Institut für Europäische Urbanistik
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Beyond metropolitan areas, many peripheral regions and their cities in Europe have, in manifold ways, been significantly shaped by industrialisation. In the context of the relocation of industrial production to other countries over the last decades, the question has been raised as to the role this heritage can play in futural regional development as well as the potential local identification with this history. Hence, this article seeks to analyse the perception of the industrial heritage in the Vogtland region, located alongside the border of three German federal states and the Czech Republic. It inquires as to the perception of the industrial heritage by the local population and related potential future narrations. Based on spontaneous and explorative interviews with local people as an empirical base, a discrepancy between the perception of the tangible and intangible dimensions of the industrial heritage can be observed. On the one hand, the tangible heritage like older factories and production complexes are seen as a functional legacy and an “eyesore” narrative is attributed to them. On the other hand, people often reference the personal and familial connection to the industry and highlight its importance for the historical development and the wealth of the region. But these positive associations are mainly limited to the intangible dimension and are disconnected from the material artefacts of industrial production.
Stadtpolitik für alle
(2021)
Die Corona-Krise hat die Erosion städtischer Solidarität offen zu Tage treten lassen. Dagegen bringen Anton Brokow-Loga und Frank Eckardt in dieser Schrift die praktische Utopie einer solidarischen Postwachstumsstadt „auf den Punkt“.
Vom Commoning über die Umverteilung der städtischen Flächen bis zu einer sozial-ökologischen Verkehrswende: Eine progressive Stadtpolitik für alle überwindet bisheriges Schubladendenken. Sie setzt stattdessen auf heterogene Zusammenhänge und ungewöhnliche Bündnisse. Zu dem hier umrissenen Vorhaben gehört auch, eine basisdemokratisch orientierte Stadtpolitik mit dem Ziel einer umfassenden Transformation von Stadt und Gesellschaft zu verknüpfen.
Wie kann ein Blick auf die kommunale Ebene helfen, globalen Ungerechtigkeiten zu begegnen? Welchen Weg weisen munizipalistische Plattformen und Vergemeinschaftungen jenseits von Privat- oder Staatseigentum?
The thesis concerns a work of urban history intended not to describe the city but rather to interpret it. By doing so, I have interpreted the city by means of the role played by the so-called ‘great property’ in the European city-making process during the last three decades of the 20th century, specifically focused on the concrete case of military properties in Italy. I have also considered the role played by other kinds of great properties, i.e. industries and railway, which previously acted in the production of the built environment in a different way respect to the military one. As all of them have as common denominator the fact of being ‘capital in land’, I analysed great industrial and railway properties in order to extrapolate a methodology which helped me to interpret the relationship between military properties and city-making process in Europe in the late 20th century.
I have analysed the relationship between the capital in land and the city-making process on the ground of the understanding the interrelation between the great property, the urban development, and the agents involved in the urban and territorial planning. Here I have showed that urban planning is not the decisive factor influencing the citymaking process, but instead the power held by the capital in land. I have found that is the great property the trigger of the creation of new ‘areas of centrality’ intended as large areas for consumerism. As far as the role played by great property is concerned, I have also discovered that it has evolved over time. Originally, industrial and railway properties have been regenerated into a wide range of new profit-driven spaces; successively, I have found out that most of the regeneration of military premises aimed to materialise areas of centrality. The way of interpreting this factor has been based on focusing my attention on the military premises in Italy: I have classified their typology when they have been built and, most importantly, when they have been regenerated into new areas of centrality.
This is a work concerned with the increasing processes of social exclusion in cities nowadays. In approaching this phenomenon, the research highlights how people interact with their institutional environments. This is also, perhaps centrally, an investigation into the possibility to engage an individual perspective to understand the transformation in urban experience, which is orienting society to new uses and forms of exclusion. Following the perspective deployed by the so-called “sociology of individuals” in French sociology or “reengagement of agency” in the Anglo-Saxon world; I claim that individuals as well as collectives are gaining increasing power to question and re-organize institutions. This re-organization, in the case of socio-urban institutions, is no guarantee for major levels in integration, cohesion, and equality. Unfortunately, social institutions are becoming hard in its exclusionary capabilities under people intervention during the last four decades.
I believe that urban sociology is a field of struggle between different perspectives competing to “make sense” of social phenomena in cities. The orientation supported in this research is just one on many and it follows the roots of people and their life experiences within cities and how they influence the processes that shape the city. The last formulation is possibly not the clearest, because as we all know, references to “inhabitants” are presented in every variant of urban sociology. Nevertheless, there are not many variants focusing on peoples’ capability to influence institutional environments and by this way affecting the urban condition in which they find themselves. The particular institution selected for this study is the “School”.
This thesis is organized around two parts: part one includes the conceptual framework, methodological approach, and historical contextualization; part two describes three case studies produced to analyse the forms of and the relations between individuals and school institution. Part one starts from a premise: within the context of declining welfare State in the case of industrialized countries, an important part of urban studies focuses on economic and spatial restructuration. Confronted with the same situation, a part of social sciences shifts to the individuals’ agency and social uncertainty. This research is embedded in the last theoretical description presented above, thus, because it tries to observe urban processes from the perspective of the individual and outside of developed economies. In this sense, Latin America represents a fundamental reference because urban conditions are historically marked by weak institutional arrangements to integrating people and large levels of marginality and exclusion among population. In this scenario individuals’ practices around inclusion-exclusion have an essential meaning in everyday life.
Part two offers three study cases in which the relation between individuals and school institutions has been analyzed for the Metropolitan area of Santiago de Chile (MAS). Using different methodological resources an exhaustive account on three levels is presented: i) geo-referencing State intervention in public policies connected with neighborhood and schools to understand the form and extent of socio-urban exclusion in MAS, ii) narrative biographies applied to parents with children attending primary school, in order to reconstruct the familiar process of school selection and describing its impacts on the stabilization of school as an exclusionary device, and iii) autoethnography to describe in detail the temporal dimension involved in stabilizing actions which reinforces social mechanisms of urban integration-exclusion during the last three decades in Chile.
A key argument advanced by this research proposes that: the way in which the idea of integration is enacted by people in their biographical careers imprints changes on the institutional orientation and by this way, contributes to the reorganization urban life. The high level of social exclusion in Santiago de Chile is not accountable without considering transformation in all socio-urban institutions, especially the school. No family considers social integration with people from a low social, economical or cultural background as relevant orientation for school selection. This particularity of the Chilean social reality is not derivable from any big capitalistic or modernization processes impacting our cities.
Within the light of the thesis findings, I conclude that socio-urban institutions logics must be reassessment under the influences of people actions and representations. I also propose a consideration to major complementarities between urban studies and urban-institutions analysis. The school institutions is not just a sectorial field reserved to the researcher in education, on the contrary, it represent a key entrance to address people’s experience in their institutional urban environments. The re-emergence of social and urban movements in 2010, under the “Arab Spring” or the “Chilean Student Movements”, is not only a demonstration in the public space as result of major global trends. These situations are in essence, for this research, individuals gathering together and calling for recognition and autonomy inside institutional environment that tends to reject them. Similar situation was the focus of the Latin American urban sociology research, within the focus on grassroots and urban social movements at the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s.
In both cases, socio-urban institutions, unaware of recognition requirements claimed by inhabitants, are not beyond individual or collective reach. My main concern is to show that socio-urban institutions are constantly re-shaped as a result of individual action, what makes the difference, is the spirit that we all, socially, imprint on the logics of our socio-urban institutions, moving them to inclusion or exclusion.
Abstract
In this research, based on socio-spatiality as the starting point, it has conducted extensive city space analysis to advance a new urban social space theory. Resting upon the basis of traditional continent philosophy, this social space theory has adopted the structuration methods, at the same time trying to build certain combination between theoretical frame work establishment and empirical observations. Therefore, the socio-spatial transition study is neither a macro theory of traditional structuralism nor a typology of urban planning theory, or a positivism social geography, but an operative theory on practical purpose. Firstly, what’s distinct from the traditional structuralism is that this study examines the endless transiting structural relations, not macroscopic narrations of absolute definition and structure. In fact, any city and space are always co-existed in their structurational transiting relationship, thus research in transition has become the main body of this study. And case study is a must for research in transition, as part of efforts to apply the structuration concept into practice reason. Secondly, this study first establishes the fundamental structuration concept of socio-spatial transition, which, as an operative tool, is applied to conduct transition analysis on specific case about the City of Beijing. Therefore, as a social space theory, referring to as science, remains criticism of traditional continent philosophy. However, this criticism did not working on the level of ideology or conceptions, but on transiting under structural relations, keeping it from incompetent ideology criticism of continental critical theory. Unfortunately contemporary urban and space development have now gone extremely unbalanced under a background of globalization; yet traditional macro theories are incapable of either producing significant impact on practice or helping people identify practical problems. While facing general issues, particularly the Chinese urban issue category established on a meta-structured city mode, the micro-case study has plunged into dilemma for unknowing either to ask questions or to answer questions. Therefore, this study is set to identify dilemma and find direction for future relevant research. In this dissertation, Beijing is used as a model, and structuration methods as tools. It has extensively analyzed the social-spatial transition of the city space of Beijing, acquiring brand-new knowledge of its urban space development. It is helpful to an in-depth understanding of the city space development not only in Beijing, but also in many other cities that were influenced by the capital model of Beijing. Since the start of reform and opening-up, China has created a unique development mode of the new-styled metropolitan and urbanization in history. This research is expected to analyze or decode what China’s urban development in between communal space and associative space.
The Chinese Shopping Centre: Integration of a Western Commercial Format into Chinese Urban Space
(2009)
Being transposed to China and absorbed by its urban space, the Western shopping centre undergoes a process of “Sinicisation”, which turns it into a spatial hybrid: a Western retail format shaped by distinctive features of Chinese space production and space use. To a large extent, this study can be regarded as a marginal number of its kind which tries to scientifically understand the impact of a socially, culturally and economically absolutely different urban environment on the model (ideal type) of the Western shopping centre.
Exploratory Research into Transformation Processes of Former Industrial Complexes of Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei (Leipzig) and Mattatoio di Testaccio (Rome); New Meanings of Industrial Heritage
Physical manifestations of the Industrial Revolution left a permanent imprint on the complexion of cities. Abandonment that followed the deindustrialization contributed to an estrangement, turning derelict industrial spaces and run‐down factories into a ballast to conjure with. At present, industrial heritage management applies flexibility and creativity, partially overcoming the essentially traditional paradigm of heritage preservation. This approach permits sustainable conservation – utilization and integration of disused industrial constructs in the contemporary urban landscape. Being a part of the European cultural stock, industrial heritage is an exciting and unique setting from many perspectives. It is defined and consumed by many markets, ranging from the industrial heritage tourism to the market of special events and festivals. Reused industrial buildings and factories come into view as products of post‐industrial societies, fitting to the Western post‐industrial (consumer) culture, offering a field of activities that are at an interface between the industrial history and contemporary socio‐cultural milieu.
Alteration of values, growth of new roles and definitions of industrial heritage, generated by functional restructuring, is a subject which is often left behind the general discussion about sustainable conservation and adaptive reuse of industrial heritage. Yet, in the modified state, industrial heritage is very complex to understand and to define.
By conducting a desk and a case study research of former industrial complexes – Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei and Mattatoio di Testaccio, this doctoral thesis aims to identify industrial heritage as a contemporary (post‐industrial) concept. Observation of ideas, values and definitions that emerge as a consequence of the transformation and re‐conceptualization of industrial heritage are intended to raise awareness and appreciation of industrial heritage in the full richness of its contemporary interpretation.
One of the main focuses of recent Chinese urban development is the creation and retrofitting of public spaces driven by the market force and demand. However, researches concerning human and cultural influences on shaping public spaces have been scanty. There still exist many undefined ambiguous planning aspects institutionally and legislatively. This is an explanatory research to address interactions, incorporations and interrelationship between the lived environment and its peoples. It is knowledge-seeking and normative. Theoretically, public space in a Chinese context is conceptualized; empirically, a selected case is inquired. The research has unfolded a comparatively complete understanding of China’s planning evolution and on-going practices. Data collection emphasizes the concept of ‘people’ and ‘space’. First-hand data is derived from the intensive fieldwork and observatory and participatory documentations. The ample detailed authentic empirical data empowers space syntax as a strong analysis tool in decoding how human’s activities influence the public space. Findings fall into two categories but interdependent. Firstly, it discloses the studied settlement as a generic, organic and incremental development model. Its growth and established environment is evolutionary and incremental, based on its intrinsic traditions, life values and available resources. As a self-sustaining settlement, it highlights certain vernacular traits of spatial development out of lifestyles and cultural practices. Its spatial articulation appears as a process parallel to socio-economic transitions. Secondly, crucial planning aspects are theoretically summarized to address the existing gap between current planning methodology and practicalities. It pinpoints several most significant and particular issues, namely, disintegrated land use system and urban planning; missing of urban design in the planning system, loss of a human-responsive environment resulted from standardized planning and under-estimation of heritage in urban development. The research challenges present Chinese planning laws and regulations through urban public space study; and pinpoints to yield certain growth leverage for planning and development. Thus, planning is able to empower inhabitants to make decisions along the process of shaping and sustaining their space. Therefore, it discusses not only legislative issues, concerning land use planning, urban design and heritage conservation. It leads to a pivotal proposal, i.e., the integration of human and their social spaces in formulating a new spatial strategy. It expects to inform policymakers of underpinning social values and cultural practices in reconfiguring postmodern Chinese spatiality. It propounds that social context endemic to communities shall be integrated as a crucial tool in spatial strategy design, hence to strengthen spatial attributes and improve life quality.
Contemporary planning practice is often criticized as too design-driven with a lack of both quantitative evaluation criteria and employment of models that anticipate the self-organizational forces shaping cities, resulting in significant gaps between plan and reality.
This study aims to introduce a modular toolbox prototype for spatial-analysis in data-poor environments. It is proposed to integrate designing, evaluation, and monitoring of urban development into one framework, thus supporting data-driven, on-demand urban design, and planning processes.
The proposed framework’s value will exemplarily be tested, focussing on the analysis and simulation of spatiotemporal growth trajectories taking the Lanzhou New Area as a case-study - a large scale new town project that struggles to attract residents and businesses.
Conducted analysis suggests that more attention should be given to spatiotemporal development paths to ensure that cities work more efficiently throughout any stage of development. Finally, early hints on general design strategies to achieve this goal are discussed with the assistance of the proposed toolbox.
This thesis examines urban partition in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, and how its changing roles and shifting perceptions in a post-conflict setting reflect power relations, and their constant renegotiation. Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, was officially divided in 1974 in the aftermath of an eighteen-year-long conflict between the island’s Turkish- and Greek-Cypriot communities. As a result, a heavily militarized Buffer Zone, established as an emergency measure against perpetuation of intercommunal violence, has been cutting through its historic centre ever since.
This thesis departs from a genuine interest in the material and ideational dimensions of urban partition. How is it constructed, not merely in physical terms but in the minds of the societies affected by conflict? How is it established in official and everyday discourses? What kinds of mechanisms have been developed to maintain it, and make an inseparable part of the urban experience? Moreover, taking into account the consensus in relevant literature pertaining to the imperative for its removal, this thesis is inquiring into the relevance of peace agreements to overcoming urban partition. For this purpose, it also looks at narratives and practices that have attempted to contest it.
The examples examined in this thesis offer pregnant analytical moments to understand Nicosia’s Buffer Zone as a dynamic social construct, accommodating multiple visions of and for the city. Its space ‘in-between’ facilitates encounters between various actors, accommodates new meanings, socio-spatial practices and diverse imaginaries. In this sense, urban partition is explored in this thesis as a phenomenon that transcends scales as well as temporalities, entwining past, present, and future.