|
|
 |
| |
As Urban Age prepares for the South
America conference later this year,
we offer this update of our activities
across the world. After a launch in
Berlin and London, The
Endless City is already proving
to be a useful toolkit for urbanists,
academics and policymakers. Applications
are now being accepted for the 2nd
Annual Deutsche Bank Urban Age Award,
which recognises a project in the
Greater São Paulo Metropolitan
Region with a prize of $100,000 USD.
And with feature interviews
and research on the physical form,
governance structures and social characteristics
of a wide variety of cities, the Urban
Age continues our investigation into
the future of cities. |
Ricky
Burdett
Director, Urban Age
Centennial Professor
in Architecture and Urbanism
London School of Economics |
Wolfgang
Nowak
Managing Director
Alfred Herrhausen Society |
|
| |
|
|
|
SÃO
PAULO, BRAZIL, 3 - 5 DECEMBER 2008
Urban Age will host its eighth conference in São
Paulo, Brazil after extensive research and analysis
of urbanisation in South America. The conference will
address the major structural changes affecting Brazil’s
largest city while offering insight about urban trends
in Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Bogotá and
Lima. An interdisciplinary mix of local and international
experts will formulate a regional perspective on the
most pressing social, spatial and economic issues
underlying urban growth in South America. Read
more...
PERSPECTIVES
Enrique Peñalosa, Mayor of Bogotá 1998
– 2001, on the impact of Urban Age: ‘What
we are doing with cities today will determine, to
a large degree, people’s quality of life, sense
of inclusion and happiness for hundreds of years to
come. Cities are impossible to demolish and do again.
Urban Age brings together the creators of our urban
environment, the individuals who are determining the
world’s quality of life for centuries.’
Read
more…
|
Avenida São João © Tuca Vieira
|
Charles Correa on lessons from Mumbai: “The
goal of urban planners in the developing world should
not be the City Beautiful, but rather the City as
Synergy – as a network of interaction, as a
place of hope. These are the qualities that São
Paulo and Mumbai possess that make them so crucial
to our future.” Read
more…
|
WORKSHOP
Urban Age concluded a five-day intensive workshop
with civic organisations, policymakers, practitioners
and researchers in São Paulo with advisors
Enrique Peñalosa of Bogotá and Anthony
Williams of Washington, D.C., among others. Roundtable
discussions about São Paulo’s cultural
richness, economic vigour and seemingly unsustainable
patterns of development were paired with site visits
to help define the research parameters and thematic
focus of the Urban Age South America Conference. Detailed
workshop
programme.
Presentation highlights:
Silvana
Zione, Architect and Professor, Universidade Presbiteriana
Mackenzie on transport systems in Centro and the periferia
Fernando
de Mello Franco, Architect, MMBB Arquitetos, on
São Paulo’s ‘Water Voids’
Eduardo
Marques, Director, Centro de Estudos da Metrópole
(CEM) on poverty, inequality, and the dynamics of
segregation
|
Views
over and through São Paulo’s streets
© Tuca Vieira
|
Paraisópolis © Tuca Vieira
|
THE
DEUTSCHE BANK URBAN AGE AWARD
$100,000 for an outstanding project in São
Paulo, Brazil – Submission deadline, 1 September
2008
The Deutsche Bank Urban Age Award recognises projects
that improve the physical conditions of communities
and the lives of their residents. 'São Paulo
is my passion. Knowing solutions that envision - and
implement - better living conditions in our megalopolis,
interests me a lot,' said Tata Amaral, jury member
and filmmaker. Registration
information
|
2nd Annual Deutsche Bank Urban Age Award Jury São
Paulo:
Tata Amaral, filmmaker (Antônia, 2007),
São Paulo
Lisette Lagnado, Chief Curator, 27ª Bienal
de São Paulo in 2006, 'How to Live Together'
Fernando de Mello Franco, architect, MMBB Architects,
São Paulo
Enrique Norten, architect, TEN Arquitectos,
Mexico City and New York City
Anthony Williams, Mayor of Washington, D.C.
1997-2006, Washington, D.C.
Ricky Burdett, LSE Centennial Professor in
Architecture and Urbanism and Director, Urban Age
Raí Souza Vieira de Oliveira, former
Brazilian football player, founder and director of
the Gol de Letra Foundation, São Paulo
|
THE
ENDLESS CITY
As the public debate about how to design and manage
urban growth becomes increasingly polarised, The Endless
City offers a decisive lens into the politics and
economics of urban form:
Core77
by Robert Blinn – ‘An enormous orange
compendium approaching architecture itself in scale,
scope and design. All of the little details are right,
from its visually comfortable grid to the stunning
panoramic long-exposure photos of cities and urban
sprawl…Despite the imposing cover, the information
and opinions within prove not only to educate but
also to inspire.’
Washington Post by Neal Peirce – ‘A
500-page tour de force of six major world cities'
development issues…(the book) should help trigger
incisive global debate on what makes cities tick,
what to avoid, what to treasure and emulate in a century
packed with promise -- and some really scary perils.’
|
|
DATA
Urban
Age research compiles data and statistics on the
social, economic and physical form of global cities
for professional and academic use. Click here for
a comparative analysis of ten world cities and an
overview of Urban Age’s research methodology.
Urban
Growth
Over the past twenty years, a significant number of
cities quickly expanded their populations. This illustration
of cities with a metropolitan region of three million
residents or more contrasts the rates of growth in
each continent. Cities in Asia and Africa are the
largest and fastest growing while the growth rates
of cities in North America and Europe are expected
to decline over the next 20 years. Click on graph
for further information. Source: UN Population
Division, World Population Prospect, 2006
|
Governance
Structures
The physical shape and economic vitality of cities
are highly dependent on their governance structure.
Whereas some cities have resources and authority to
control investments in public transport (London),
other cities are subordinate to state and central
policies. In New York City, a lack of state approval
has prevented congestion charging from being implemented
despite majority support from the executive and legislative
bodies at the municipal and even central level. Yet
international comparisons can be less incongruous
than the various forms of governance structures within
a country. Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata each have varying
degrees of autonomy, with the Mayor of Kolkata wielding
prominent influence while the State of Maharashtra
controls Mumbai's urban agenda and development priorities.
These six charts are illustrative indications of how
government structures are organised in six world cities.
They are intentionally designed to give a crude impression
of how the basic patterns of responsibilities are
organised, identifying some of the key functions carried
out at national, state and local government levels.
While they offer a useful comparative overview, they
are not intended to depict the detailed systems of
accountability which can only be explained comprehensively
on a case-by-case basis.
|
COLLABORATIONS
Urban Age is collaborating with a network of local
groups in Brazil. Following an open request for proposals,
teams of sociologists, architects, policy makers,
anthropologists and leaders in the private sector
were invited to engage with Urban Age’s international
advisors on an analysis of the core issues and transversal
themes affecting the residents of São Paulo.
Investigating the physical form of Centro and the
city’s sprawling peripheral zones, the outcome
aims to inform urban policy making for São
Paulo as well as cities facing similar challenges.
‘Mobility, Integration and Accessibility’
– Mobility should be enhanced throughout São
Paulo’s metropolitan region to promote social
inclusion and economic opportunities and reduce
its environmental impact. Investigation forthcoming
from Ciro Biderman, Centro de Estudos em Política
e Economia do Setor Público, Fundação
Getulio Vargas.
‘Peripheral, Central, Marginal’ –
Development of the periferia can be managed to create
a better quality of life for São Paulo’s
citizens. Interdisciplinary team convened by Paula
Miraglia at the United Nations Latin American Institute
for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of
Offenders and the Centre for Metropolitan Studies.
‘Development, the Public Realm and City Building’
– State institutions can work with the private
sector on new developments that are socially, environmentally
and economically sustainable. A team led by Nadia
Somekh at Mackenzie Presbyterian University School
of Architecture & Planning will partner with
the São Paulo Real State Union Association
to offer tangible recommendations while assessing
various levels of risk.
URBAN AGE INDIA
REPORT
Integrated City Making – Following the Urban Age
India Conference last November, Urban Age will issue
a summary of how Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore
are responding to the challenges of urban growth. Assessing
how India’s cities are fuelling urban centres
across the subcontinent, this report will analyse the
future shape of urban society by comparing trends in
India to other cities. The Urban Age India Report will
be presented at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi on
5 June 2008. For more information, please contact urban.age@lse.ac.uk |
NEWS
Urban
Age Advisors
We are honoured to welcome the following new advisors
to Urban Age:
Charles
Correa, Architect, Mumbai and Farwell Bemis Professor
at MIT, USA
Klaus
Bode, Founding Partner, BDSP Partnership of Environmental
Engineers, London
Richard
Brown, Urban Policy Consultant, London
Fabio
Casiroli, Professor in Transport Planning, Faculty
of Architecture, Polytechnic of Milan
2007 Award Update
Triratana Prerana Mandal (TPM), winner of the 2007
Deutsche Bank Urban Age Award in Mumbai, has adopted
a large park in their neighbourhood. Permission was
granted by the Bombay Municipal Corporation to manage
and improve the park and utilise its amphitheatre
as a community centre. Neighbourhood groups are helping
to programme activities, with local groups calling
for sports, cultural events and yoga. Architect and
2007 Award jury member Rahul Mehrotra is advising
TPM on the project.
Survey
In partnership with Ipsos MORI, Urban Age is conducting
a survey of 1,000 residents in São Paulo on
quality of life issues. The survey will assess the
most effective means for encouraging greater use of
public transport, while also documenting residents’
opinions on the availability of health care services,
awareness about environmental threats and climate
change, as well as perceptions of safety in one of
Latin America’s most dangerous cities.
EVENTS
Upcoming:
Creek Arts Centre, Shanghai, May 30 – The Endless
City book launch
NAi, Rotterdam, June 5 – Ricky Burdett: ‘Learning
from London 2012’
U IA World Congress of Architecture, Turin, July 1
– Ricky Burdett: 'Cities
in Crisis and the Hope of Architecture'
Fall events in New York and Mexico City to be announced
More info urban.age@lse.ac.uk |
Tate Modern launch of The Endless City
© Philipp Rode
|
Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin launched The Endless
City on 10 March at a public discussion with co-editor
Ricky Burdett, Professor of Architecture and Urbanism
at the LSE, Engelbert Lütke-Daldrup, German Secretary
of State for Transport, Building and Urban Affairs,
and Hans Kollhoff, architect and President of the
International Architecture Academy in Berlin.
Tate Modern in London hosted the launch of The Endless
City on 12 March. BBC journalist Roger Harrabin moderated
the discussion between architect Richard Rogers, Enrique
Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogotá, and
the book's editors, Ricky Burdett at LSE and Deyan
Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum in London.
Equity and Urbanism with Enrique Peñalosa on
12 March at LSE. Urban Age and the LSE Colombian
|
Society organised a public lecture by Peñalosa,
Mayor of Bogotá 1998-2001 and Executive Director,
Fundación para el País que Queremos, Bogotá.
Peñalosa described how to create social and environmental
sustainability for developing country cities.
LSE Masters of Public Administration (MPA) Capstone
project concluded their investigation of planning, transport
and urban governance in Mumbai at the India Research
Seminar on 3 March. Tony Travers offered an analysis
of comparative urban governance while Philipp Rode’s
presentation engaged issues of integrated planning and
transport. In a discussion with respondents from Tata
Institute of Social Sciences and LSE’s Geography
Department, MPA students offered findings from their
study of urban governance in Mumbai. Event organised
by MPA Capstone and Urban Age with support from LSE’s
India Observatory. |
FUTURE CONFERENCES
Urban Age conferences are by invitation only, with a
limited number of seats reserved for international guests.
If you are interested in attending any of the conferences,
please contact urban.age@lse.ac.uk.
Urban Age South America, 3 – 5 December 2008,
São Paulo, Brazil
Urban Age Eastern Mediterranean, Autumn 2009, Istanbul,
Turkey
Urban Age Worldwide Summit, May 2010, Berlin, Germany
|
|
|
