mind of users. This creates the
psychological experience - it triggers interest, and attentiveness as the
surrounding environment is perceived by the user.
Wilhelm Worringer9 successfully strengthens this argument when he

expounded that “Every style represents the maximum bestowal of
happiness of the humanity that created it.” (Worringer, 1967, p.99).
We can see how this is closely related to the occurrences during the
Renaissance, where people were encouraged to ‘exploit’ their body as
a stylistic tool of expressionism. If we take Worringer a little further,
the connection with the Renaissance can be made even stronger in
that “self-objectivation became an escape to the imaginary world of
happiness, liberating mankind from the anguish of the surrounding
chaos.” (Worringer, 1967, p.99).

9
A German art historian is well known for his studies in expressionism and for his paper
that dwells on the ‘Abstraction and Empathy’.
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2.2 Social Space within the Contemporary City

Norbeg Schulz is one of the most well-known voices for his
studies regarding the interconnected relationships between built form
its perception. He portrays the importance of society achieving the
spectacular balance between oneself and the built environment. This
is the composition of spaces that need not be visible or tactile. In fact,
they can be experienced as phenomena; many times at a
subconscious level. These series of events were described as
phenomenology by Schulz where “Man dwells when he can orientate
himself within and identify himself with an environment, or, in short,
when he experiences the environment as meaningful. Dwelling
therefore implies something more than 'shelter'. It implies that the
spaces where life occurs are 'places', in the true sense of the word. A
place is a space that has character. Since ancient times the genius
loci, or 'spirit of place' has been recognized as the concrete reality
man has to face and come to terms with in his daily life.” (Norberg-
Schulz, 1980, p.8). This train of thought was based on Heidegger’s
paper ‘Building Dwelling Thinking’ in 1951, where he extracted the
‘dwelling’ and linked it with his spirit of place. In this paper, the
following Georg Trakl’s poem particularly inspires Schulz:
A Winter’s Evening10
“Window with falling snow is arrayed,

Long tolls the vesper bell,
The house is provided well,
The table is for many laid.
Wandering ones, more than a few,

Come to the door on darksome courses,
Golden blooms the tree of graces
Drawing up the earth’s cool dew.
Wanderer quietly steps within;

Pain has turned the threshold to stone.
There lie, in limpid brightness shown,
Upon the table bread and wine.” 11
Schulz states that Trakl depicts on concrete objects that are familiar in
our ‘everyday world’. Man in the poem is described as a wanderer, a
being that is constantly perceiving, and interiorising surroundings. The
poem elucidates a clear differentiation between interior and exterior
intentionally. A winter evening, furthermore, “is experienced as a set of

10
Written by George Trakl, November 3, 1914
11
Poem of Gerog Trakl referenced in Norberg-Schulz, C. (1980). Genius Loci: towards
a Phenomenology of Architecture. New York, Rizzoli. Page.229
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particular qualities … or ‘character’ which forms a background to acts
and occurrences. In the poem this character is given by the snow
falling on the window, cool, soft and soundless, hiding the contours of
those objects which are still recognised in the approaching darkness
… The vesper bell, which is heard everywhere, [makes] the ‘private’
inside become part of a comprehensive, ‘public’ totality... It is a
symbol, which reminds us of the common values that are the basis of
that totality. The inside … is described as a house, which offers man
shelter and security by being enclosed and ‘well provided’. It has
however a window, an opening which makes us experience the inside
as a complement to the outside.” (Norberg-Schulz, 1980, pp.7-8)
This quote shows how a genus locus is composed of different

phenomena, both on the intangible and tangible level. The various
details that compose this ‘Winter Evening’ enclose an environment, a
locality, which has both psychological and physical context. Schulz
was one of the first to interconnect this relationship between form and
psychological connotations. His substantial considerations for
representations of social, mental, sensorial are the corner stone to his
phenomenological studies in urban environments.
This psychological experience is imperative to understanding not only

our urban open spaces, but inevitably the people that are bound to be
using them.
Contemporary cities are occasionally described as a transitory cure

that addresses the basest instincts and necessities of human society.
Sharon Zukin indicates that “[Cities] are built [to map] the power of the
bureaucratic machine or the social pressures of money. We who live
in cities like to think of culture as the antidotes to this crass vision...
Cultural activities are supposed to lift us out of the mire of our
everyday lives and into the sacred spaces of ritualised pleasures”
(Zukin, 2005, p.282).
Another critic of modernity is Marc Auge, believing that pure

‘functional nature’ is eliminating uniqueness and distinctiveness.
Supermodernity has thus resulted in creating places without a sense
of identity, experience and locality - encouraging the increasing
amount of homogeneous non-places. He goes on further by indicating
that non-places have derived from the selfish and empirical need to be
solely efficient without any regards to one’s experience. Isolation,
remoteness, seclusion and detachment are symptoms of these non-
functional spaces whereby, “anthropological places create the
organically social, so non-places create solitary contractility” (Auge,
1995, p.94). However, Auge in particular does not take his views far
enough to explain why these places do not have uniqueness or
distinctiveness. His views are perhaps somewhat implicative and
assume that the reader understands why places cause isolation,
remoteness and seclusion. The accuracy of Zukin’s assertion is also
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debatable, but she certainly touches upon how particular places can
revitalize our urban fabrics. Thus we must understand the relationship
between urban open spaces and the psychological experience. For
this, we must dissect open spaces into a number of different events all
occurring at the same time.
Both Auge and Zukin are not directly related to urbanism or urban
design theories, wherein Auge’s specialty is anthropology and Zukin’s
work was based around the sphere of sociology. Yet these voices are
nonetheless very much valid when we relate them to Roger Trancik12.
He argues that “Too often the designer’s contribution becomes an
after-the-fact cosmetic treatment of spaces that are ill-shaped and ill-
planned for public use in the first space.” (Trancik, 1986, p.1). One of
the persuasive arguments of Trancik is that urban planners, designers
and urbanists, fail to consider ‘three-dimensional’ relationships
between form and void, and thus misunderstanding the network of
human behaviour. Therefore, we should address the critical problems
of our day if we wish to influence the restructuring of our open spaces.
We must also avoid ‘generalisations’ as much as possible, in other
words, considering one solution a quick fix to other similar contexts.
Every space (be it ‘found or lost’) has its own opportunities and
different outcomes that must be treated independently, this
consequently leads to Trancik’s pessimistic view on masterplans.
Many times masterplans encourage the perspective that goes past the
micro considerations that are just as important as larger scale
interventions.
Directing our view on micro considerations, William Whyte another

well-known urban theorist, famous for his ‘watching people approach’,
takes the literal and psychical elements of open spaces and breaks
them down into sensorial components. These components are then
reflected upon the experience of the user. The first element he speaks
of is seating, where he states, that the most important aspect of
seating in open spaces is to make sure that seating is designed
according to the social networking. The type of seating is far less
important than the way it is designed for that space; people will find
ways of sitting according to where they want to sit, whether on a step
or a small wall. The bench is argued to be a picturesque concept by
which architects follow without understanding their implications.
Additionally, they tend to repeat the configuration of seating to insert
aesthetical monotony. Seating should be a way of handing the power
of choice to the users, allowing them to personify their stay, instead of
forcing them to commit to a picturesque organisation of seating.
Whyte suggests, “Choice should be built into the basic design. Even
though benches and chairs can be added, the best course is to
maximise the sitability of inherent features.” (Whyte, 1980, p.7). On
the more physical side, trees and water are ingredients that are a

12
A well-known urban design theorist and author of the book Lost Space.
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‘permanent feature’ of spaces, and Whyte argues that they are a very
effective way of influencing people’s sensations. Whyte however, is
not the only one to believe in the importance of greenery in our open
spaces.
Roger S. Ulrich, a less well known voice, is an Architectural Professor

at Texas A&M University who worked on the understanding of
‘Implications for stress recovery and immunization’. He corroborates
Whyte’s argument, and substantiates, “Exposure to nearby nature
enhances the ability to cope with and recover from physiological
stress, cope with subsequent stress, and even recover from surgery.”
(Parsons and Ulrich, 1998, p.113).
Another voice which validates Whyte’s theory is William C. Sullivan, a

professor in landscape architecture that contextualises this with our
open spaces and states; “The landscapes we inhabit have far-fetching
and profound impacts on our behaviour and functioning. For well over
99 percent of human evolution, our ancestors lived in extremely close
association with the natural world.” (Sullivan, 2005, p.248). By no
means is this document arguing that our open spaces should be filled
with forestation as some spaces do not need flora or greenery to be
successful. But we need to accomplish a balance between the
excessive formalisation of greenery, and the looseness that allows
people to have some freedom of choice. Nevertheless to allow people
to enjoy this at both conscious and subliminal levels, they must be
designed correctly. He further argues that planners, developers,
architects, and local authorities, continuously fail to understand that
the over securitisation and formality can uphold a negative impact on
open spaces. He states that: “In many places water is only for looking
at. Let a foot touch it and a guard will be there in an instant...[water
features] are installed, then immediately posted with signs
admonishing people not to touch.” (Whyte, 1980, p.48). In this
comment we can see that over the securitisation can actually draw
people away from the spaces, as Whyte argues further, “There are
better ways than electrocution to handle this problem.” (Whyte, 1980,
p.48). Additionally, the frequently over exaggerated ritual of planting
can contribute as much to user inhibition. If ‘beautification’ is merely
an aesthetical measure behind fences, or cut off from the public realm
then this is clearly a contradiction. A good example of this are signs
that ‘order’ people to stay off the grass or even shaded areas being
isolated due to delicate flora. In parallel to this, freedom can be taken
beyond seating, it can also be taken into the sphere of responsive
environments that support and offer the open potentials for the wide
choice of different patterns of activity.
To analyse the social implications of place we can resort to Bourdieu’s

theory Habitus, “[the] sense of one’s place but also [the] sense of the
other’s place” (Bourdieu, 1977, p.113). Habitus is described as the
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experience or sensation one feels in retrospect of the built form. He
argues that ‘stable’ environments are based on the strong congruence
between habitat and habitus; where habitus is considered to be
continually subject to change according to existing social practices.
Habitat however is different, for it may change radically and yet
habitus will only change through evolution. In different terms, habitus
has different degrees of incorporation and adaptation of its habitat.
Thus Habitus cannot only be seen in terms of its sociological
implications for it is useful in understanding the deep conservatism of
the field of architecture. (Dovey, 1999).
This sense of incorporation and adaptation is based on the individuals

using the space. Understanding this and creating open spaces that
respect this habitus will allow professionals to control far more than
the simple space. Bourdieu finalises his argument by saying, “The
agent engaged in this practice knows the world ... without objectifying
distance, takes it for granted, precisely because he is caught up in it,
bound up with it: he inhabits it like a garment (un habit) or a familiar
habitat. He feels at home in the world because the world is also in
him, in the form of habitus ...” (Bourdieu, 2000, pp.142-3).
Another ally to this argument regarding the incorporation and

adaptation is given to us by Gaston Bachelard, “A house constitutes a
body of images that give mankind proofs or illusions of stability. We
are constantly re-imagining its reality: to distinguish all these images
would be to describe the soul of the house; it would mean developing
a veritable psychology of the house. (Bachelard, 1958, p.17). This
description of the house and its implications can be just as applicable
to the spaces that encapsulate users; in fact it can be argued that the
word house is a metaphorical representative of our built environment.
The different images are the composition of phenomena which
translate into our emotional response addressing our stability of
ourselves. Of course this implies that people will reflect differently
upon their surroundings and this mirrors the multifunctional uses that
spaces can provide.
Conversely a more fitting approach can be found in Benedict

Anderson’s theory of ‘imagined communities’. Anderson, a professor
of International studies and a lesser voice in the field of urban design
nonetheless makes the very valid point that “members of even the
smallest nation will never know most their fellow-members, meet
them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of
their communion.” (Anderson, 1983, p.15). What Benedict means by
this is that people create an image of themselves by which they
portray that image to belong to a group of selective people. But this
image cannot be substantiated by itself, there needs to be physical
evidence that they do in fact exist in the eyes of greater society.
We can relate Benedict’s words to the writing of Georgia Butina

Watson and Ian Bentley, both very well known for their studies in
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urban design at Oxford Brookes University. In their book called
Identity By Design, they assert that, “The recognition of an imagined
community as pre-existing one’s own membership has to be based on
convincing evidence ... Pre-existing events and artefacts which
surround us in the real world have to be interpreted as evidence which
demonstrates that the imagined community really exists: that we
haven’t just made it up.” (Watson and Bentley, 2007, p.9).
Nonetheless one may raise the very valid question, why are open
spaces just as important in confirming our existence?
In earlier works by the French phenomenological philosopher, Maurice

Merleau Ponty addresses this very question and states, “Our
understandings of space emerge from action, indeed space is to be
defined as a certain possession of the world by my body, a certain
gearing of my body to the world.” (Merleau-Ponty, 1962, p.250). What
Ponty means by this is that space is what allows action to take place
and as our bodies co-exist with this; we are exposing ‘ourselves’ to the
world, meaning it is a part of ‘us’. It refers to the primary and direct
relationship of the environment with ‘us’. This can thus mean that
these spaces are constructed out of lived experience; again as each
individual experiences it differently, we are imprinting it with our own
personified memory. One could refer to this concept as Martin
Heidegger’s vision of body-to-world, where he emphasises that we
cannot judge a ‘world’ without having experienced it for ‘ourselves’,
and in that way, making it ‘our’ own (Merleau-Ponty, 1962).
The renowned Kevin Lynch also addresses this issue in his book
called ‘The Image of the City’. He literates that people create a set of
different unique pictures, which approximate to the way they see their
environment. He thus strengthens Watson and Bently’s argument by
stating “Such group of images are necessary if an individual is to
operate successfully within his environment and cooperate with his
fellows” (Lynch, 1960 pp.46-8). Additionally Lynch argues that there
are other influences that fortify our own imageability, such as the
‘social meaning’ of the place, purpose, and its historical interest. Yet
this by no means implies that we should assume that this alone will
reinforce meaning.
Evidently there is only so much physical evidence that can be inbuilt

into open spaces, thus it is vital to understand not only our
multicultural societies, but what Wolfgang Welsch calls
‘transcultularity’ (Welsch, 1999). Welsch studied philosophy and
psychology and his interdisciplinary studies are very relevant here, for
he picks up on the vital need to reinforce our responsive
environments. What he means by this is the essential open potentials
for a wide range of choice to co-exist with the different patterns of
activity and diversity in our open spaces. In other terms, we need to
support the different cultural interpretations appropriate to a range of
different imagined communities.
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Talja Blokland a researcher in the networks of urbanism breaks this
concept down into a clear view that “the [cityscape] is not, never was
and never can be a community. Instead, it serves a practical and
symbolic purpose as a means to form and perpetuate many different
communities.” ((Blockland-Potters, 2003, p.207). This imposes a
difficult task for designers to regularly grip as it implies the
comprehension of feeling, memories and emotions of different imaged
communities.
Although it cannot be assumed that existing identity will be erased by

the future, we also cannot deny new hybrids of culture and
communities being injected into our city fabric. If we do deny them
then we will embrace what Frank Furedi calls ‘Cultures of Fear’.
Furedi, a well-known voice in the realms of sociology, studied the
prevailing fear of one another in our built environment.
Cultures of fear are argued to be the fear of other imagined

communities threatening the importance and stability of others. John
Rennie Short, a professor of public policy at University of Maryland,
connects Furedi’s concept into the realm of our built environment, and
articulates “...As we become cordoned off into the separate spaces of
life experiences, we meet others only through the stereotypes and
fantasies of the media. When we lose the shared spaces that allow us
to see the other person, we lose and essential element of a truly civic
society.” (Short, 2003, p.271).
It is apparent through Short that open spaces strengthen

transcultularity through embedded cultural landscapes. Perhaps more
to a subliminal extent, this will allow one to acknowledge and
experience the presence of others and psychologically embrace
society as a whole. Whilst not dwelling excessively on economics, it is
also important to acknowledge that this generalised fear of others can
promote imagined communities foster competition against one
another. Ernest Gellner, another philosopher well known for his
sociological and economic studies in the built environment,
establishes this when he wrote that communities should have the view
- if ‘we’ work with ‘them’ then all of us might do better in the future
(Gellner, 1987). The subsequent consideration of economics is
interestingly important here, for it encourages us to think as a global
society and as a team to develop ‘our’ local economy. This attitude will
no doubt increase and rehearse the power of community and hence,
generate public participation as a means of social communality. But
why is this social communality relevant to the way we experience our
urban open spaces?
Social communality is what inserts diversity, and culture into our

spaces. It prompts people to get involved in our society, allowing them
to feel part of culture. This sense of involvement injects inclusion,
closeness, participation and attachment into our urban open spaces.
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One may note that these are antonyms Auge used to describe non-
places. In retrospect however, this thesis believes that this can still be
taken a step further into our psychological experience. Furedi’s
concept of cultures of fear, very relevant it may be, it nonetheless can
portray a somewhat radical and negative zero tolerance to others.
This implies that our imagined communities will automatically fear one
another because they wish to ‘protect’ themselves from other
communities. If this were strictly true, then it would be literally
impossible to create plausible and feasible cultural landscapes.
Already stroked upon previously, this raises a very difficult question,

one that is raised by Kim Dovey, regarding whether people mediate
power over spaces which they believe to belong to. If we went by the
words of Furedi’s ‘cultures of fear’ we can see there is flair of
defensiveness and imposition.
John Rennie Short’s argument can be referred to once again when he

suggests that the choice to reflect, learn and rationalize others is
imperative. The professor of public policy states that “the pervading
sense of fear of the other... can, in part, be attributed to the urban
forms that people rarely meet people different from themselves in
public and third spaces.. When we lose the shared spaces that allow
us to see the other person, we lose an essential element of a truly
civic society.” (Short, 2003, p.271) . Perhaps this ‘essential element’
mentioned is in fact the choice to embrace other imagined
communities, the choice to rationalize what was once the feeling of
unfamiliarity
This implies that what we fear comes from the lack of meeting the
‘other’, promoting thus the illusive image that was formed from
judgment and not experience. This responsibility or quality of open
spaces gives it a sense of power, the power of influencing our
sentiments and sensations at different psychological levels.
Christopher Day, a prominent lecturer on design consultancy wrote
what was considered to be a classic text of the 21st Century regarding
Places of the Soul. He argues in his work that architecture is not just
about the appearance, it is also about how the building is
experienced; he dwells intensely on the effect the built environment
has on human responses. He interestingly treats spaces and buildings
as a ‘third person’, allowing him to add emotional conceptuality to his
discussion. Day illustrates that the built environment has
“responsibilities to the human individualities ... responsibilities not only
in the visual aesthetic sphere and through the outer senses but also to
the intangible but perceptual ‘spirit of place’.” (Day, 2004, pp. 15-6).
This concept of spirit of place links effortlessly with the earlier classic
of Schulz’s concept of phenomenology. We can see this further when
he defines “Our surroundings [as] the framework which subtly confine,
organize and colour our daily lives. Harmonious surroundings provide
support for outer social and inner personal harmony” (Day, 2004,
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p.70). As can be seen, Day also dwells on how the synchronization of
spaces reflects upon the harmonization of people from different social
groups (or imagined communities).
The distinguished and popular Libeskind also applies this

harmonization of people through synchronizing environments in his
Manifesto named ‘Architectural Space’. He “thinks of architectural
space as an adventure, and adventure that has an obscure genesis
and an open history.” (Libeskind, 2001, p.46). Interestingly, the
architect also refers to the phenomenological design of open spaces,
stating that they are not built with pre-made pieces which can be put
into a homogenous system. Instead they consist of joining actual
dimensions that initially did not have any explicit connection. These
actual dimensions are not metaphors of symbolism, or identity - they
are in fact transformations which have been put together. In other
words “it is about transforming these dimensions into an open realm
and relating them to the ultimate destination of our own lives.”
(Libeskind, 2001, p.55).
During the conception of the Jewish Museum, Libeskind decided to

locate it in Berlin; which was one of the first places where the Jewish
could be free to prosper after so must detriment. This exemplifies how
everything is designed around the use. Libeskind studies his structure
just as much as he studies the people that will use the building. He
achieved the marvel of balance between people that would be afflicted
by the nostalgia, and others that would be afflicted from raw emotion.
In other words he designed for people that were familiar with the
museums contents, but also made it explicit enough to make it clear
for those who weren’t.
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Figure 2 - Menashe Kadishman, Installation Shalekhet (Fallen Leaves),
13
1997-2001
If we go back to Kim Dovey’s concept of translating ‘oneself’

into his/her environment, it is suggested that this connection with
‘physical convincing evidence’ is a social behaviour we undertake, but
this does not mean that social critique can abolish this connection. In
other terms, although the generation of meaning is a social
construction, once it is established, it no longer is something which
sociality can alter. If we consider users to be universals (i.e. separate
individuals with distinctive entities) they will automatically claim power
over their own perception of the space around them. Of course Short
speaks of ‘stereotypes and fantasies of the media’ affecting our view
of open spaces, yet Dovey’s words are just as appropriate, when he
illustrates that meaning, “may simply be constructed on deeper
foundations.” (Dovey, 1999, p.40).
Sigmund Freud can be used to take Dovey’s concepts a lot further into
the realms of the sub-conscious. He elaborates these deeper
foundations and dwells upon the emotional response to something
new, in one of his papers called ‘Uncanny’ he ponders, “…it seems
obvious that something should be frightening precisely because it is
unknown and unfamiliar. But of course the converse is not true: not

13
Kadishman's installation, on loan from Dieter and Si Rosenkranz, powerfully
compliments the spatial feel of the Voids. While these serve as an architectural
expression of the irretrievable loss of the Jews murdered in Europe, Menashe
Kadishman's sculptures filling them evoke painful recollections of the innocent victims of
yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Source: (2011). "The Installations." Jewish Museum
Berlin Retrieved 02/08, 2012, from http://www.jmberlin.de/main/EN/01-Exhibitions/04-
installations.php. Photographer - Marion Roßner
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everything new and unfamiliar is frightening. All one can say is that
what is novel may well prove frightening and uncanny; some things
that are novel are indeed frightening, but by no means all.” (Freud,
McLintock and Haughton, 2003, p.125). For us to understand what
Freud means by this we need to reflect upon the meaning of the word
‘uncanny’ as it is the foundation of his concept. Uncanny is used to
describe something familiar yet strange, triggering a cognitive
dissonance; meaning the exposure to two contradictory ideas
simultaneously. Conversely, our natural instinct is to reduce this sense
of dissonance by reflecting, learning and rationalising these
contradictory sensations. Again this rationalisation is based around
choice, implying how choice is a vital consideration when we study the
experience of users in open spaces. In simpler words, on the contrary
to Furedi’s generalisation, we may go to an urban open space with
untied pre-conceptions to embrace the ‘new’. We might not see
ourselves encapsulated within the specific space, but we make the
cognitive decision to learn about others and the ‘unknown’.
Taking Freud’s words a little further, and in the interest of further

understanding cognitive decisions, one can address his experience of
being in a ‘small Italian town’. He tells the story as follows:
“… after wondering about for some time without asking the way, I
suddenly found myself back in the same street... I was now seized by
a feeling that I can only describe as uncanny... I was glad to find my
way back to the piazza... and [refrained] from any further voyages of
discovery” (Freud, McLintock and Haughton, 2003, p.144)
Freud’s story has a double meaning, the first time we read it we

perceive a man uncomfortable about being lost and wanting to return
to familiarity. However upon a second read, we can see a man
wanting to get lost; his words such as ‘wondering’, ‘without asking the
way’, and ‘voyages of discovery’ illustrate just this. Steve Pile a
professor of human geography also dwells on Freud’s studies and
states “The well-heeled bourgeois man had walked the streets only to
find himself the streetwalkers’ object of attention? amusement?
seduction? Of course... Freud is hardly the first ... to be caught in his
desire and fear.” (Pile and Thrift, 2000, p.265).
Furthermore, if we pick up on the unknown provincial town (probably

left un-named by Freud to increase dramatization), (assumed)
deserted streets, the act of the exploratory walk, the alienation of
himself in another culture, we see that this reflects Dovey’s concept of
living; in other terms, the act of physical engaging with form in the
state of distraction. Yet this is the incomplete picture, for one can also
pick up on the words side-walkers excitement, helplessness,
dissonance, and engagement with what is around him. This is
precisely what Dovey describes as subliminally perceiving ones
environment.
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Perchance it is now appropriate to describe uncanny in another way,
where we link this feeling of mysterious emotional response to
Anthony Vidler’s concept of “urban and spatial dis-ease” (Vidler, 2001,
p.6). This dis-ease is what subliminally encouraged him to repeat his
experience, thus the words ‘voyages of discovery’. One could also
argue that this dis-ease is also triggered by the fear of our subliminal
wanting to repeat the experience again; suggesting that “Freud’s trip
suggests that desire and fear are inextricable intertwined-not in a
static way that produces a fixed pattern of repetitions but in a dynamic
way.” (Pile and Thrift, 2000, p.265). What is meant here by the word
‘dynamic’ is that as repetitions replicate, we perceive it differently until
one finds another place or open space that triggers this initial
cognitive dissonance.
Unarguably these repetitions are fluctuating what is familiar and what

is unfamiliar, implying that perhaps subliminally we are trying to
search for the hidden and conspicuous. Something that was not
obvious the first time, but identifiable in the next ‘repetition’. This again
brings us to phenomenology, where one tries to understand all of the
phenomena that are encapsulated within the space in order to
understand the spirit of place.
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This chapter has discussed that, as designers and urban
planners, it is very easy to insert a scheme without understanding how
these spaces will inevitably affect the people using them. There are
many ingredients which need to be considered in order for places to
have their own distinctiveness and uniqueness. Understanding these
ingredients is a vital part when regarding our open spaces, and
considering their future roles in warming cities.
Not all places have to physically relate to each and every user, what is
essential is that people are presented with the choice to experience
the space in their own way - hence, the imperative freedom of choice.
It is this choice that allows users to personify their stay in open
spaces, consequently allowing them to translate themselves in their
surroundings. It is these translations that give that certain authenticity
between users and their surroundings. However this translation goes
beyond the sensorial, users also wish to indulge the ‘other’ in open
spaces.
It is multi-cultural spaces that allow people to experience not just their

own experience, but the experience of others. In other terms it allows
users to be exposed to social harmony, the different communities thus
become another component to experience in open spaces. It is this
cultural exchange and harmony that strengthens not only the built
environment that surrounds us but our society as a whole. Attitudes
which deny the existence of a certain commune will only generate fear
between communities, and thus censoring one of the great benefits of
open spaces.
It is hence vital to understand that spaces represent more than form

and void, they represent a coexisting balance between different users
and their own individualistic experiences. This chapter has also dealt
with the users feeling of ‘uncanny’ and ‘dis-ease’ where it is argued
that users wish to rationalise what is unfamiliar to them. Grippingly,
open spaces can be used for just this; to allow users to seize their
inquisitiveness and rationalise what was once unfamiliar, without the
fear of their own presence being endangered. For this reason it is
suggested that the experiencing the sensorial is interlinked with the
experience of social harmony. Both of these are interlinked in the
phenomena of spaces, where the physical has different meaning to
different users and it is up to the individual to generate their own
perspective.
The beginning of this chapter discusses the understanding of how the

phenomena of space have evolved through our history. During the
different eras of human dominion, we created different ways of making
places special, and doing this today is still just as imperative. Planners
and designers must at all costs avoid the concepts of super-modernity
creating places that lack any sense of uniqueness and distinctiveness.
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This chapters investigation upon the ‘domains of socialisation’ and
‘common experiences’ has resulted in a discussion of how the
sensorial is interlinked with the experience of social congregation
within public spaces. The outcome of this analysis has also resulted in
a standpoint that considers both the psychological and social
attributes of genus loci and its importance within the modern city.
Nevertheless this investigation must be taken further in order to

understand how genus loci can be continually supported in uncertain
and eventful horizons. For this to take place, the next two chapters of
this thesis shall analyse the case study of Lisbon in order to focus the
investigation within a specific context, both in terms of its respective
public spaces and climatic implications upon the capital city.
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Chapter 3: The Lisbon Case
3.1 The Modernisation of Lisbon
After the great earthquake that hit Lisbon in 1755, a
reconstructive plan was devised to rebuild part of the damaged city. It
was a pioneering and instrumental scheme that marked a new
stepping in urbanistic planning. This reconstructive system was known
as the Baixa Chiado Plan, was one that played a very important role in
establishing part of Lisbon’s history. It marked a new era for the
countries capital whereby architects Manuel da Maia, Eugenio dos
Santos and Carlos Mardel established and applied their philosophy in
order to rebuild parts of the damaged city. This metamorphosis within
downtown Lisbon took into account the multiple facets of the city such
as its historical, patrimonial, cultural and economic facets and geared
them towards the future. However through rigorous endeavours and
undeterred determination the devastation was transformed into a
series of colossal opportunities within the capital city.
Before the earthquake of 1755 there was an enthusiasm for change

within the medieval city. The revitalization of the city was a result of
seizing opportunities to reform the once irregular and tight cityscape.
When the earthquake struck in 1755 the greatest damages took place
in Baixa that was, “Authentically reminiscent of the Middle Ages with
its narrow streets, winding alleys and densely packed wooden
housing, the Baixa (literally translated as ‘Lower Town’) was built on
alluvial soft soils and Miocente fine sands and surrounded by steep
hills on three sides. This combination of structural, spatial and soil
characteristics created a set of conditions that, once the tremor struck,
caused the Baixa to collapse inward upon itself.” (Gutkind, 1967,
p.153).
Marques de Pombal called upon a group of architects and engineers

to implement the ramifications within the city framework. Within this
group of designers also presided the already mentioned Eugenio dos
Santos and Carlos Mardel. These two military architectural engineers
also oversaw the creation of the plan and the way it would be
implemented within Lisbon. Santos however is argued to have
understood better Pombals theories of a new society in a more literal
and physical sense with his emphasis on utility, repetition and
adaptation of plain architecture. On the other hand Mardel was more
concerned with style, a form that historian George Kubler described as
‘The drift of Mardel’s style is toward exotic and picturesque forms’.
Kubler stated that his style had “a grounding in European styles and a
sensitivity to Baroque characteristics of Lisbon in the first half of the
eighteenth century also provided an understanding of the need for
radical simplicity in the revitalisation effort.” (Kubler and Soria, 1969,
p.114). The three members of the team, who were divided between
different generations aimed at balancing the power of the Crown with
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the needs of the Portuguese citizens. They ultimately faced the
daunting task of converting the once medieval city into a modern
renaissance city while facing a strong rising of the merchant and
bourgeoisie class.
On the fourth of December 1755 four site planning options were

created that concerned the rebuilding of the city. Maia reviewed these
proposals in terms of their successes and failures where the third
seemed more successful as it would better seize the opportunity to
make Lisbon a more modern city. It would allow the implementation of
a new infrastructure design of buildings, construction procedures and
building performance. Thomas Downing Kendrick, a British
archaeologist and historian, adds that as Maia “had been an active
worker in the earthquake’s immediate aftermath, he could not have
missed noticing the propensity for the 4- and 5-story buildings
collapsing into the street (where people had gathered for safety – too
no avail.)” (Kendrick, 1955, p.47). These were the concerns of Maia
that encouraged him to desire lower building heights, elimination of
arches and framed construction techniques. Another desire of Maia
was the movement of people and carriages efficiently through the city
streets. Maia was thus uncertain the best route for Lisbon, his
engineering nature indulged him to want to use the most advanced
technological innovations. Yet he also wanted to make sure that he
respected and promoted the Lisbonesque quality of life by preserving
its image of the nation, of its people and that of the crown.
Finally, upon a final discussion of the different plans with Pombal,

Maia grouped six military architects to develop another set of six plans
for Baixa. Unlike previous proposals and schemes, Santos’s was the
only plan to insert strong connections between Terreiro do Paço and
Baixa.
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Figure 3 - Plan Proposal by Eugénio dos Santos with the aid of Antonio
Andreas to insert three major avenues that linked Rossio to the north
and Terreiro do Paço to the south.
Source : Arquivos dos Serviços de Fortificações e Obras do Exercito, 2342-2-16-22
Furthermore, it was the only one to use the square as a sense of open
space that permitted and encouraged articulation. The plan also
maximises access to the sea and provides a clear aesthetical and
physical entrance into Lisbon. It is clear that this scheme resulted in
the progression of plans from different authors, simple rudimentary
concepts started to become more sophisticated. Not only did this plan
please Maia, it also encouraged him to change somewhat his own
planning theory for Lisbon. For example, Maia had initially considered
that “Terreiro do Paço would remain important as a civic space but
that the Rossio would become the new ‘Royal Square’: Its location
was in an area of likely growth and several royal buildings were being
proposed along its edges” (Summerson, 1988, p.134). Upon Santos’s
suggestions regarding Terreiro do Paço nevertheless, Maia directed
his architects to treat it as Royal Square, and to consider the square of
Rossio as an economical and mercantile beacon of activity.
Although Maia was happy with the increasingly detailed concepts set
to be implemented within Lisbon, they still lacked a sense of overall
cohesiveness and global application of Maia’s planning goals. The
next plan presented to Maia was Poppe’s second inventive scheme,
one of which proposed curving streets as a design feature surrounded
by smaller urban blocks. But the scheme fell short in important
aspects such as creating a sense of urban drama and visual
influence. Unfortunately for Poppe, Santos had very much inspired
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Maia to make Terreiro do Paço into a grand and stately space. Poppe
had fell short in accomplishing this, he had designed Terreiro do Paço
as an inward looking square, one that would inevitably and regrettably
turn its back to the Tagus River.
Upon the declination of this plan, Santos with the help of Mardel,
proposed another dynamic solution. Once again he proposed the
realigning of the squares and streets which would allow the
maximisation of natural sunlight. Furthermore he also suggested that
Terreiro do Paço be better connected with Baixa itself, this resulted in
the creation of ample space for monumentality that maintained the
connection and openness to the waterfront. This would yet again
serve human sociality and experiential affluence within the new
desired iconic and majestic city framework. Unlike previous plans, the
design promoted a sense of dynamic livelihood for the city through its
very streetscape. The plan implemented five major north-south
streets, whereby two of them were connected by two articulated
squares. Santos also divided the urban blocks into new rectangular
forms, allowing a completely unprecedented concept to be presented
before Maia.
Figure 4 - New alignment plan by Santos and Mardel
Source : Plantas Topográficas de Lisboa – Camara Municipal de Lisboa
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John Mullin a modern day regional planner states that the plan by
Santos and Mardel was:
“A radically different urban dynamic at work that included unique

block patterns, variations in road widths, lengths and end points, in
addition to a redesigned Terreiro do Paço. The reorientation of the
Baixa allowed for additional sunlight while new space for monuments
was also created. With ease of movement, standardised lots, easy
parcelization, only minimal church relocation and opportunities for
monumentality, Santos’ plan met all of the basic conceptual objectives
set by Maia and became the basis for the ‘Baixa Pombalina’.” (Mullin,
1992, p.10).
During the following period of reconstruction, Pombal and Maia’s

visions started to make socio-political impact within the capital city. As
already mentioned there was a tangible aspiration to reconnect the
city to its people and perhaps even diminishing the weighing
imposition from the nobility. Additionally to this ‘power shift’ the
reconstruction of the city surfaced preceding ambitions that had been
rehearsing even before the earthquake in 1755. Moreover, Santos’s
plan accomplished more than this. The design of the new city was
planned to harmoniously reflect the gentle curves of Lisbon’s hills to
the east and north. The streets were designed in such a way that
allowed subtle vistas and changing skylines that would allow better
exploitation of sunlight and shadows.
Unquestionably however the biggest success of the Lisbonesque

design was the way the River Tagus harmonised with the city. The
linkage between Terreiro do Paço and the river front was considered
to be a big success, it allowed the city to connect with the Tagus River
and display the iconic Lisbonesque city through the window of a
majestic square. But the linkage with the riverfront liberated more
than this, Mullin states that:
“The push or pull of the tide, the roll of the ship on the water, and the
presence or absence of the wind were constant reminders that Nature
determined when and to what degree of comfort he would arrive. As
our passenger looked from the river toward Lisbon, he saw the urban
landscape but would have been more conscious of the hills
surrounding the city – the city was situated in a natural cocoon.
Indeed, as a whole, the hills would have dominated this
comprehensive vista far more than manmade structural elements of
the city. It is however at the point of disembarkation that the sense of
man conquering nature occurs: upon leaving the ship, the traveller is
welcome by stone steps that lead up to the Praça do Comércio (later
name given to Terreiro do Paço). It is here that he would receive a
psychological message that he had now entered a world controlled by
man. The tides, the moon, the water, the sun, and the wind were now
seconded to the powers of rational humankind.” (Mullin, 1992, p.11).
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Additionally to this new equilibrium and attention made to Man and
Nature, there was also the aspiration to improve city symbolism and
identity. Pombal ordered the construction of a tribute to King Jose I in
the form of a statue in the centre of Terreiro do Paço. Yet
contradicting common practice at the time, Pombal called for
Portuguese sculptures and artists to carry out the task instead of
relying on Italian and French sculptors. The reasoning behind this was
that Pombal wanted to exhibit Portuguese talent, a talent that would
be used to celebrate the very own sense of Portuguese existence and
accomplishment.
There was also other issues that were to be addressed within Terreiro
do Paco, Pombal later changed its name to Praca do Comercio (Plaza
of Commerce). This again originated from Pombal’s ambition to
strengthen identity within the future Lisbonesque city. As the
merchants, and as representatives of the new commerce, they had
the immense responsibility in helping recover the economical and
trading market within the city. To hearten this socio-economical aspect
and to aid its demonstration of a recovering city he decided to attribute
it a new name, Plaza of Commerce.
As already mentioned, the unprecedented style of streets to be

implemented within the capital city was an avant-garde method within
Portuguese planning. However there is also another factor within the
streetscape that is worth noting; since Pombal was so highly desirous
of creating a strong mercantile identity, the streets were named in
such a way to encourage merchants to locate specific streets. The
longer and more momentous streets (usually north to south roads)
were named after their function within the city. Perhaps in order to
please the nobles and the church, side streets were named after the
members of the royal family. Shrewdly, Pombal had managed to
please the nobles and church and yet assert a greater emphasis on
the market and commerce. He subtly made the point that the area
between Baixa and Plaza of Commerce was design and designated to
merchant activity without angering the nobles or the church. This was
yet another unprecedented approach that was to be represented and
glorified within the capital city, marking an emblematic new future for
Lisbon.

3.2 The Emerging of Lisbonesque and Local Public

Realm
The emerging of Lisbon’s public realm was invigorated by the
diminishing of a Royal city. Nevertheless totally removing royal
presence would be detrimental as this would potentially result in
further political instability. The calculative decision of Pombal to
harmoniously balance royal figures with the public realm invigorated a
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new style of local planning and modernisation methods. An effective
example of this was the Kings statue being placed within the Plaza of
Commerce, a plaza that was essentially a square for the people.
Trading and a space for commerce were now seen around the feet of
a symbolic feature, promoting a new harmony between a vital city
function and that of a symbolic royal representation.
This metamorphosis into a new period no longer represented the

crown, nobility or the church; they became part of something bigger, a
city that was shifted into the hands and realm of citizenship. The
Lisbonesque city now distinguished the merchant, bureaucrat and
commoner. This brought upon a new public realm, one that embedded
the commerce and daily life of the Portuguese citizen. All of the new
concepts were accompanied by the Romanticist period that further
enforced the public realm to become an increasing phenomenon
within Lisbon. The plan for Baixa was centred on the reconstruction of
Plaza of Commerce, Rossio, Rua do Carmo, Rua Garrett, and Largo
do Chiado.
Areas such as Rossio is paved and beautified with flora and trees
around the 1840’s. Later in the 1860’s, a statue of D. Pedro IV is
erected after the neo-classical construction of Theatre D. Maria II that
replaced the previously burned Palace of Inquisition. Two fountains
were added to the square in 1890’s that further revamped the public
realm of the square.
Figure 5 - Embellishment project plan for Praça of D.Pedro IV
Source : Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa / Arquivo do Arco do Cego
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The multiplication of other squares implied however changes in the
plan, where some blocks were transformed into open spaces. This
imprinted further beacons of identity and of cultural sociality such as
Plaza Luis de Camoes, Largo de S. Carlos, and Largo Barão de
Quintela that reflected that of the Romanticist period.
Previously, and under the planning scheme of Pombal, and with the
incentive to reinforce the modernity of the Lisbon plan, the Passeio
Público was constructed. This was unlike the rigid framework of Baixa
and the royal commercial square of Plaza of Commerce. It was a road
that strived to represent the collective life and an inter-classical space
that would symbolise democracy in the future city. In other words, it
was created to demonstrate the balance between old culture and
heritage with the new modernised city and philosophy. It was later
during the Romanticist period of the nineteenth century that this space
was valued further for its provision of public realm. It was later
attributed the name ‘Passeio Público Romântico’, and was finished in
1834 by Malaquias Ferreira who further refined the first large ‘urban
lung’ of down town Lisbon.
Figure 6 - Artists impression of the interior of Passeio Público
14
Source : Online data base; Passeio Público ‐ Lisboa Romântica
However, 1879 marked the death of the Passeio Público and gave
way to the Avenida da Liberdade, this also symbolised the termination

14
(2006). "Passeio Público - Lisboa Romântica." Retrieved 21/03, 2012, from
http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GCWQ24.
43
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of the Romantic period with the arrival of the modern Lisbonesque
Boulevard.
Figure 7 - Top: Suggested cross-section plan of Faria da Costa for the

Avenida da Liberdade profile. Bottom: Transverse Profile plan for the
Avenida da Liberdade
Local planning and public realm were one of the most innovative
accomplishments of the Lisbon plan, not only did the plan improve the
quality of life in the once medieval city, it also improved better quality
linkages within the city. Horizontal streetscape improved, but vertical
considerations were also made to building facades as well. The
facades ended up being part of the public realm, providing a visual
rhythm and systematic aesthetical appeal to the streets of Lisbon.
Similarly to the different names attributed by Pombal in the down town
area, each street is entailed with its own profile. Streets and avenues
were embellished with urban fittings such as seats and gas street
lamps. Another effective way of rehearsing streetscape iconisation
and urban realm embellishment was the distinctive decorisation of
pavements.
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Figure 8 - Pavement and streetscape profile design plans
This transition to the micro scale is not done by accident, and it should
be noted that these small interventions are what qualified Lisbon’s
spaces at a greater scale; hence representing a bottom-up planning
approach. It is the profilisation and qualification of the public realm
that refurbished the city’s streetscape, illustrating a new modern
thinking that radically distinguished Lisbon from its preceding medieval
state. The systematic allocation of flora and seating spaces suggests
the Portuguese pursuit of successful and exuberant city experience,
and the allocation of street furniture is arguably the allocation of
choice.
Figure 9 - Drawing schematics of street furnishings as part of the public

refurbishment program for the Avenida da Liberdade in 1885 by
Frederico Ressano Garcia
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This provision of choice allowed the citizens of the modernising city to
consider and ‘choose’ city space as a destination rather than a means
of passage. William Whyte, as discussed in chapter 2 states “Choice
should be built into the basic design. Even though benches and chairs
can be added, the best course is to maximise the sitability of inherent
features.” (Whyte, 1980, p.7). This paper argues that the fabrication of
street ornamentation during this period was not an accident nor was it
a mere solution to tackle beautification. It was a clear demonstration of
a new modern movement that revamped public realm in order to
further harmonise Portuguese ‘inherent’ features with the experience
of the Portuguese citizen.
In 1842 the governor of weaponry from the Castle of Saint Jorge

utilised a group of prisoners to pave the floor of Plaza Dos Remolares
with small white cubed rocks. It was so successful that more elaborate
schematics were imprinted on the floors of the city. In very little time it
was considered to be the ‘tapete’ (carpet) of the city. Geometric forms
started to appear on the city sidewalks and soon other patterns
followed its success. The tedious job of implanting this technique was
time consuming and labour intensive, nonetheless the laborious hours
of exhaustive ornamentation further enhanced the experience of the
Lisbonesque city. This illustrates another demonstration of Portuguese
ingenuity that would yet again strengthen Portuguese identity within its
very own new and modern city.
This pursuit of human symbology and reverence to embed Portuguese

cultural identity and iconisation can be explained by Friedrich
Nietzsche15. He links the idea of continually developing our
environments to sustain the progression of new identity in our cities.
He holds the opinion that freezing our cities and buildings in time
would inhibit the development of new culture and identities, Nietzsche
argues that, “We wish to see ourselves translated into the stones and
plants, we want to take walks in ourselves when we stroll around
these buildings and gardens.” (Nietzsche and Copleston, 1975,
p.266).

3.3 Modernist Lisbon and Contemporary Public Space

With the celebration of a new state and city, a new
authoritarian regime was institutionalised in 1930, entailing a re-
generational stage that promoted large investments in the
modernising city’s infrastructure. It can be considered that Lisbon was
now part of a new state, one that was followed closely by what was
called ‘Politics of Public Building’ supervised by Duarte Pacheco. This

15
German philosopher that studied the realms of morality, and contemporary culture in
the built environment
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supported and endorsed junction plans, new neighbourhood schemes
and more importantly, a new innovative modernist architecture and art
deco conceptions of construction.
During the Second World War and the enrolling of the Cold War, the
resistant and persistent political regime of Salazar somewhat
retrograded the methods of urban planning and architecture. This
promoted architectural and planning mannerisms that were seen as
traditional and ‘backward looking’. But parallel to this, and mostly
during the 1950’s, there was still a very vivid spirit for development.
Human creativity was still being transposed upon the modern city in
an attempt to extinguish the isotropic spaces that were a key signature
of Medieval Lisbon before pre 1755. Lisbon even during Salazar was
still exuberant of finessed public space, with plazas still portraying
areas of activity and commerce. Examples of this can be found in the
construction of Plaza of Areeiro by Fransisco Carneiro, and in
panoramic areas such as Alameda D. Afonso Henriques in 1951.
The development of the capital city in other words complies with

Tranciks concepts by avoiding failure in considering ‘three-
dimensional’ relationships between form and void, and thus
misunderstanding the network of human behaviour. Most ‘city space’
was considered to have its own opportunities and different outcomes
and thus, treated independently. This hence reflects back on the
importance of profilisation of city areas during the late nineteenth
century and their treatment as spaces based on their own ‘inherent
features’ and progression.
It is during the 1960’s that the city fluoresces into the modern era, one
that utilised and demonstrated contemporary conceptions of city
planning analogous to those of the Athenian Charter. The linkages
between the structure of the modern city and those from the Charter
are important to note. The twentieth century was the birth of
habitational blocks that emerged through the conceptions of
Corbusier, and had an influential impact on Lisbon.
Many of these habitational neighbourhoods were a result of

Portuguese experimentation and trialling in order to accompany the
new pillars of modern architecture. New conceptions of public spaces
and urban furniture were introduced into the schemes and new daily
life of the Portuguese dwellers. These new modernistic conceptions
however, can fall precariously victim to the short comings of super-
modernity. It is questionable whether their quality of ‘urban space’ is
destroyed by their absolute functional nature, one that in this case
somewhat contradicts Portuguese developments in the previous
centuries. Lewis Mumford, an architectural critic raises the question of
their necessity and contradictory nature as they seem to be “mating
utilitarian and financial image of the skyscraper city to the romantic
image of the organic environment...[producing] a sterile hybrid”
(Mumford, 1989). This preoccupation of Mumford once again nurtures
the question raised by both Trancik and Auge regarding the creation
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of isotropic and homogenous in order for Corbusier to comply with an
absolutist and functionalist manner.
It is interesting on the other hand to depict on cases such as the

blocks of Infante Santo, where a feel for local ‘identity’ is apparent by
the profilisation of walls. The tiled walls at street level display a similar
depiction of what the Lisbonesque embellished pavements set out to
achieve initially in mid eighteenth century.
Figure 10 - (Left) Tile Panel by Carlos Botelho (Middle) Tile Panel by

Rolando Sá Nogueira (Right) Detail of Tile Panel ‘The Sea’ by Maria Keil
16
Source : Online data base
Figure 10 exhibits a symbol of distinctiveness within the area that

adds personification and symbology to the streetscape and
neighbourhood, something that was considered impossible to achieve
with these modern era habitional blocks. Either way inclined between
these ideologies, the city is still demonstrating the inexorable
phenomena of city profilisation and treatment of public realm.
Correspondingly, it is worth noting that there were three stages in this

last era. The first was the ‘initial expansionist period that begun
towards the end of the nineteenth century that was characterised by
hygienist concerns, park creation, and early attempts of urban
regulation. This period was then followed by a second scientific and
legalist era, whose functionalist ideals, search for order, and
meticulous obsession with regulation, were very much in tune with the
totalitarian military dictatorship of Salazar. Finally, the democratization
of society saw the advent of new flexibility in political power, and a
corresponding turn amongst planners away from scientific rationalism
towards public participation and urban regeneration concerns.’
(Camarinhas, 2011).

16
(Left and Middle) (2011). "Do Porto e Não Só." Retrieved 02/15, 2012, from
http://doportoenaoso.blogspot.com/2011/01/os-bairros-sociais-no-porto-iv.html.(Right)
Lisboa, C. M. d. (2008). "Painel - O Mar." Retrieved 04/03, 2012, from
http://www.lisboapatrimoniocultural.pt/ARTEPUBLICA/AZULEJARIA/PECAS/Paginas/P
ainel%E2%80%93OMar.aspx.
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As already suggested in this chapter, the capital city of Lisbon has
had a strong cultural identity in terms of its modernization, architecture
and socio-political dynamics. The radical transformation needed after
the great earthquake invigorated a wide range of urban
transformations and territorial intervention. This led to (1) “the
intervention on existing urban areas, renovating urban fabric and
public spaces”; and (2) “the intervention on new developments –
vacant urban areas and extension of the city, assuming a cultural
modernity, frequently focused in building spaces and the guaranteeing
of connections to efficient infrastructures.” (Silva, Serdoura and Costa,
2001).
Upon another examination of Portuguese literature and guidelines

regarding public space typologies – the City Politics POLIS XXI within
the time frame 2007-2013 has defined ‘four operating objectives’: (1)
“Qualifying and integrating distinct space typologies within each city”;
(2) “Fortifying and differentiating human, institutional, cultural and
economic capital of each city”; (3) “Qualifying and intensifying the city
in enveloping areas”; (4) “Innovating solutions for urban qualification.”
(Brandão, 2008, p.III, author's translation). These objectives illustrate
a cultural change in Portuguese territory, one that considers the life
cycle of city components. As part of fortifying and maintaining identity
in future horizons, the General Directorate for Spatial Planning and
Urban Development (DGOTDU), points public spaces towards “the
conception and managing projects, namely those that apply to City
Politics, to reinforce space identity and collective character, in
situations of varying nature.” (Brandão, 2008, p.XI, author's
translation). Their approach suggests one that contours the
problematic definition of identity; five questions are investigated to
understand what has contributed to the identity of the public space: (1)
is it the identity resultant of nostalgia? (2) Is its character ‘typical’,
‘picturesque’, or ‘spontaneous’? (3) Is the space a collection of local
curiosities? (4) Is it a sign of ‘parochial love’, group’s self-esteem? (5)
Is the identity resultant of the ambition to promote branding or image
(institutional or commercial)?” (Brandão, 2008, p.12, author's
translation).
In addition to typology and identity, there must also be considerations

made to the type of morphology that physically shapes the public
space. Although there may be similarities between the typology of two
given public spaces, the dimensional characteristics play a large role
in differentiating the form and nature of any given space. This can be
broken down into (1) the profile and dimension of the streets – such as
the floor, the usage division, furnishings, and height/depth of the
space; (2) scale – based on the resulting edification needs, such as
large dimensions (such as commercial and services), and other
smaller dimensions (such as the design of streetscape furnishings);
and (3) form definition agents – that can be buildings, nocturnal
components such as lighting, furnishings, natural structures (such as
flora and greenery) and monuments (Brandão, 2008).
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Table 2 - Lisbonesque Public Space Typology Chart
1) Spaces - Path Meeting Point 1. Squares, Plazas
Circulation 2. Streets, Avenues
Leisure -
2) Spaces - 3. Gardens, Parks
Nature
"Landscape"
Contemplation 4. Viewpoints, Sceneries
Transport 5. Stations, Stops, Interfaces
3) Spaces - Dislocation Chanel 6. Railways, Motorways
Parking 7. Parking, Silos
Health 8. Cemeteries
9. Industry, Agricultural,
4) Spaces - Memory Archaeology
Services
Memorial 10. Monumental Spaces
11. Markets, Commercial

5) Commercial Spaces Semi-interior
centres, arcades
12. Raised markets, Kiosks,

Semi-exterior
Awnings
13. Churchyard, Landscape,

By Buildings
Gallery, Patio
14. Cultural, Sportive,

6) Generated Spaces By Equipment
Religious, Playgrounds
15. Illumination, Furniture,
By Systems
Communication, Art
Source : Based on (Brandão, 2011, p.35)
Considering the existing network of Lisbon’s public spaces we can

refer to the report ‘Planning public spaces networks towards urban
cohesion’17. This paper gives a breakdown of the major types of public
spaces typologies within the city’s framework and their location.

17
Pinto, A. J., A. Remesar, P. Brandão and F. N. d. Silva (2010). Planning public
spaces networks towards urban cohesion. Lisbon, 46th ISOCARP Congress.
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Table 3 - Identification parameters of Lisbonesque public spaces
categories and sub-categories
Typologies Sub-Typologies Identification Parameters

All green areas with rural
Rural Green
characteristics and with Area ≥
Areas
Green 2000m2.
Spaces All green areas destined for
Leisure Green
leisure activities with Area ≥
Areas
500m2.
All the spaces that function
morphologically as
Squares ,- squares, ie, meeting places and
confluence areas of
circulation flows.
Roads that ensure the
distribution of the major
Primary Roads circulation flows as well as
guarantee the entrances and
exits of the city.
Roads which ensure the
circulation and distribution of
Road Secondary Roads the inner city as well as the
Network routing of flows to the
primary distribution routes.
Structuring streets in the

neighbourhood, with some
Local Roads flow capacity, but where the main
element is already
the pedestrian.
Source : Based on (Pinto, Remesar, Brandão et al., 2010)
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Figure 11 - Present Public spaces network in Lisbon

Source : (Pinto, Remesar, Brandão et al., 2010)
After consolidating the location and set up of the public space network
in contemporary Lisbon, it is necessary to develop an understanding
of individual public space uses/functions. Considering Figure 11, “the
land uses and activities, existing in today’s network of public spaces,
the main feature is multifunctionality, as in this network there are
spaces of rest and leisure as much as spaces of commerce and
services, or mere crossing spaces. These types of spaces also have
strong relations of complementarity, not only among themselves but
also with other urban functions, such as residential areas or facilities.
It is also noted, in this network, that the urban functions, present in the
public spaces, integrate a proximity logic, giving the local population
an easy access to their daily activities.” (Pinto, Remesar, Brandão et
al., 2010, p.9)
The aspects of accessibility/connectivity and land use/activities that

are fundamental to this network of public space are those that
generate socio-economic patterns that are described in chapter 2 of
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this document. In other words, the accessibility, connectivity, use and
activity threads are fundamental in generating (and fortifying) local
identity and diversity.
As already mentioned, in contemporary Lisbon, it is vital to

comprehend the factors involved in the assessment of public spaces.
This analysis however cannot be done without a clear understanding
of each typology, and morphology of the respective space. Each case
should be based upon its own merits and ‘urban conditioning’. Only
this way can they be evaluated in terms of their contributions both now
and in the future. Lastly, public spaces should not be evaluated just in
terms of their physical attributes but also in regards of their role in
sustaining urban identity within Lisbon’s public spaces.
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It is clear that the municipality of Lisbon (and private sector for

that matter) strive to continue the development of the Lisbon’s public
realm and cityscape quality as the city further develops into the future.
This has originated in the continuation of qualification and validation of
safe and social interactions positively contributing to city experience
and exuberance. This has also lead to further considerations to be
made upon the quality of pedestrianised spaces, gardens, parks,
plazas and central spaces between city blocks.
These ambitions still interestingly compare to those that originated

early after the re-construction of Lisbon’s core post 1755. The city is
still seen to belong to its people in that there is a strong validation of
culture and artistic affluence, one that has shortened the gap between
the private and public sectors in the development and rehearsing of
Lisbon. This has had a positive result in encouraging Lisbon to be a
participative city, one that encourages a metropolitan approach and
new models of relationship with the city’s administration. There is a
reinforcement of citizenship contribution in planning and administrative
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decision making, whether this is consecutively triumphant is a
debatable point, but still does not invalidate attempts such as the
aggregation of councils and decentralised competencies. Nor does it
invalidate the facility of participation with the access to new
technologies and information systems (such as geographic
information systems) provided by the municipalities and their attention
of the Portuguese citizens; an example of this is provided by the
Portuguese council of City Participation and the municipalities
Participation Budget, recognised by the Borough of Lisbon to be ‘good
urban and managerial practice’.
It is also important to recognise that the connections between Lisbon

and river frontage are still being reinforced. Between 1990 and 1998
there was a movement that focused on these connections established
by the Strategic Lisbon Plan (Capital city of the Atlantic). The riparian
zone was re-qualified gradually and methodologically similarly to the
techniques that were used to develop and expand the city. This
avoided cataclysmic investments (Jacobs, 1961) and small after-the-
fact cosmetic treatment of previously built spaces (Trancik, 1986).
Reinforcing this point, the interventions undertaken to re-connect the

city to the Tagus River was considered to be ‘the joining of pearls’ in
the municipals Strategic Plan, showing the delicate array of small
interconnecting interventions within the city fabric. These interventions
can be seen in Belem, Junqueira, Alcantara, Plaza of Commerce, and
the Santa Apolonia. The interventions made to these areas have
resulted in the creation of spaces accessible to the waterfront and
promoting areas of leisure and activity.
These modern day alterations and interventions that are being placed
upon the city are a clear demonstration of the continual and in-
temporal preoccupation with city experience and exuberance. From
the start of the city re-construction we can see the city recurrently
investing in its urban fabric in order to rehearse its public realm and
areas of social congregation. The alterations that were implemented
within the city were interventions that created the profilisation in each
area. These were interventions that promoted the interconnection of
different city regions, creating not just an overall identity for the city,
but an identity that is constituted of smaller symbols and emblems of
Portuguese endeavours and culture. This has hence geared Lisbon
into the new era, a gearing that is clear by the Lisbonesque public
realm that was first flourished by architectural engineers such as
Manuel de Maia, Eugenio dos Santos and Carlos Mardel.
Additionally, and with the analysis of DGOTDU guidelines, a

furtherance of public space strategies continue to establish operating
objectives for Lisbon’s future identity. However the ambition of
reinforcing this spatial identity and collective character shall be
challenged by future obstacles as discussed in the next chapter.
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Chapter 4: Considering the Climatic Impacts on
Lisbon

4.1 Emerging Portuguese National Strategies

Introduced and referenced as a new challenges for urban
design and urbanism, the climate change adaptation agenda requires
a glimpse at Portugal and furthermore upon the case of Lisbon. The
integration of scientific endeavours as discussed in chapter 1 of this
thesis is moderately accomplished by the project “Circle 2 – Deltas
Cooperation in Europe” (Climate Impact Research & Response
Coordination for a Larger Europe). The objective of this session in
2010 was “Brainstorming on possible future transnational research in
the area of climate change impacts, vulnerability and adaptation in
delta regions, estuaries and coastal wetlands.” (Swart, 2010). This
project encloses a European network of 34 institutions within 23
countries that are committed to identify and share knowledge
regarding climatic adaptation and the promotion of long term
collaborations.
With this information already established, the focus at this point will be
made to the Portuguese National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate
Change (ENAAC). Following the resolution of the Council of Ministers
on the 1st of April 2010, this document aims at “providing the country
with an instrument that enables the identification of a number of action
procedures and of adaptation measures to be adopted, particularly
through sectorial instrument basis (…). Furthermore, under the United
Nations Organisation, this topic has been acquiring an increasing
international interest and climate adaptation measures are being one
of the fundamental pillars in the global agreement post-2012, which
will undoubtedly result in additional obligations for Portugal.” (ENAAC,
2010, p.1090, author's translation). The ENAAC further demonstrates
a “clear understanding of Portuguese government (enrolled within the
European Union’s standing framework) that the scientific consensus is
today sufficiently robust, and that this is a topic where it makes
particular sense to evoke initial precautionary measures. This
uncertainty should therefore not be an excuse to prolong the
awareness of the need for societies to adapt to climate change and to
initiate their adaptation activities” (ENAAC, 2010, p.1090, author's
translation).
The application of this agenda has been officially launched, hence

justifying its gathering with urbanism in Portugal as well. In its content,
the National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change establishes
four objectives as discussed below:
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1. The information and knowledge that “constitute the fundamental
exercises of climate change adaptation and focuses around the
necessity of consolidating and developing scientific bases and
solid techniques”
2. The reduction of vulnerability and the increase of response
movements as ‘the fulcrum of the strategy’, implying “identification
endeavours, definition of priorities and application of focal
adaptation measures”
3. Participating, raising awareness and identifying “the
imperativeness of delivering to all social agents, the knowledge
regarding climate change and to transmit the necessity of action
and, more importantly, to induce the most amount of participation
possible amongst those agents in the definition and application of
the strategy”
4. Cooperating at an international level, considering “the
responsibilities of Portugal regarding the international cooperation
in the practice of climate change adaptation, just as the
accompaniment of business carried out in international arenas”
(ENAAC, 2010, p.1093, author's translation).
These objectives define the strategic sectors for climatic change

adaptation by considering elements such as land use and city
planning, water resources, safety of goods and populace, health,
energy and industry, biodiversity, agriculture, coastal areas and
others. This henceforth establishes a methodology of development
and specific application measures as shown in Figure 12.
Figure 12 - Methodology of the ENAAC Adaptation Cycle
Source: Based on (CECAC, 2012)
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The base of the methodology strives to define climatic scenarios and
socio-economic dynamics that are later used to anticipate a number of
future impacts upon Portuguese cities. These impacts are frequently
negative, yet, and more importantly they generate opportunities for
city development. This consequently implies that the response of the
ENAAC adaptation cycle involves a continuous and iterative process
that includes “risk management, be that mitigation which
acknowledges respective damages, benefits, sustainability, and equity
and attitudes towards the risk of climate change.” (CECAC, 2012,
author's translation).
Table 4 - Some expected climate change impacts (regarding

temperatures) in Southern European countries and examples of possible
adaptation measures
Expected Impacts Adaptation Measures
Increasing the number

and areas of green
spaces, including
green roofs
Increase in
Temperature Increasing the number
Land of trees in streets
selection for
Temperature Variation
+ urbanisation Creating 'water friendly

/ urban roofs' and water
design extensions
Increased Heat Waves

Promoting open public
spaces
+ Maintaining green
corridors
Creating alert systems

Decreased Cold Spells
for heat waves
Infra-
structure
Equipping emergency
services
Source: Based on (Alcoforado, Andrade, Oliveira et al., 2009)
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The adaptation measures are answers that should be followed by
various agents and decision makers. They are guidelines that should
be referenced when facing the risks and impacts resultant of climatic
changes that were already pre-established. Referring back the
mentioned four objectives of the ENAAC, the practical stages of these
measures should be preceded by an analysis of expected results, and
required expenditure. These objectives and methodology should also
accompany the continuous changes in weather patterns and scientific
outputs. From this evaluation, “there should be a resulting dynamic
process in that the identified and applied adaptation measures
continually constitute successive approximations to the most
appropriate pace at which climate change – and their impacts – will be
felt in Portugal.” (CECAC, 2012, author's translation).
In the Portuguese case, irrespectively of current frictions, the macro

scenario for the 2100 horizon is situated in a relatively stabilized
nature and points towards two orientations: (1) To a more generalized
increase in both minimum and maximum temperatures particularly in
the summer, promoting incidents in the interior regions that are
certainly representational of a considerable amount of transformation;
Figure 13 - Seasonal maximum temperature anomalies - (a) winter (b) spring (c) summer
(d) autumn
Source: (Santos and Miranda, 2006)
and (2) to a reduction of annual precipitation levels around the country

in all seasons with the exception of winter that will possibly witness a
small increase in precipitation; nevertheless, it is envisaged that this
phenomena will be accompanied by the increase of “flash floods”
(Santos and Miranda, 2006).
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Figure 14 - Annual and seasonal precipitation anomalies due to
precipitation rates between 1mm/day and 10mm/day
Source: (Santos and Miranda, 2006)
The average increase in temperature for 2100 also points to

considerable intervals between 3.4 ºC and 6.5 ºC, however it is
expected that there will be a further increase during the summer
where temperatures are anticipated to vary between 5.0 ºC and 10.0
ºC (Santos and Cruz, 2010). This will have significant impacts both the
landscape but also on stress levels, the EEA Report states that “While
preparing their local adaptation strategy the town of Cascais in
Portugal studied the potential adverse health impacts of climate
change in the municipality. The results show that an increase of 1ºC
above the threshold of 30ºC led to a 4.7 % increase of the risk of
mortality. Since all future climate scenarios for Cascais indicate
significant increases in days with temperatures above this threshold,
the risk of dying from heat stress will rise.” (EEA, 2012, p.21).
One of the most relevant guidelines of the National Program of

Regional Planning Policy comprises the introduction of the preventive
risk assessment agenda that is established as an essential priority
within spatial planning policy, and it is further considered to be
obligatory in land management proceedings. Consequently, the
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revision proposals incorporated within the regional land management
plan for the metropolitan area of Lisbon (PROT-AML), and its
Municipal Master Plan (PDM) now include risk maps. These risk
maps, in some aspects, will constitute important support documents
that aid the future implementation of the agenda for climatic
adaptation. Relevant to waterfronts, these risk maps consider the
dangers of flooding (gradual or rapid), the dangers of flooding
resulting from tsunamis, the combination of the dangers implied by
flooding and tsunamis, and finally, the dangers embedded within
coastal areas. Additionally, the natural hazards plan from Lisbon’s
PDM considers three levelled categories of flood vulnerability, that are
divided into moderate, high, and very high risk (CML, 2010, p.241).
It is stated by SIAM that “The most important of climatic change

impacts are: a) increased levels of inundation and displacement of
wetlands and lowlands; b) accelerated coastal erosion; and c)
increased storm surge. Other important impacts are sea‐water
intrusion into fresh groundwater, and the encroachment of tidal waters
into estuaries.” (Santos, Forbes and Moita, 2002, p.12). SIAM states
that it is important to accentuate the future discharges of greenhouse
gases/aerosols and their effects on our climate system that raise a
number of uncertainties. They further articulate the need to determine
these uncertainties in order to facilitate the task of ‘public and
policymakers’ to devise strategies of risk reduction.’ (Santos, Forbes
and Moita, 2002).
It is currently known that one of the most important impacts of climatic

change on Portuguese coastal lines is the increase of sea surface
temperature and mean sea level rise. This will also have an impact on
current wave conditions and ocean circulation. As a consequence the
sea level has already risen by ten to twenty cm during the past century
along Portuguese coastal lines. This has triggered the problem of
coastal erosion and is currently known as a widespread problem in
much of the coastline. This has had a severe impact on coastal
development and riparian infrastructure, where the retreat of one
metre per year has already been noted. It is furthermore concluded in
‘Recent studies for Europe have indicated a sea level global rise of
twenty to one‐hundred and five cm by 2080.
Although these studies have been carried out, it is still unclear which
will be the actual impacts of climate change because it depends
strongly on human intervention and attitude’ (Santos and Miranda,
2006). Coastal adaptation is suggested by SIAM to be a multi‐stage
process in that there is a clear need to increase the capacity to
manage Portuguese coastal lines in medium to long term planning. It
is further illustrated that “Adaptation strategies for the coastal zones
should shift their emphasis away from hard protection structures of
shorelines (such as seawalls and groins) to soft protection measures
(such as beach nourishment).” (Santos, Forbes and Moita, 2002).
Irrespectively, of this, SIAM still determines that hard protection
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processes are probably unavoidable in very densely urbanised or
populated regions of the coastal lines.
Lisbon’s PDM encloses within its analyses, the occurrences of heat

island effects (CML, 2009, pp. 37/42), and greenhouse gas emissions
(CML, 2011c, pp. 68/93).
Figure 15 – Existing Daytime summer thermal patterns in Lisbon
Source: (Alcoforado, Lopes, Andrade et al., 2005)
Furthermore, the assessment of risk hazards is focused towards the

present day and therefore it does not consider any climate change
scenarios and the consequence of territorial impacts. In the proposal
of the plan, the PDM proposes two objectives and announces a
number of adaptation measures. The objectives of the adaptation
measures consist in, firstly, “the creation of prevention and minimizing
measures towards local and regional climatic effects that result in not
only natural variability but also in the aggravation of their effects due
to land usage alteration” (CML, 2011b, p.61, author's translation).
Secondly, the objective of “interlinking prevention measures with
increased risk situations” (CML, 2011b, p.61, author's translation).
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These ambitions are nevertheless correspondent, in practice, to the
PDM’s mitigation measures.
It is hence necessary transpose local climate change scenarios into

our territories. In the case of Lisbon it is necessary firstly to
“understand the impacts” and secondly to “evaluate the
vulnerabilities”, and at a later stage to launch the “your own way”
strategic adaptation plan (Prasad, Ranghieri, Shah et al., 2008).
According to the ENAAC, action procedures, and adaptation

measures are becoming a continually more important issue for
Portugal. There is therefore a vital necessity to tackle issues such as
uncertainty through scientific consensus and, more importantly,
incorporating them into contemporary planning models. The result of
this assimilation will avoid uncertainty to act as an intimidating agent
when considering the future horizons and respective adaptation
measures. The objectives enclosed within the ENAAC thus focus on
this assimilation by consolidating scientific research, defining priorities,
disseminating information, and encouraging co-operation between
both national and international entities/bodies.
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The methodology of the ENAAC’s adaptation model is an ongoing
process that continually considers risk management measures. This
iterative process focuses on two considerations: (1) The physical
damages in light of climate change impacts; and (2) the gearing of
society’s attitudes and social equity towards the risks brought on by
impending climate change. This promotes an approach to climate
adaptation that is not hindered by uncertainty - but that is sustainably
geared towards considering the benefits of a long-term continuum
orientated growth.
Unfortunately however, this approach is still fairly limited in terms of its

integration within Portuguese planning models. Although there are
present risk models within Lisbon’s PDM that aid future adaptation;
the assessment of the risk hazards are focused only towards present
threats. As a result, these assessment documents do not consider the
many (and already established) climatic change scenarios that shall
have significant impacts upon Lisbon’s city framework. This gap is one
that shall significantly hinder the adaptability and flexibility of Lisbon to
tackle climate change.
To contradict this, there needs to be a better understanding of future

risks and a respective integration within the city’s planning models.
Furthermore, this raises the opportunity to better analyse how urban
safety can be linked with city quality in future horizons. In other words,
how resiliency to climate change can be accomplished through
innovative and inventive urban design to enforce the adaptability and
flexibility of Lisbon.
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Chapter 5: Planning Public Space for a Changing
Climate
5.1 Directing Smart Growth towards the Local Scale

Unlike new urbanism that focuses on re-establishing traditional urban
form in city fringes – the objective of the Smart Growth Agenda
concentrates on enforcing better use of urban space, and integrating
mixed use in both new areas and in inner city cores. This integrates a
further holistic concern for already developed sites (brown-fields) and
sites that are yet to be built upon (green-field). Like new urbanism, it
can be argued that the smart growth agenda has also originated from
urban sprawl. This sprawl is one that is associated to ‘rapid suburban
growth’ that consumes land faster than population growth, also
causing inner city areas to decline (New Zealand Smart Growth
Network, 2000).
If we are to consider the city of Lisbon, then we are clearly dealing

with a brown-field site. Yet this paper argues that this does not
invalidate the applicability and relevance of the agendas compact
design concepts. Referring to the American Urban Land Institute,
smart growth development is characterised as a:
 Development that is economically viable and preserves open

spaces and natural resources;
 Land-use planning which is comprehensive, integrated and
regional;
 Collaboration of public, private and non-profit sectors on
growth and development issues to achieve mutually beneficial
outcomes;
 Certainty and predictability inherent in the development
process;
 Infrastructure being maintained and enhanced to serve
existing and residents;
 Redevelopment of infill housing, brown-field sites, such as
former industrial areas and obsolete building, being actively
pursued;
 Urban centres and neighbourhoods as integral components of
healthy regional economy;
 Compact suburban development being integrated into exiting
commercial areas, new town centres and/or near existing
planned transport facilities;
 Development on the urban fringe which integrates a mix of
land uses, preserves open space, is fiscally responsible and
provides transportation options. (The American Urban Land
Institute, 2001)
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It can be noted through these points that the smart growth agenda
considers both sustainable and neo-traditional arguments. Linking this
agenda with urbanisation and modernisation it is clear that the
practice of urbanism is shifting beyond short term considerations and
more into the life cycle of cities (Costa, 2011) as a time-continuum
oriented growth (Day and Parnell, 2003). As a consequence, this
leads to creating and maintaining: “(1) mix land uses; (2) a range of
housing choice and opportunity; (3) walkable communities; (4)
fostering distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of
place; (5) open space, farmland, and critical environmental areas; (6)
direct new development toward existing development; (7) a variety of
transportation choice; and (8) encourage community and stakeholder
collaboration in development decisions” (Edwards and Haines, 2007,
p.53).
Addressing the smart growth description, the agenda is described as a

fostering of: “design that encourages social, civic, and physical
activity. They can protect the environment while stimulating economic
growth. Most of all we can create more choices for residents, workers,
visitors, children, families, single people, and older adults – choices in
where to live, how to get around, and how to interact with the people
around them. When communities do this kind of planning, they
preserve the best of their past while creating a bright future for
generations to come.” (Smart Growth Network, SGN, 2006, p.1).
Nevertheless this thesis argues that both the smart growth agenda
and new urbanism have their limitations in enforcing a time-continuum
city development. The particular reference to ‘sustainability’ in this
section focuses more on resource management and less on other
comparatively important aspects. They do not consider the wider
aspects of sustainable development or co-operative commitment
between people and planning. The process of designing and
developing are more of a top-down approach and elements of smart
growth focus more on high-value construction instead of flexible and
durable design. Additionally both new urbanism and the smart growth
agenda have also encouraged social conflicts such as closed gated
communities and social disparity amongst social classes.
Sustainable urbanisation requires various ingredients in order to be

successful, enclosing factors such as economic, environmental, and
social change. Inclusively, it is suggested to the reader that ‘the
sustainable city’ is one that addresses a time continuum growth, and
adaptability – for this to be achieved, there needs to be: (1) Inclusion
and the enabling of participations from citizens; and (2) considerations
in the design and development stages of projects regarding the
environmental and ecological systems both in the present and future.
This thesis suggests to the reader that although the smart growth
agenda has its short-comings, it still contains valid tools to strengthen
the time-continuum and adaptability of cities. More specifically, if the
agenda is reversed into a bottom-up approach then it can be used as
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a new instrumental modernisation process. If attention is directed at
the local scale (as opposed to the regional scale), public spaces can
be used as an innovative instrument to improve the adaptability of
cities to a warming climate.
“Public space strongly contributes to the structuring of cities, giving

them an identity. It also plays an important role in connecting different
areas of the city, promoting the formal continuity of the urban
structure, concerning, not only the built structure of the urban space
(buildings and infrastructures), but also the natural structure (green
corridors, fundamental to the ecosystems life), a reason why these
spaces are considered to be associated to the environmental
structuring of cities. Furthermore, public space implies a public
character of social, collective use and multi-functionality, being
physically characterized by its accessibility, often giving it a character
of centrality … it is defended that public spaces can qualify its
surroundings and also have the capacity to promote the continuity of
urban space and structure the territory.” (Pinto and Remesar, 2009,
p.1).
Considering locality, and a focal start to a bottom-up approach, public

spaces have a fundamental role in the structuring of urban
frameworks and city life/quality. The spaces they so entail enable a
formal and environmental continuity, accessibility, legibility that
inevitably contribute to modernizing socio-economic dynamics.
Consequently, considering public spaces is hence considering an
instrument that shall explore, adaptability, flexibility and low carbon
cities. The analysis of adaptability and flexibility is one that shall also
inexorably corroborate an active role in ensuring and maintaining
identity/character in uncertain horizons.
5.2 Applying Flexibility and Adaptability Measures

In order to address these issues and creating flexible and
adaptable cities, public spaces shall be considered a key element in
accomplishing this goal. This is based on the potentialities that they so
offer, such as a playing a potential role in defining urban landscape,
and also sustaining urban character/identity. Respectively, this was
the key discussion in chapter 2 of this thesis, yet only understanding
how public spaces sustain a ‘domain of socialization’ (Brandão 2011)
is no longer sufficient. This chapter shall discuss how they are to
support emerging and maturing life cycles and a ‘collective
community’ in warming and eventful horizons.
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As already discussed, public spaces constitute an operative tool in the
establishing of environmental continuity, accessibility and mobility
choices. Furthermore, they can aid the coherence of urban shape,
promoting the interconnection between urban regions and sustain
other infrastructures, ecological systems and green corridors.
Considering impending climate change on cities, the continuity of
urban frameworks (and their quality) is indispensable in order to
reduce carbon emissions. This mitigation measure can be achieved by
the creation (or maintaining the existing) multifunctional public spaces
that encourages the decentralization of facilities, commerce, services
and entertainment facilities. In other words and following the
suggestions made by Julia Pinto and Antoni Remesar, the role of the
urban planner is to:
 “Promote adequate biophysical integration of these spaces in

the natural structure;
 Promote formal urban design connectivity in the urban space;
 Create good accessibilities, namely through non-motorized
transport modes (green modes), promoting the car free cities
concept;
 Develop multifunctional urban spaces, providing a coherent,
mixed land use, so that people have easy access to their
daily activities;
 Use sustainable / recycled materials, not only adapted to the
functions they will provide, but also to the biophysical
characteristic of the urban space where they are located;
 Use sustainable energy technologies.” (Pinto and Remesar,
2009, p.2).
Considering these roles of the urban planner, and to eliminate

ambiguity in the term, we can take them a step further by breaking
down the fundamental terms: (1) Sustainability – an attempt in finding
development models which aid urban equity at economic, social and
environmental levels; (2) biophysical integration – the promotion of
biodiversity integration within public spaces, its adaptation to the
psychical reality by aiming to minimize negative impacts on the
biophysical surroundings. Furthermore, to promote the continuity of
important natural structures like ecologic pathways, water resources
and etc; (3) multifunctionality – the promoting of public spaces that
range from commerce and services to facilities and entertainment /
recreational activities. The characteristic of multifunctionality hence
should not be confined to a single place, but in a logic of an integrated
network - a network that promotes a functional complementarity
between several public spaces in the city, always keeping proximity
issues in mind; (4) mobility and accessibility – inducing a creation of
mobility and accessibility conditions that endorse cohesive urban
spaces and of easy access; (5) continuity and permeability – the
configuration and design of public spaces in order to promote
continuity and permeability with the existing urban framework.
Consequently, certifying not only a chain of accessibilities, but also the
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relationship between adjacent buildings and the complementarity of
spaces and entailed activities; and finally, (6) adaptability of materials
and technologies – encloses the a variability of material usage within
public spaces in relation to the biophysical characteristics of the urban
space in order to maximize performance. Also encompassing the use
of recycles materials and technologies, especially those dependent on
renewable energies. (Pinto and Remesar, 2009).
Taking Remesar’s quote into the stewardship of urban design, we can

refer to Matthew Carmona’s ten questions for enforcing the
adaptability and flexibility in public spaces. These questions enclose
the role of the urban designer to reflect upon the time-span and
‘sustainability’ of the respective area. This enforces the on-going
processes of adaptation and change that are channelled towards
achieving and maintaining the quality of the built environment in the
future. However this requires succinct governance regimes that
establish clear and measurable targets for each aspect of
sustainability. This should also be followed by maintaining a sense of
how each of these targets contribute to greater, integrated, economic,
social and environmental goals (Roger Evans Associates, 2007). As
an example of this approach, the national planning policy within the
United Kingdom determines that “Good urban design ensures
attractive, useable, durable and adaptable places and is a key
element in achieving sustainable development.” (ODPM, 2005, p.14).
Reflecting on this approach one can refer to Carmona’s ten questions:
1. “Do proposals support diversity and choice in movement,

access and land use mix?
2. Do proposals respect what is distinctive about their
environment and help to build or preserve local sense-of-
place?
3. Do proposals support human needs for security, social
contact, comfort and artistic fulfilment?
4. Do proposals support the biotic environment through the
careful integration of built and natural resources?
5. Are proposals concentrated to reduce land take and energy
use and increase urban vitality and viability?
6. Are proposals resilient enough to withstand and robust
enough to adapt to change over time?
7. Are proposals efficient in their consumption and long-term use
of energy and natural resources?
8. Are proposals likely to support the establishment of more self-
sufficient, involved local communities?
9. Do proposals minimise pollution of the wider environment both
in their construction and long-term management?
10. Do proposals enhance their context, effectively join-up the
range of contributions and therefore help to carefully steward
in change over time?” (Carmona, Tiesdell, Heath et al., 2010,
p.366)
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Reversing this perspective (upon that of the user of the space), city
dwellers are accustomed to asking functional and direct questions
such as where to find sun or shade or taking the most enjoyable root.
Similarly a lot of the actions that are undertaken within modern
cityscape are based on convenience – such as choosing shorter and
more economical ways to undergo daily routines. In fact it can be
argued that their daily actions are what illustrate their unconscious
knowledge of the area. Christopher Day exemplifies this point further,
“the place where we live is ‘our’ place – something we identify with at
a feeling level. As somewhere laden with memories, associations,
hopes, even familiar history, it imparts layers of meaning no outsider
could even guess at. Invariably, there will be bits of the place where
we live that we have ‘improved’. Whether these improvements are for
better or worse, they give us proprietary feelings about the place.”
(Day and Parnell, 2003, p.11).
This brings us to a new aspect of sustainability, one that embeds

emotionalism with sustainable construction through a new genre of
analytical thinking. This is demonstrated by Margaret Colquhoun’s
concept that in order to understand ‘place’ one needs to “understand
the past that has formed it. Through this we could learn what place is
– its ‘character’ (Genus Loci). In doing so, we begin to recognize what
it needs to maximize its health, what it is asking for that design can
fulfil.” (Day and Parnell, 2003, p.4). Colquhoun launches questions
that evaluate the longevity, adaptability and flexibility of the place by
taking into consideration the nature of its space. The questions that
are launched are the following,
 “What should the place say?

 What moods would support the places message?
 What breathing sequence of spatial experiences would induce
these moods?
 What physical changes would achieve these?” (Day and
Parnell, 2003, p.4)
These interventions and analyses are contained within Colquhoun

term – ‘The four layers of landscape’. These four layers are broken
down into understanding:
 The solid objects, physical facts and the bedrock of the place
 That which is constantly changing, flowing and growing
 That which lends character to a place, gives its unique
‘atmosphere’ and appeal – so inducing feeling responses
from us
 And that which is the essence or inner reality of a place
In essence, this approach is called consensus design, one that

reconnects people with place. The physical structures and public
realm that results from this revere both people and place, the life of
nature and of human activities. The effectiveness and uniqueness that
results from this arise unlocked potentials of place, people and
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situations. This is integral, just as the trees, shrubs and even perhaps
even the grass (Day and Colquhoun, 2003).
5.3 Innovation and Invention

The agenda for climatic adaptation should be seen as a
creative laboratory in which urbanism and urban design can express
new and innovative approaches and practices. These new paradigms
have given urban planning and design the opportunity to explore new
possibilities within its contemporary projects. This phenomenon
instigates the reinforcement of both the old and new interdisciplinary
duties that planning and design encompasses around their own
sphere of practice that shall inevitably be reflected upon our cityscape.
The conjuring of interdisciplinary practice is one that takes place in the

design of the city by rethinking its composition (regional) and its
individual components (local). This requires the generation of
innovative solutions within the realms of urban design, architecture,
materiality and building technologies capable of accommodating
impending impacts. Facing these scenarios, cityscape is presented
with the challenge of adapting existing urban fabric to new contexts
and the pursuit of new urban morphologies and the continuous quality
of its public realm. The following section shall illustrate international
examples of how this has been accomplished through innovative and
inventive design proposals.
Urban Design Precedent 1
The Taichung Gateway Park Competition
Catherine Mosbach & Philippe Rahm & Ricky Liu Architects
Phase Shift Park: Atmospheres of Well-Being – The park as a climate

shift
Using Climatic and Ecological Variance as a Design Feature
The aim of the project was to focus the concept of ‘outdoors’ to the
inhabitants and visitors of Taichung by proposing exterior spaces
where the climatic extremes within the city are diminished. Following
the objectives of a modern urban park within the 19th century, the
climate of the park serves as a ‘green lung’ for the well-being of city
dwellers. Flora, such as, trees, shrubs, grass, water features, and
amenities, such as, kiosks, grottos, follies and furnishings are all
focused around moderating heavy sun, absorbing dust and urban
pollution. In other words, “the park acts as a climatic intervention: with
a variety of beaches, spaces, and places where the ambient
temperature is decreased, where relative humidity is brought down to
a more agreeable level, where the pollution is reduced.” (Mosbach,
Rahm and Liu, 2012).
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Structured in three functions, heat, humidity, and pollution; the
project is defined by criteria that create a continuous gradient between
existing conditions, warmer, more humid and polluted areas. These
focuses have been overlapped into three differing maps that overlap
randomly, originating a variety of microclimates and atmospheres
within the park. To fabricate these ‘meteorological maps’, a catalogue
of devices were innovated to reinforce areas that are already
comfortable by lowering, reducing, inverting and diminishing heat,
humidity and pollution.
Figure 16 - Impact of Heat Shift / Humidity Shift / Pollution Shift on Human Body Analysis
Source: (Mosbach, Rahm and Liu, 2012)
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Figure 17 - Park Plan with overlapped ‘meteorological maps’
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Figure 18 - 3D Renderings of the project
Figure 19 - Anti Heat / Humidity / Pollution Methods
Anti-Heat
Methods
Anti-
Humidity
Methods
Anti-
Pollution
Methods
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According to the density and quality of devices in a specific area,
spaces are created respectively. Hence the “climatic properties
sometimes overlap, separate, regroup, densify, dilute, generating a
variety of atmospheres where the users can choose and appropriate
as they see fit. These are the essential virtues of well-being, of
comfort and sensual pleasures that we want in our tour to offer to the
inhabitants of Taichung.” (Mosbach, Rahm and Liu, 2012).
To establish the three meteorological maps, scientific outputs were

used in order to retrieve existing climatic data:
 The meteorological map regarding heat is based on

northeast winds that penetrate through the surrounding
urban blocks and propagate cool air within the park. The
zones that catch the most winds are reinforced with many
heat reducing methods (as shown by an exemplar in Figure
17). On the other hand, zones least affected are those with
the smallest amount of devices and hence remain the
warmest.
 The second meteorological map relative to humidity
considers the hydrologic condition consequential of the
topography within the proposed project. The lower zones of
the park (that are most prone to rain water retention)
generate higher air humidity around themselves. On the
other hand, the higher zones have drier air due to the
decreased amount of water. This is further emphasised by
placing most dehumidifying devices in these zones.
 Lastly, the final meteorological pollution map is defined by
the location of roads around and crossing the site.
Consequently, the zones nearest to these ‘pollutants’ are
considered the most polluted and closed off from the interior,
more tranquil areas of the park.
To conclude this first precedent, this project represented three key

factors that enforce adaptability and flexibility within public spaces.
Firstly, there is a clear and concise consideration made to the
experience of the user, and the thermal perception (comparable to
Table 1 regarding the thermal perception by human beings) of the
different climates on site. This thorough understanding permits the
park to not only offer choice through the provision of different
surroundings and furnishings, but the choice of ‘climatic’ variation
within the very park. Secondly, this is possible due to the strong
connection between scientific endeavours and the usage of this
information to innovate and invent new design solutions. Thirdly, this
adaptability and flexibility originating from an initial ‘design obstacle’
immediately prepares the park to adapt much more effectively to
future climatic changes.
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June Callwood Park Competition
gh3 Architects & Landscape Architects
A healthy population investment in a forest commits to thinking long-

term; we imagine the lifespan of the park will make it relevant to
centuries of children and adults alike.
The June Callwood Park is designed to serve as a new park to

increase the public realm quality of Toronto’s Central Waterfront area.
Located near the historical area of Toronto, it shall serve as the
central public space for local neighbourhood activities.
Gh3 architects describe the project as “a voice in the forest. The

starting point of our design takes a voice sampling of June’s own
words – ‘I believe in kindness’ – physically mapped onto the site, its
undulations creating the abstract geometric pattern of openings and
clearings within the dense groves of the Super-Real Forest.” (gh3,
2009)
Figure 20 - Sound wave pattern inspiring the walking path within the park
Source: (gh3, 2009)
Connected to the forest is the idea of ecological responsibility, its

design is indissolubly connected to its underlying environmental
imperative. The open spaces are considered to be “priceless
amenities of good city living, the context for the kind of play that
results in a healthy population investment in a forest commits to
thinking long-term; we imagine the lifespan of the park will make it
relevant to centuries of children and adults alike.” (gh3, 2009).
Community engagement is also a fundamental part of the project

where the creation and stewardship of the park will be closely
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connected to surrounding communities. Such that, it is planned that
16 elementary schools will be invited to plant a tree on behalf of the
respective school, and local members will also invited to be a part of
the planning process.
Figure 21 - Plan, section, area designation and flora layout for the Callwood Park
Source: (gh3, 2009)
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Figure 22 - Night view of the Forest
Source: (gh3, 2009)
Figure 22 shows the night perspective of the forest, looking north from
the Ephemeral Garden showing the illuminated Corian benches with
LED point lights representing fireflies along the granite pathways. The
aim of these furnishings is to promote night time usage and activity
threads during the latter hours of the day.
Figure 23 - Rendering of the park's largest clearings
Source: (gh3, 2009)
Figure 23 demonstrates a render looking north from the Pink Field,

the pink elastocrete on the floor portrays a smooth texture intended for
play areas during the different seasons of the year.
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Figure 24 - 3D Render of winter view of Ephemeral Garden
Source: (gh3, 2009)
Figure 24 shows a render of a ‘misty morning’ that is resultant of the

geothermal heating of the shallow water pool that is a few degrees
warmer than the air temperature.
This precedent was chosen due to its focus on creating six different
areas: (1) The Puddle Plaza; (2) the Puzzle Garden; (3) the Maze; (4)
the Pink Field Plaza; (5) Time Strip Gardens; and (4) the Ephemeral
Pools. Each zone has its own unique profile, spatial character and
activity threads that are generated in an innovative way to improve the
public realm quality of Toronto’s Central Waterfront. This is a clear
intention of providing different ‘styles’ of spaces that once again
enforces the availability of choice.
Furthermore, this precedent also contains innovative features such as

the mist originating from the warming of water pools through ground
source heat pumps. Finally, and unlike other many projects of this
nature, there is a clear intent of public participation to further in-build
local identity and community within the very design of the project.
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Copenhagen’s Superkilen
Bjarke Ingels Group and associates
Multicultural issues play out in public space. Superkilen is evidence of

the pressing need to examine our aesthetic and cultural assumptions
in the 21st century city. The space is a riot of cultural references, knit
together by a wildly modified ground-plane. (Bridger, 2012, p.41)
As already discussed in chapter two of this thesis, landscape, city

spaces and public realm are a result of complex cultural
interpretations. Yet, “the relationship of our personal experience,
based in our cultural milieu, to the landscapes around us is often
underestimated.” (Bridger, 2012, p.42). This can also be applied to the
way in which we interpret city spaces such as public parks, that have
undeniable cultural, behavioural and political issues embedded within
them. Consequently the design and appearance of a park usually
illustrates cultural and geographical loci, furthermore they are usually
furnished with local and municipal ‘catalog’ items such as benches,
bollards, and trashcans (Bridger, 2012). In other words the furnishings
found in the public realm within the contemporary city are usually
identifiable to the location in which they are situated in.
Like many other modern cities, Copenhagen has its fair share of
socio-economic difficulties between different city communities. The
city contains areas that hold a large number of native population and
others that have a significant multifaceted immigrant population. The
Superkilen project was designed to address these issues of different
‘imagined communities’ (as discussed 2) and the consequential
impacts of this multiculturalism. The Superkilen project is a vital part
of a larger urban design strategy to address socio-economic
difficulties within the local area. The Superkilen “is a park in three
movements, with site furnishings and objects borrowed from around
the world. The park contains over one hundred different elements of
site furniture, play equipment, sculpture and lighting, from over 60
different countries. Through an intensive process of participatory
meetings the local population worked directly with the design team to
choose the cultural objects. Benches from Prague and Iran, trash cans
from England, bollards from Ghana, lamps from Italy, a pavilion from
the American South are some of the items present on site… All these
things converge on the site in a riot of culture.” (Bridger, 2012, p.42).
The Superkilen park has resulted in an harmonious area where

objects and multiculturalism congregate to make a space unlike any
other within Copenhagen. The park hence has a resulting image,
identity, and a unique set of experiences in what was once a very
problematic area of the city.
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Figure 25 - Illustration of the incorporation of over 100 objects within the Superkilen Park
Source: (Bridger, 2012)
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The park is divided up into three different areas: (1) The ‘Red Square’,
where the colour of the floor is a geometric collage with reds and
magentas that provides a community space and a library. Throughout
this space the flora were planned to increase the shade and
vegetative interest within the area. The diversity within the tree
species clearly represents the diversity of site furnishing in the area,
and the foliage also coincides with the vibrant colours on the ground;
(2) the ‘Black Square, separated from the Red Square by a road, the
flat asphalt square is traced with contouring white lines. The surface of
the area also rises up at the edges to provide skate-friendly mounds.
At the centre there is a blue and white tiled Moroccan fountain that
serves as a central visual node. This zone also accommodates a bus
station (as requested by local inhabitants) and a large concrete
octopus constructed by a Japanese design team; and lastly (3) the
third area is long linear green space, that mediates between two
residential areas and an area with light industry and warehouses.
Undulating grass platforms rise from the ground to divide the green
pavement from the bike path. Since the area is considerably narrow,
the space is made to seem larger with the increased and elevated
surface area that also provides viewpoints into the surrounding urban
context. One of these man-made hills also conceals a basketball court
with ringed surfaces that also provide areas for skateboarding and
BMX.
Figure 26 - Rendering of the Red Square area within the

Superkilen Park
Source:(arcspace, 2011)
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Figure 27 - Rendering of the Black Square area within the

Superkilen Park
Source: (arcspace, 2011)
Figure 28 - Rendering of the Linear Green area of the Superkilen

Park
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Figure 29 - Inventive design generators for each section of the Superkilen project
Figure 29 shows unique and inventive design concepts that insert
originality and unique site elements within the park. Amongst other
design factors, the ground plane manipulations are what make the
park a successful and functional public space. The site also
invigorates multiculturalism through its integration of different cultural
components that embrace other physical emblems from around the
world as shown in Figure 25. Yet what makes this project outstand in
terms of its quality as a public space is that the usage of
multiculturalism to form its genus loci. This ambition is successfully
conquered without any mistaken attempts to neither romanticise nor
idealise a specific culture that would threaten the wellbeing of its
users. In other words, although some components of the site are
‘foreign’ and inspired by other cultures and contexts, they are a result
of careful study and public consultation. This has resulted in a
completely different space, one that harmonises a group of acutely
different types of furnishings and environments; inevitably inserting a
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vast array of ‘choice’ both at the physical and social level, designed in
such a way that the availability of choice invigorates a set of unique
experiences to the user.
These results are the reason why this project has been selected as a
precedent for this thesis. The inventive usage of furnishings and
innovative concept of using multiculturalism as a design concept are a
direct result of a new adaptable and a socially flexible public space
within the heart of Copenhagen.
Urban & Landscape Design Precedent 4
Gardens by the Bay
Grant Associates & Gustafson Porter
Gardens by the Bay is the largest landscape architecture project in

Singapore’s history. Innovative elements are combined with lush
tropical vegetation in the first of three parks. (Rinaldi, 2012, p.97)
In recent years Far East Asia began to reconsider their development

models that were previously based on rapid urban expansion with little
focus upon both morphological and landscape issues. This
consequently resulted in increasingly sterile and homogeneous urban
environments within cities such as Singapore. There was hence an
ambition to create new natural environments that contradicted the
previously rapid urban expansion and development which resulted in
a loss of urban quality and identity. Singapore, a city with an ever-
growing symbol of globalisation, has promoted itself as a modern city
able to integrate its tropical nature. This is “evident in the slogans it
has used through the decades, ever since the first ‘Garden City’
campaign begun in 1968 by the prime minister at that time, Lee Kuan
Yew, who thus launched a greening program expressing the national
identity. After 1991, Singapore presented itself as the ‘Tropical City of
Excellence’ (Singapore’s 1991 Concept Plan). More recently, the term
became ‘City in a Garden’ (2009), a description coined to accompany
the creation of a pervasive and continuous system of parks, urban
gardens, natural reserves and park connectors out of which the
metropolis emerges. The landscape project became the medium to
promote Singapore all over the world.” (Rinaldi, 2012, p.98).
A more recent contribution to Singapore’s modernisation is the

Gardens by the plan of the National Parks Boards. This project is an
ambitious system of waterfront parks that is continually becoming part
of the centre of Singapore’s new city centre. Being a larger scale
project in comparison to the other selected precedents within this
chapter, the project consists of three different parks: (1) Bay South; (2)
Bay East; and (3) Bay Central.
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Due to the size of the project, there will be focus on the Bay South
area and the general concepts of the project. Bay South’s master plan
is inspired by the structure and shape of and orchid that is
Singapore’s national flower.
Figure 30 - Render of Gardens The Bay by Grant Associates
Source: (Landezine, 2012)
Within this area, there is a botanical garden, a flower market, areas for
leisure and educational activities, a concert area, and two collections
of horticultural themed gardens. Additionally within the area, and
immersed within site flora, two highly iconic structures stand out from
area – the Cooled Conservatories and the Super trees. Designed by
Wilkinson Eyre Architects, these are two vast climate-controlled green
houses that employ low energy and renewable systems. Furthermore,
within the “high-tech exoskeletons, whose structure recalls the
baroque pods of some tropical fruits, the flora of diverse geographical
areas is displayed in the appropriate climatic context. The biggest of
these, the Flower Dome, replicates the cool-dry climate of
Mediterranean and semi-arid subtropical regions of Southwest
Australia, South Africa and central Chile. The Cloud Forest, which
features a waterfall and an artificial internal ‘mountain’ accessible by
elevator, displays plants and flowers from the tropical mountain
environment. Spectacular expression of nature is artifice. The
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conservatories provide flexible, flower-themed venues for events.”
(Rinaldi, 2012, p.100).
Figure 31 - Perspective and section of the cooled conservatories in the

South Bay
Source: (DetailDaily, 2012)
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Another striking feature of the project is the artificial groves of the
Supertrees that range from 25 to 50 metres in height. They illustrate
the symbol of the contextual tropical landscape since they are based
around enhanced images of the trees within the rainforest. Their visual
affiliation with the forest is achieved by epiphytic plants that have been
placed to imitate the “resplendent creative exuberance and
extraordinary variegate texture of the rain forest.” (Rinaldi, 2012,
p.101).
Expressing genus loci, the Supertrees demonstrate a gearing of

modern sustainability and technology, their high-tech trunks and tops
envelope photovoltaic panels, solar thermal collectors, rainwater
harvesting devices and venting ducts. In a symbol of ecological cycles
carried out by forest trees, the innovative and inventive Supertrees
serve similar ecological functions within the park – a clear rational and
design concept that reflects the concern for the environment within the
contemporary city.
Figure 32 - Illustrations of the Supertrees during the day and at night
Source: Left ‐ (Meinhold, 2011) | Right ‐ (Aziz, 2012)
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This chapter has discussed the issues of planning public

spaces for the future and the contribution they can have upon the
longevity, adaptability and flexibility of a city facing climate change.
When addressing the American Urban Land Institute’s description of

the smart growth agenda, one is presented with various components
that are very valid regarding the synchronization of cities with the
climate change agenda. The smart growth agenda aims at various
fundamental goals that aid the climatic adaptation cities will have to
undertake both in present and future horizons. Such that, there is a
focuses upon: (1) Economically viable development, one that also
encloses the preservation of open spaces and natural resources; (2)
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comprehensive land use planning that reflects upon both the local and
regional scales; (3) the mutual collaboration between different
entities/agencies in order to achieve pre-determined beneficial
outcomes; (4) enclosing certainty and predictability within the
conception and construction of project (hence incorporating scientific
endeavors and outputs regarding climatic uncertainty); and (5)
orientating and maintaining city infrastructure towards the subsidy of
city dwellers. These foci are inarguably orientated towards a
sustainable movement that ultimately invigorates a planning model
that looks beyond short term considerations and into the life cycle of
warming cities.
Resulting from this agenda, there is a greater emphasis on: mixed

use, pedestrian friendly environments, enforcing attractive
communities/local identity, caring for public spaces and environmental
areas, transport systems, and public consultation/collaboration.
Although this chapter discusses the limitations of this agenda, such as
the emphasis on more high-value construction rather than durable
design, it is argued that this does not invalidate the relevance of the
agenda. The smart growth agenda still contains valid tools in
enforcing time-continuum orientated growth and adaptability of cities,
both at the physical and social level. For this agenda to be more
effective, this chapter suggests a reversal within its planning model –
i.e. to reverse the top-down attitude into a bottom-up approach.
Consequently, if the focus is directed at the local scale first, than
public spaces can serve as an instrument to improve the adaptability
of cities in light of climate change.
This invigorates an unprecedented opportunity to use a city

component that: (1) Strongly contributes to the structure and identity
of cities; (2) connects different city areas through the continuity of built
form and the natural structure/green corridors within the urban
framework; and finally, (3) stimulate social, collective and multi-
functional character of cities. As a result, and starting upwards from
the local scale, we can use this component to explore and use public
spaces as an instrument to corroborate their active role in ensuring
and maintaining identity/character in uncertain horizons.
In order to support this component as an invigorating tool towards

urban flexibility and adaptability, their enclosed function as ‘domains
of socialization’ needs to be taken further. Respectively, this function
needs to be translated into a future perspective; in other words,
comprehending how public spaces can fortify our sense of ‘collective
community’ and identity in warming horizons.
Accordingly, the change in this chronological perspective requires an

additional change in the role of both urban design and planning. This
incorporates a further reflection upon the time-span and life cycles of
public spaces. Enforcing the on-going processes of adaptation
towards the future quality of the built environment, the role of
planners and urban designers should consider the questions launched
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by Carmona such as, ‘are proposals resilient enough to withstand and
robust enough to adapt to change over time?’. Additionally to these
questions, professionals such as planners and urban designers
should also consider Colquhoun’s ‘four layers of landscape’. This
consensus design approach unlocks the phenomenological
potentialities ‘locked’ between the affiliations of place and users –
hence considering the roles of design in strengthening these
relationships in the future of public spaces.
These approaches show how the agenda for climatic adaptation can
be used as laboratory for creative and innovative thinking, where
urbanism and urban design can be orientated towards the flexibility
and adaptability within cities. The precedential studies within this
chapter discuss how this has been accomplished in international
examples of renowned urban design and landscape architecture.
 The Taichung Gateway Park demonstrates a project that

focuses on the concept of ‘exterior public space’. Whereby it
is considered to be an ‘outdoors’ park that acts itself as a
climatic intervention. The key characteristics of this precedent,
and that have a strong relationship with this thesis, are the
factors that enforce adaptability and flexibility within public
spaces and the respective impacts on surrounding contexts.
Firstly, there is a clear and directed consideration upon the
experience of the user, originating in a better adaptable
atmosphere within the park. Secondly, this clear
understanding has aided not just the provision of choice
regarding the physical furnishings, but also the flexible choice
of climatic atmosphere. Thirdly, this project is an effective
example of the benefits that result in the combination of
scientific investigation and urban design. Fourthly, the climatic
obstacles that were presented upon the site are used as
innovative design generators to improve and enhance the
identity within the park.
 Serving the greater scale as a new space that induces quality
public realm within Toronto, is the ecologically orientated June
Callwood Park. Enclosed within the site, the unique profiles,
independent spatial characters and activity threads enhance
the flexibility of uses within the site. The innovative features
also enhance the character of the park as a whole, and
encourage activity threads during the latter hours of the day.
Lastly, the construction of the park includes public
participation during the different stages of the project. As a
consequence, this strengths the local identity and community
within the surrounding urban context.
 The Superkilen project also resulted in a strong contribution to
surrounding areas due to its use of multiculturalism as an
inventive design concept. The aim of the project was to
address the socio-economic issues within the city of
Copenhagen. Its integration of different furnishings and
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objects inspired by different cultures results in a unique
resulting image, identity, and inimitable array of experiences.
The originating issue of social and cultural disparity is the very
ingredient used to knit these different communities together
through inventive urban design. More importantly however,
there is a constant integration of the local populace within the
design stages of the project to enforce decision consensus.
Just like in the other precedents of this chapter, this inclusion
of public consultancy inserts a ‘belonging’ touch between the
site and city dwellers. As such, the multiculturalism is an
enforcing factor towards the genus loci of the project –
resulting in a new adaptable and socially flexible public space.
 The last and larger scale precedent demonstrates how
innovative elements are combined with lush tropical
vegetation to enforce the urban quality and identity within
Singapore. This was aimed at re-inserting public realm and
quality within a city that expanded very quickly and somewhat
‘overlooked’ these vital areas of congregation and
socialization. Features such as the Supertrees, botanical
gardens, flower market, conservatories and concert area are
all aimed at inserting a new area socialization within
Singapore; one that as a whole is representative by modern
and technology that strengthens its ‘Tropical city of
Excellence’.
Table 5 shall compare the different selected precedents in terms of

the issues in each area, design concept, flexibility and adaptability
measures, innovation and invention features, contributions to
surrounding context, and smart growth contributions. It is worth noting
that every exemplar contributed towards their context in terms of
strengthening genus loci by implementing smart growth constituents.
Additionally, not all exemplars contributed towards climatic issues, yet
they strongly contributed towards socio-economic dynamics that shall
hence enforce city quality in future horizons.
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Table 5 - Comparison table between the different selected precedents
and Smart Growth outcomes
Issues / Measures / Outcomes
Major issue Innovation Major result Smart

Flexible &
in Design and for Growth
Precedent adaptable
surrounding concept invention surrounding Contribut
measures
context features context ions18
Anti - heat /
Choice of
Anti -
Taichung Extreme heat Climatic and different Climatically (1) / (3) /
humidity /
Gateway / humidity / ecological spaces and adaptable (4) / (5) /
Anti -
Park pollution variance climatic park (6) / (8)
pollution
environments
methods
Various
Geothermal
unique Improvement
heating /
Lack of atmospheres of the public
June LED (1) / (3) /
activity Long-term / spatial realm /
Callwood illuminated (4) / (5) /
threads / planning character/ enhanced
Park furnishings (6)
public realm profiles / local activity
/ floral
public threads
selection
inclusion
Various
Ground
unique
plane Multi-cultural
atmospheres
Socio- manipulatio inclusion and (1) / (3) /
Superkilen Multicultural / spatial
economic n / multi- fortification of (4) / (5) /
Project ism character/
disparity cultural community (7) / (8)
profiles /
furnishing diversity
public
design
inclusion
Various
unique
Loss of urban 'Tropical High-Tec
atmospheres Ecological
identity and city of ecological (1) / (2) /
Gardens / spatial urban identity
quality to Excellence' systems (3) / (4) /
by the Bay character/ and public
accelerated / out-door such as (5)
profiles / realm
modernisation spaces Supertrees
public
inclusion
Source: Author

18
(1) mix land uses; (2) a range of housing choice and opportunity; (3) walkable
communities; (4) fostering distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of
place; (5) open space, farmland, and critical environmental areas; (6) direct new
development toward existing development; (7) a variety of transportation choice; and (8)
encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions
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Conclusion
In the contemporary city, there is a heightened preoccupation
with establishing secure environments that enclose comfort and
quality for city dwellers. Adjoining these vicissitudes in place/space
relations, are novel forms of rationality that cogitate the flexibility and
adaptability of city life spans. In the professional spheres of modern
urban design and planning, there is an enhanced focus on the future
contributions that proposals will have on their accommodating city.
Serving as an irrefutable catalyst to this focus, maturing socio-
economic dynamics and the attention towards future horizons are
propagating unparalleled paradigms when conceptualizing the
preservation and progression of cities.
As a consequence, responding to shifting socio-economic dynamics

and future planning requires: (1) the acknowledgment and
incorporation of an embryonic sustainable cultural shift that aims at
establishing well-being in the future; and (2) in light of eventful future
horizons, the dissemination of future predictions that are grounded on
the continual outputs of scientific research in order to overcome issues
of uncertainty. These responses are argued by the author to be a
window of opportunity to seize the mutual interest of both users and
professionals to embark on the preservation of city eminence and
public realm exuberance both now, and in the future. Additionally
follows the opportunity to confront uncertainty by the synchronization
of scientific entities and academic institutions with planning models
that deliberate further on local scales. This bottom-up approach is
argued to be a vital tool in defying uncertainty, and simultaneously,
focus on public spaces, an unblemished depiction of city dynamism
and eminence.
Having established that public spaces are a vital component within the
local scale, this led to an analysis regarding the dynamics of identity
and social harmony within the local scale. As a result, it is established
that numerous ingredients need to be deliberated when maintaining or
‘developing’ a spaces genus locus. These factors are enclosed both
within the physical constitutes of the site, and within the psychosocial
dynamics that sustain the respective space. Correspondingly, to
maintain this balance within modern cities, one must consider spaces
based on their individual merit in order to explore and unlock their full
potentiality. The ‘set up’ of meaningful environments in urban
contexts, requires an understanding of the environment itself and also
the city dwellers that are to use them. One of the ways of achieving
this delicate balance is to comprehend the role that sensorial
components have upon diversifying freedom of choice. In other words,
the availability of choice is demonstrated to be a successful method in
allowing users to personify their own interaction within the space.
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Reversely, this allocation of choice also brings a number of issues that
must be considered during the design and/or maintenance stages.
Although freedom of choice is a vital component, it is even more
indispensable to comprehend that different imagined communities
shall ‘translate’ themselves differently within ‘their environment’. As
such, this requires an in-depth understanding of the different
communities that are to use the respective space. Although unfeasible
to consider every expectation, ambition, or expectancy of every ‘type’
of user, it is argued that the space should be designed to enforce a
‘social harmony’ – a space that promotes a congregation between the
different communities. Ultimately, to reinforce true genus loci, the
public space, should as such, encourage a domain of socialization;
and thus allowing one to experience not just the sensorial but the
exposure to the harmony of modern sociality.
When investigating upon the case of Lisbon, it was concluded that its
municipality aims at continually preserving and strengthening its public
realm. Today, the capital city is a clear demonstration of strong
cultural identity due to its chronological modernization since the
earthquake of 1755. The modernization of Lisbon and its public realm
was consequential of two factors: (1) the systematic intervention within
established city areas (such as the historical center); and (2) the
interventions made on city fringes or new areas that were to assume
national cultural modernity.
Following this line of reasoning, the examination of the DGOTDU also

aims at reinforcing spatial identity and collective character. Focusing
also around a bottom-up approach, there is a clear and systematic
investigation of local public space typology and morphology. This
breaks down the typologies contained within Lisbon into various
categories that aid their individual exploration based on their unique
urban features and functions.
Focusing on the Lisbon case within future horizons, and addressing

existing adaptation models, the action procedures and adaptation
measures are becoming a progressively significant issue. As a result,
new national approaches to climate change are engaged in
consolidating scientific research, defining priorities, disseminating
information and encouraging the co-operation between national and
international bodies. Methodologies such as the ENAAC model are
hence focusing on climate change impacts such as temperature
increases and decreased precipitation levels until the end of the
century. Regrettably however, risk assessment models such as those
from the ENAAC are fairly limited in terms of their integration within
Portuguese planning models. While there are existing risk models
within Lisbon’s PDM, the risk assessment are focused only towards
present threats. As a result, these assessment documents do not
consider the threats of climate change upon Lisbon’s city framework.
This gap is one that shall significantly hinder the adaptability and
flexibility of Lisbon to tackle climate change.
95
A. Santos Nouri
To challenge this lack of future assessment, there needs to be a more
effective appreciation of future risks and a respective integration within
the city’s planning models. Therefore this document suggests that
there is now an opportunity to tackle this issue by linking urban safety
and city quality through the long-term planning. It is this focus on the
local scale where resiliency to climate change can be accomplished
through innovative and inventive urban design to enforce the
adaptability and flexibility within contemporary cities.
Finally, this launched the research at scrutinizing the issues of

planning public spaces for future horizons and the consequential
influences they have in enforcing the longevity of a city in warming
climates. As a result of this research, it is argued that the smart growth
agenda aims at numerous goals that aid cities to enforce climatic
resilience. However this thesis also suggests a reversal of the model
into a bottom-up approach that starts its emphasis upon the local
scale. As a consequence, and resulting from this agenda, there is a
vaster focus on elements such as, mixed use, pedestrian friendly
environments, attractive and local identity, care for public space and
environmental areas, transport systems, and public consultation. The
reason why this turned away from a top-down approach is so that a
new planning model can be formed as a result of the local
contributions – where the local scale can be used as a planning tool
to: (1) understand the local climatic variants in light of climate change;
(2) avoid a regional planning model that overlooks the individual
merits of each respective locality; and lastly (3) encourage a more
efficient and succinct comprehension of the local social-economic
issues. This will result in a network of individual case studies that are
based around individual public spaces that disseminates vital
information that can be later used at a more macro scale.
The reversed smart growth agenda shall also propagate a further

analytical urban planning and design model that focuses upon how
public spaces can be made to strengthen the adaptability and
flexibility of contemporary cities. This, as already mentioned, shall
encourage planners and urban designers to consider approaches
such as the ten questions established by Carmona or Colquhoun’s
four layers of landscape.
Upon a selection of precedents this thesis has given examples of how

urban design, urban planning, landscape architecture and architecture
can improve city areas through the implementation of smart growth
components. Even though some examples are not ‘climatically
orientated’, they nevertheless illustrate the improvement of social
congregational dynamics that shall inevitably enforce a strengthened
identity and improved public realm quality. The effort of regenerating
identity and urban quality is hence also a long-term commitment that
shall also strengthen the sustainable goal of reinforcing a domain of
socialization and common experiences in the future.
96
A. Santos Nouri
As can be seen in Table 5, each of the four precedents all contribute
to at least 5 out of the 8 smart growth components. The Taichung
Gateway, June Callwood Park, Superkilen Project, and the Gardens
by the Bay are hence references to how public spaces can be planned
for the future with regards to social harmony and/or climatic changes.
Furthermore, the initial issues in the surrounding context of these sites
were used as design generators and promoted results such as: (1)
climatically orientated green spaces; (2) improvement of the public
realm; (3) increased activity threads; (4) multi-cultural diversity; and
(5) fortified identity. All of these different contributions are results of
improved local genus loci that as a result, had a direct impact upon
more macro scales. These modifications upon the various urban
fabrics were only successful through the fusion with scientific
endeavors, bottom-up approaches, socio-economic dynamics, public
consultation, and above all, long term planning. Consequently, and as
suggested in chapter 5, these approaches are those that are required
within a time continuum growth – propagating: (1) Inclusion and the
enabling of participations from citizens; and (2) considerations in the
design and development stages of projects regarding the
environmental and ecological systems both in the present and future.
Based on the research carried out, and when considering the initial
hypothesis of this thesis, it is proven that public spaces can be used to
aid the adaptability and flexibility of cities. Yet for this to be possible
there needs to be a focus on the local scale, and a clear
understanding of the spaces typology, morphology, and socio-
economics dynamics in order to unlock the full potentialities of the
space. There needs to be a continual linkage between urban
design/planning and scientific outputs in order to challenge uncertainty
and design for the future. As such, public spaces shall also
accommodate a new shift towards building a ‘sustainable’ future. In
other words, public spaces shall be a psychical demonstration of long-
term planning that considers the obstacles that lie in the future. This
will be a physical, and hence, symbolical proof that cities are geared
towards dealing with the direct, indirect and psychosocial
phenomenon in light of climate change. The naturally resulting
preoccupations that are being endorsed by uncertainty and climate
change will be addressed in city components that shall enforce ever
evolving representations of culture and societies ambition for safer
future environments. Inarguably, this shall heighten the physical
resilience to climate change, and also, the social adaptability required
in maintaining social harmony in eventful horizons.
In terms of this taking this investigation further and with a prominent

consideration upon the Lisbon case:
 A number of limited number and type of specific public spaces

can be chosen within Lisbon to further understand how each
sustains a genre of socialization. This is feasible by the
97
A. Santos Nouri
carrying out of a site analysis that investigates (1) movement
patterns, (2) surrounding building usage, (3) how people use
the space; (4) seating provision and usage patterns; (5) types
of people using the space; (6) transport facilities, (7)
materiality; (8) people density; (9) flora and fauna; (10)
presence of homeless; (11) heritage; (12) access points; (13)
sightlines; (14) microclimate; (15) colour; (16) scale; and (17)
texture.
 Once the 17 analyses results are established, they can be
then linked towards a bottom-up Smart Growth Network within
Lisbon based on the respective public space. There will be the
opportunity to contrast how: (1) movement patterns contribute
(or not) to walkable communities; (2) transport
facilities/access points contribute (or not) to a variety of
transport choices; (3) surrounding building usage contribute
(or not) to creating a range of housing choice and opportunity;
(4) types of people using the space differently contribute (or
not) to fostering distinctive, attractive communities with a
strong sense of place; (5) materiality/flora and fauna/amenity
provision/ scale/textures/ microclimate contribute (or not) to
preserving open space and critical environmental areas; (6)
People density/types of people/heritage contribute (or not) to
encouraging community and stakeholder collaboration in
development decisions.
 Based on these results, an index pertaining to the impact of
each public space typology can be created to demonstrate
how each contributes towards sustainable smart growth. The
better the typology performs, the more efficient it will be in
addressing direct, indirect, and psychosocial preoccupations
regarding climate change in the future. This will also
demonstrate how each space typology sustains experiences,
sociality, culture, genus loci and how prepared it is to swiftly
maintain this identity in uncertain and eventful horizons. This
index will aim at contributing to Lisbon’s existing policy
framework (such as City Politics POLIS XXI) to not only
analyse public space identity and quality, but also consider
the contributions they can have at a larger scale to preserve
habitat, public health and at the same time - to offer the
opportunity to rebuild our sense of community as well as
enhance our national identity and resolve in a changing
climate.
98
A. Santos Nouri
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Faculty of Architecture – Technical University of Lisbon

Masters in Architecture with Specialisation in Urban Planning

Climate Change Implications on Present and

Andre Naghi Lopes dos Santos Nouri

Dissertation to obtain Masters in Architecture with

Supervisor – Dr. João Pedro Teixeira de Abreu Costa

President Examiner – Doctor João Rafael Marques Santos

Lisbon, FAUTL, November, 2012

Figure 1 - Sketch of Bairro da Bica Lisboa

Source: Author’s Sketch

“Good urban design is sustainable … this involves much more than

This investigation shall analyse how the diverse typologies of public

Lastly, and as a result of this research, it is argued that the smart

Public Space | Lisbon | Climate Change

Esta investigação propõe analisar como as diferentes tipologias de

Como resultado desta investigação por fim, é argumentado que o

Espaço Publico | Lisboa | Alterações Climáticas

João Pedro Teixeira de Abreu Costa | Pedro Filipe Pinheiro

Encouragement, time and guidance during the development of this

Maria Cabral Matos Silva

Helpful and pragmatic nature

Ahmad Molla Esmail Nouri

Continuous support and presence

Anabela Vieira Lopes dos Santos

Continuous support and presence

Liliana Raquel Gomes Cruz Tavares Silva | Ricardo

Motivation and patience

ACCSP Australian Climate Change Science Program

IAUC International Association of Urban Climate

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on

CABE Commission for Architecture and the Built

EEA European Environmental Agency

PDM Municipal Master Plan

SIAM Climate Change in Portugal: Scenarios, Impact, and

CECAC Executive Committee for the Commission of Climate

DGOTDU General Directorate for Spatial Planning and Urban

Problem & Justification of Theme

Public spaces are divided into different typologies, providing different

To accommodate a new shift ‘towards a culture of sustainability’

Ultimately, public space is sustained by people, and “People make the

moods and spirit of place…it is this relationship focus that is essential

This thesis shall suggest that to enforce a fluid and harmonised

The hypothesis of this research identifies public spaces as a social

1) To understand the new forms of rationality in contemporary

Chapter 1 shall discuss the implications of how climatic uncertainty

can they continually support emerging and maturing life cycles in

To answer these two questions, Chapter 2 launches an investigation

Chapter 3 undertakes an in-depth historical analysis of the

Following the detailed analyses of Lisbon’s existing framework,

Independent of the chapter, a thorough scrutiny will be undertaken in

This spectrum of research however requires a further focus around

This desk research shall focus on the following research questions:

1. Being presented with new unprecedented forms of urban

Research Scope Diagram

Chapter 1: The Burden of Climatic Uncertainty at

1.1 Industrial Revolutions and Urbanisation

Furthermore, and additional to the requirement of new resources and

ones, migration became a characteristic phenomenon in the

Similar to the early years of the industrialisation and the impacts on

As the industrial age evolved, technological advancements and

Contrariwise, authors such as Mike Featherstone, analyse the

The third industrial revolution is argued to be the current era that

It is now appreciated more than ever that “things, including buildings,