Fast cities

While some of us try to cut down the stress and the fastness of the city rush, others praise the "fast cities". Here you can find a classification of cities in a world scale, by their characteristics, intention, approach, history and current development. For them, slow cities are "bad" (and they dont even know of the slow city movement..)

Basic urban studies criticism and knowledge to be put into test:


The 30 Fastest Cities In The World. Plus: 5 Cities Too Fast For Their Own Good and 5 Cities That Are Too Slow.

The life in a city without a car

It is possible to survive without a car in a city from the USA. This interesting article explains how the life of a San Franciso citizen changes when he decides to make all his activities by public transportation or bike instead of a car. He compares the expences and the time spent. His feelings and thoughts are also interesting.
I would read it, it is worth: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/16289155.htm

2010 IMPERATIVE

If you are visiting this weblog you might be a city planner, an architect, a geographer, a designer, or just and interested person on The City.
Even if you are not into any of these fields, surely you have heard about the global warming and the climate change. The question is: Are city planners being trained for the world we will inherit?.
Architecture 2030 (hosted by the New York Academy of Sciences) has arranged a live web-cast for 20 February.
The idea is to reach students, teachers, schools and diferent organizations to change the way of teaching desing and planning. The goal is to prepear ourselves better for the challenges we will face sooner that we thought.
Some schools have already changed the common classes for that day and will participate online in the web-cast. Will you?

http://2010imperative.org/

Visual planning and urbanism in the mid-twentieth century

Town and Townscape, School of Architecture, planning and landscape; Newcastle University Library

13-15 September 2007

The early to mid-twentieth century was a time of intense debate over the future of cities and the form and appearance that they might take. In the UK the Garden City Movement, with a tendency towards lower densities and decentralisation, was an important influence. Internationally the radical reformation of the city was being promoted by Le Corbusier and others. Other radical models were promoted including ideas of linear cities or Frank Lloyd Wright’s radical decentralisation of Broadacre City. In amongst these grand concepts we can discern a strand of more practical urbanism, modernist in flavour but historically informed, seeking to recover positive conceptions of the city and town after the perceived deprivations of the nineteenth century. One manifestation of this was the UK townscape movement, with its emphasis on pictorial composition.

This conference will consider some of the key ideas of visual planning and the urban of the period, with a particular focus on the advocates of visual and three-dimensional planning as a means of achieving a reformulated twentieth century urbanism.

The keynote speaker at the conference will be Professor Stephen Ward, Oxford Brookes University.
The conference forms part of a project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, “Town and Townscape: The Work and Life of Thomas Sharp”. Thomas Sharp was a key figure in the town planning profession in the mid-twentieth century and a major influence on thought about planning and design and as such his work will be one of the themes of the conference.

Continue reading at:
http://www.ncl.ac.uk/library/sharp/conference.php

Another chinese development

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2237937.html

shaman town

the project

WHO: Union of architects, Russia; Union of Moscow architects; A.Asadov Architectural Studio

WHERE: RUSSIA, LAKE BAIKAL, JULY 14-22th 2007

WHAT: The erection of "SHAMAN-TOWN" - haven of ancient gods and places for meditations on wild nature!

DETAILS: Dear friends! We invite you to take part in the international architectural festival “TOWNS”!

The next (fifth) holiday of architecture, beauty and health will take place in one of the most picturesque places of the planet - on Lake Baikal! It is necessary for participants of the festival to build up various arch-objects, suitable for living and meditation. It is possible to use wood (1 cube meter), metal cables for construction and a varnish/paint for exterior. (You can also use other materials after coordination with the organizers).

During the brakes and after the end of the construction of TOWN we plan various sport events for which each command is recommended to have a mountain bicycle and any swimming tool. The organization of horse, pedestrian walks and water rounds is also possible. Living in tents. Each command is given a room in the neighboring tourist hostel.

For participation in the festival it is necessary to build up a team, to fill in an application and to send it to the following address: goroda2007@mail.ru (your sketches of constructions are accepted till June, 20th).

The organizers will appreciate any invitations of sponsors by participants of festival. You can also invite foreign friends and colleagues to participate (the Union of architects will provide support for getting visas), any help in the organization is welcome!

download application form >>> download poster >>>

THE PRELIMINARY PROGRAMM:

13.07 (Friday) - a start from Moscow to Irkutsk

14.07 (Saturday) - road to the TOWN place, distribution of sites

15-18.07 (Sunday-Wednesday) - construction, presentation of TOWN

19-21.07 (Thursday-Saturday) - free time, sports events (the organization of excursions or extreme rounds are possible)

22.07 (Sunday) - departure, excursion in Irkutsk, fly to Moscow.

PRICES:
Air tickets (2-way) ~220-400 euro
Transfer (2-way) ~15-40 euro
Habitation ~4-15 euro/day
This are initial prices. All the reductions depends of sponsors ;)

CONTACTS: goroda2007@mail.ru , ICQ 310548284

UP TO THE MEETING ON BAYKAL!!!

P.S. It is necessary to make a vassination against encephalitis (before 3 month)!

http://www.asadov.ru/2007_gorod-shaman(eng).htm

4th International Congress on Virtual City and Territory "Re-Think the City"

To be held in Guadalajara, Mexico from October 1st to 3rd, 2007

Website: http://www.ctv2007.udg.mx/index.php
Information: info@ctv2007.udg.mx

Conference Overview:

The challenge of renewing the conceptual structures and the technical
applications to the complex problem of human development, the active
metropolization, the accelerated occupation of territory and, all the
accumulated consequences throughout modern history worsened with
Globalization's dynamic process, have been the fundamental approach of the
"City and Virtual Territory" International Congresses, fulfilled in
Barcelona (2004), Concepcion (2005) and Bilbao (2006). During these, ideas,
studies and projects have been struggled and displayed, under the optic of
contribution to knowledge by the new computer science technologies, concrete
proposals and achieved actions by an interesting group of scientific
investigators, enterprises and prestigious institutions.

In this perspective, we propose to continue this joint effort and generate
an ample space for meeting all those who search for solutions to the
urban/territorial development with social equity, the preservation of
natural environment, the impulse of a citizen's participation culture, its
democratic consequences and the possibility to find out better ways to trace
a qualitative horizon to our cities' development; as well all those that
contributes positively to face the territorial-entail challenge and the XXI
century's imaginaries.

In order to continue this process, the Art, Architecture and Design Center
of the University of Guadalajara, Mexico, accompanied in this effort by an
important group of public and private institutions from several countries,
we CONVOKE public and private organizations, researchers, students,
professionals and all those who may be interested, to the 4th International
Congress on Virtual City and Territory, "Re-Think the City," to be held in
Guadalajara, Mexico from October 1st to 3rd, 2007.

Towards Carfree Cities VII conference, Istanbul August 27-31, 2007

Towards Carfree Cities VII - Istanbul, Turkey

- 2007 Conference - Registration - Call for Proposals - Draft Programme - Accommodation - Payment Options

Istanbul, Turkey will be hosting Towards Carfree Cities VII from August 27-31, 2007. Our local hosts this year are the Turkish Traffic Safety Association, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University and Istanbul's City and Regional Planning Department. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of World Carfree Network will take place on the last day, August 31. There will be optional excursions on the weekend after.

Theme

This year's conference theme "Building a Livable Future in a Changing Climate" emphasises the positive potential and urgency of addressing global climate change through the creation of high-quality, carfree human habitats. We will be looking at how proximity can reduce our dependence on mobility - how cities can be transformed into a compact, space-efficient urban settlement pattern in which one's daily wants and needs can be met within walking distance. We will focus on how an urban environment transformed in this way can increase people's quality of life.

On another level, the theme hints at the growing potential for change in the social and political climate. For example, walkable communities are increasingly seen as a solution to various negative global health trends, ecological building methods are rapidly gaining in popularity, and public opinion on global climate change has shifted rapidly towards universal recognition of this pressing global problem.

Based on the insights of experiencing Istanbul's world-class carfree areas, the conference will bring these concepts together into a coherent recipe to be adopted and adapted by cities worldwide.

See our call for proposals for programme content (presentations, workshops, activities, etc.). The deadline to submit a proposal is April 30.

http://www.worldcarfree.net/conference/

COMPETITION: Design For The New Centre Of Riga

The subject of the Competition is an urban construction and architectural idea which graphically and textually describes integrated development of the Competition Site. The urban construction and architectural idea and the explanatory note should include an urban design for the New Centre of Riga in Tornakalns and an architectural solution for the Riga City Council and the public administrative complex in line with the Assignment of the Competition.

The registration and submission deadline is 3rd September 2007.

Visit the website for further information: http://www.rdpad.lv/en/rcnc/

Rotterdam Architecture Biennale STARTS

We already warn it, but it's always interesting to remind important events.
TODAY starts the Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam, whose main theme for this edition is THE CITY and its future.
Activities will run till 2nd September.
Rotterdam is also the "City of Architecture" in 2007. It seems a scape to The Netherlands is worth. Did you already plan your holidays?

Info:
http://www.biennalerotterdam.nl
http://www.rotterdam2007.nl

Continuity and Change in Cities

May 23, 2007 - May 25, 2007 / Alkmaar, Netherlands
2nd Meeting IFHP Working Party Continuity and Change in Cities
Theme: Continuity and Change in Cities: A Game with Many Players
www.alkmaar.nl/workingparty

43rd ISOCARP Congress. Call for papers

The International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP) is prepearing its 43rd Congress. It will take place in Antwerp (Belgium) from 19th to 23rd of September 2007.
At the website you will find more information on the event. At the moment is the "call for papers" stage, but in the website there are always interesting news about the planning field.
Besides the Congress there will be two workshops, one in Brussels and the other one in Antwerp.

http://www.isocarp.org/files/CallPapers_Registration_Brochure2007.pdf

events

New concepts and approaches for Urban and Regional Policy and Planning?
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
LEUVEN | APRIL 02-03 2007
http://www.planning-and-development.be/

First International Conference of Young Urban Researchers (FICYUrb)
Held at ISCTE, Lisboa, Portugal
June 11 - 12, 2007
https://conferencias.iscte.pt/index.php?cf=3

Kaupunkitutkimuksen päivät 2007 - Talous, kasvu, kulutus
Aika: 3.-4.5.2007
Paikka: Tieteiden talo (Kirkkokatu 6, Helsinki)
Järjestäjät: Yhdyskuntasuunnittelun Seura, Alue- ja
Ympäristötutkimuksen Seura sekä Suomen Kaupunkitutkimuksen Seura

--
Teele Pehk
Department of Regional Studies
University of Tampere
teele.pehk@uta.fi
phone: +358 (0)33551 7807
mobile: +358 4565 18948

Delirious No More

WANING SPACE: I __ NY

By Rem Koolhaas

What happened after New York lost its Deliriousness? Rem Koolhaas has written a short article a few years ago that complements his work Delirious New York.

read the article in Wired magazine here

Slow cities and the slow movement

Fired by the success and support for Slow Food the Italians set about initiating the Slow Cities movement. Slow cities are characterised by a way of life that supports people to live slow. Traditions and traditional ways of doing things are valued. These cities stand up against the fast-lane, homogenised world so often seen in other cities throughout the world. Slow cities have less traffic, less noise, fewer crowds.

Slow and colourful

Towns in Italy have banded together to form an organization and call themselves the Slow Cities movement. In their zeal to help the world they have formed what amounts to a global organization that sets out to control which cities in the world can call themselves Slow Cities and which cannot. This is not a movement. Social movements are movements from the bottom from the community. The seachange movement, the organic movement, the vegetarian movement, the homeschooling movement, are examples of movements. No-one controls them. No-one assesses you to see if you are allowed to call yourself a seachanger or if you can say you are a vegetarian.

Yet, the Slow Cities movement – Citta Slow – holds the power to assess a city that wants to be called a slow city. Citta Slow have developed a:

• Manifesto – setting out the underlying principles
• Charter of Association – cities wanting to be granted the status of Slow Cities must sign this charter
• A list of member cities
• Plans for an annual gathering.

No town or city with more than 50,000 residents may apply to be called a Slow City. The Slow City manifesto contains 55 pledges or criteria, grouped into six categories upon which cities are assessed; environmental policy, infrastructure, quality of urban fabric, encouragement of local produce and products, hospitality and community and Citta Slow awareness. To qualify to be called a Slow City and to use the snail logo, a city must be vetted and regularly checked by inspectors to make sure it is living up to the Slow City standard of conduct.

The principles of the Slow City movement are one we would like all cities no matter how big or small to live by. Hopefully the movement will continue and another grassroots slow city movement will operate in parallel whereby cities that cannot meet the strict criteria for one reason or another can still call themselves slow cities and continue to work towards sustainable living and the ethos of the slow movement.

Perhaps this new movement is already here. Check out slowlondon. As the site says: "Firstly, it is nothing new. There are people in cities all over the world who have found all sorts of ways to bring a sense of relaxation to places where it can often be stressful to live. slowlondon provides a place for these people to meet and share their ideas. On the other hand, there are many of us who are interested in finding out how to make commuting a pleasure rather than a chore....how to avoid fallling into bad habits at work just because everyone ele does it like that... how to reclaim time as the friend it really is.

"slowlondon hopes to provide inspiration and also support, because sometimes it requires a certain bravery to stand up and say no, there are other ways than this.

"The principles that underpin slowlondon apply to whichever city you live in. Some of the details may be different but on the whole, people all around the world face the same challenges."

Source: http://www.slowmovement.com/slow_cities.php

Monu num.7: Call for papers

Hi!
The very interesting magazine on urbanism, Monu, is prepearing its next number.
The 7th publication of Monu will deal with what they have called "2nd urbanism". Those cities not so known as the A-list of metropolis in the world.
Send your text, photographies or any other material related to the topic.

Further info: http://www.monu.org/call7.htm

KRAX: open urban network... Proposal from Barcelona... !

Hi urbanistika friends!!!
My name is Mariano and I´m writing you from Barcelona as part of City
Mine(d), an international organisation of urban interventionists. Right
now we´re developing a project called KRAX, which is an investigation, a
mapping, into urban creativity and civic participation as ways to
confront imposed changes in neighbourhoods and cities around the world.
We are focusing on those "cracks in the city" that arise as a result of
urban plans that only benefit economic interests, but are no good for
the inhabitants of the city.

As the postindustrial city model is repeating all around the world,
these "urban aggressions" are found everywhere. But that´s only the bad
part of the story... The good part of it (and that´s why we started
KRAX...) is that also everywhere the neighbours are standing and
fighting for their rights to the city. People´s mentality is changing,
and now they want to be active participants of the decisions made over
their street, square, neighbourhood or city... So, KRAX is not a
research on the urban problems that cities are facing around the world;
it is more a "catalogue", a database of creative and powerful tools and
experiences coming from the neighbours themselves. We are in contact
with movements/collectives/organizations from Tokyo, Caracas, Madrid,
Santiago de Chile, Chicago, Mostar, Harlem, Buenos Aires, Sevilla,
London, ...

One of the ideas behind KRAX is to build a Documentation Center. This
space is intended to be a learning place, where you can know about other
initiatives around the world, and we want to make it available
physically as well as virtually. This Doc Center is growing thanks to
the contribution of the different groups: we are getting in touch with
each one of them to gather material that can be interesting for the
whole network...
We are also, and this is another idea behind KRAX, organizing the KRAX
Conference at the end of April (24-28th). This Conference is a gathering
of several initiatives from different neighbourhoods from Barcelona with
groups from different cities. We are starting to develop the program for
the Conference along with neighbours (tomorrow we have a big meeting
with some of them), and we will begin arising the same questions to the
KRAX mailing-list participants (krax@moviments.net).

If you can tell us something about what´s going on in Tallinn or
Estonia, it would be great! Also, if you want to write something about
the situation around there (or write something about cities, in
general...), you can send it to us and we will publish it on the KRAX
blog (http://krax.citymined.org).

Ok, that´s all... A long email already....
Let´s keep in touch!!!
Mariano.
-

Scandal around destroying a graffiti

I happened to see a surprising article in the Times.
While street art is seen as something much more than dirt in many places and Banksy (here random pic) is a renowned graffiti artists who's works sell for £ 25.000 (!),
it still strikes me that graffiti is valued so much that destroying it makes it to the news:

Council cleaners jetwash away Banksy’s graffiti art

Nicola Woolcock, The Times, February 10, 2007

When council cleaners spotted graffiti 24 hours before the official opening of a new London square, they enthusiasically removed every trace of the offending drawings.

Unfortunately, the two stencils they wiped out were drawn by Banksy, the subversive artist. One of his works fetched more than £100,000 in auction at Sotheby’s this week.

To make matters worse, the street cleaners did not deem the graffiti worthy of being photographed before destruction, as is their usual policy. Nor did they seek permission from the building’s owners.

The council has now admitted its blunder and apologised.

The street cleaners, armed with jetwashers, had been ordered to touch up the area before the official opening of Gillett Square in Hackney last November.

Two days before the ceremony, Hackney Cooperative Developments (HCD) decided to uncover a 4ft Banksy stencil of a girl wearing a frilly dress and a gas mask. It had been covered by plywood for several months.

It was scrubbed off the day after, along with another Banksy picture on their building of a man’s face.

Adam Hart, executive director of HCD, wrote to Hackney Council complaining that the murals had been removed, saying: “These were famous artworks by Banksy and of considerable value and there is likely to be something of an outcry.” He said later: “Perhaps the nature of the whole thing is that graffiti is ephemeral, so maybe Banksy would approve.”

The council is now drawing up a list of graffiti artwork in the borough that should not be removed. Mr Hart said: “It’s something they need to be aware of so they don’t eradicate everything that gives character to the area.”

Tartu and Tallinn, targets for Europan 9

Yes, the next edition of Europan competition is alredy here. Under the generic theme "European urbanity, sustainable city and new public spaces" this important competition is proposing 73 european cities as sites where to develop ideas on urban planning. Tartu and Tallinn are in that list.

We made a short entry about it on our World Events blog: http://worldevents-urbanistika.blogspot.com/2007/01/europan-9.html

Visit the official Europan 9 website to get all the information: www.europan-europe.com

EUROPAN 9

Here we have the new edition of one of the most important competition in Europe for young architects and city planners. All the information will be ready on next monday, 5th February, at the official web site.

The generic theme of Europan 9 is "European urbanity, sustainable city and new public spaces".

This edition counts with two Estonian cities, Tartu and Tallinn, as proposed sites.

If you cannot wait till next week, visit the website. Basic information is already launched: http://www.europan-europe.com

Good luck to all you!!!