URBAN TRAILS & TALES /session 1 07/12/13

Reflections on Urban Design Practice | 06.02.2013

URBAN TRAILS & TALES Exploring urban design & decision-making through narrative and film

Cristina Cerulli & Anna Holder SSoA, University of Sheffield

Why tell stories about urban design?

“… narrative is an ancient method and perhaps our most fundamental form for making sense of experience” (Flyvbjerg, 2004 referencing Abbott, 1992; Arendt, 1958; Bal, 1997; Carr, 1986; Fehn et al., 1992; MacIntyre, 1984; Mattingly, 1991, p. 237; Novak, 1975, p. 175; Rasmussen, 1995; Ricoeur, 1984)

“… narratives not only give meaningful form to our experiences. They also provide us with a forward glance, helping us to anticipate situations even before we encounter them, allowing us to envisage alternative futures.” (Flyvbjerg, 2004)

Why tell stories about urban design?

• What decisions surround the work we do as designers, and who makes them?

• Why are these important questions for urban designers?

• How do we learn about urban decision-making?

What is the role of the story-teller?

“Stories of planning practice do not and cannot ‘tell themselves’, although it will often seem as if they do to the researcher who is deeply immersed in uncovering the events and other minutiae that make up a particular chronicle. Stories have to be narrated, in writing or orally. That means the narrator […] has to make choices about where to begin and end the story, what to emphasize, etc.”

(Flyvbjerg, 2004)

http://mappingcontroversies.co.uk/

BIG / ‘Yes is More’

Mike Horsewill / Venice Workshop 2011

Sogand / Venice Workshop 2011

Location: Client: Architect: Project size: Project cost:

Mulhouse, France Société Mulhousienne des Cités Ouvrières (SOMCO) Lacaton & Vassal / working with Jean Nouvel 2262 m2 (14 dwellings) €1,05 M

Motivations:

To develop social housing that provides increased area without increasing costs

Case Study 1

Social Housing, Mulhouse

01

Funding from a Government initiative for new social housing is earmarked for Mulhouse, a former industrial area

02

03

The director of a social housing company, instigates a brief for an innovative housing development An experienced architect with a track history of innovative housing design is appointed to the project

04

05

The architect proposes involving 5 teams from younger architecture offices to develop schemes in collaboration

The project is informed by data and analysis on housing demand structures in the French social housing sector - this research indicates widespread discontent with current conditions and few real alternatives for changing provision in the future.

06

One of the architects teams brings with them expertise in building housing at low cost with industrial materials and processes.

09

The team argues the validity of the project in both economic terms and sustainability benefits.

They propose building apartments twice the standard area and volume but within the normal limits of financial support for the social housing sector.

07 08

They are supported by the leading consultant architect and the client.

10 Resistance from planning and regulative bureaucracy delays the project from starting on site for two years.

The project goes ahead.

It is judged a great success by its residents, the client and design team, and the national press.

Media PR Policy

+ €€€

Strategy Architect Client Project Architects

- Both human and nonhuman actors have roles to play in the development of the project

Local Authorities Building Regs

Taxes Planning

Research

Precedents

- initiation and agency are co-created within the process of the project

Actors

Social Housing, Mulhouse

Location: Client: Architect: Project size: Project cost:

Iquique, Chile Chile Barrio Elemental (‘Do-tank’) / a partnership with University and COPEC (oil company) 5025m² (93 dwellings) / Initial house: 36m² / Expanded house: 70m² / 1,05 M€ net (75 000 € net per house)

Motivations:

To provide good-quality housing for those moving on from informal settlements, in city centre locations which support existing social networks, with possibility for families to expand their housing in time

Case Study 2

Social Housing, Iquique

01

02

The Government provides funding for low-income family housing

04

Families must approach the government, once they have identified other families to build with

05 03

The Government then matches them with an advisor from the Housing office, or from an NGO, who oversees the appointment of an architect and any other professionals necessary

Funding provided per family (approx US$7,500) has to cover land, housing and infrastructure, and thus only covers the cost of cheap land outside the city centre, and a small house (approx 30m2)

Families have new housing far from the areas they know, and the places they work

01

02

An architecture office, in partnership with the local university and sponsored by an oil company, are asked by the Government to rethink the standard model, for a specific case of around 100 families

04

The more expensive city centre plot is developed to build a small basic house with kitchen and bathroom, with space to expand on the ground and first floor

05 They propose a change of perspective, thinking how to maximise the value of the houses over time, rather than give everyone a small house

03 The families are allocated the usual amount of Government funding for houses to be built, but are to be rehoused on the same plot they previously occupied – city centre land worth 3 x the value of land on the periphery of the city

06

The structure and permissions in place for the houses are designed to allow a second ‘phase’, where the space for expansion is filled in

When each family has saved some money, they extend into the empty adjacent plot, ending up with a more spacious house in their desired location

Location: Client: Architect: Project size: Project cost:

Tarlungeni, Romania The Foundation for Social Assistance and Youth (FAST) Voluntary Design & Build 159 m2 ÂŁ43,000 approx.

Motivations:

To self-build a project for a charity / to help underprivileged children, particularly Roma.

Case Study 3

Children’s Centre, Tarlungeni

01

A group of architecture students with some experience of building projects for charity write to a British-funded QUANGO in various countries looking for charity projects that need building work

02

An NGO working with low income families and children from a racial minority group contacts the same QUANGO enquiring about funding opportunities

03

04

05

The QUANGO puts the two parties in touch

The NGO has identified the need for an early years children’s centre

The students propose to fund part of a project and provide free design and construction labour through a stream of graduate volunteers

06 07

08

The local school provides the land for the building from its grounds

09

Successive waves of volunteers work in partnership with the local school, which provides and funds some local labour and subsidises accommodation for volunteers

As part of an agreement with the school, the local mayor provides funding for half the build cost

The NGO provides teaching materials and teachers

10

The children’s centre is completed and is judged a success by its users and the local school who run it.

FAST Want to build a building that is inspiring and to enjoy the process of building and experimenting

Want to use their resources as efficiently as possible

Other volunteers just want to experience a building project

Older members want a project where they have some autonomy, a chance to develop skills & ideas

Need to deal with overcrowdin g in classes for under 7s.

Want to get the building finished quickly

VD&B

Want to provide space for children under 7 and also provide washing facilities for Roma

National Government Want to provide funding for early years provision because it’s a requirement of EU membership

Will provide materials as part of an agreement with the local school, but only wants to pay for a ‘standard’ building

Mayor Local School

Motivations & values

Children’s Centre, Tarlungeni

Reading Peter M. Kellett, Diana G. Dalton (2001) Managing Conflict in a Negotiated World: A Narrative Approach to Achieving Dialogue and Change. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Eckstein B, Throgmorton JA(eds) (2003) Stories and Sustainability: Planning, Practice, and the Sustainability of American cities. Cambridge, MA: MIT press.

Fischer F, Forester J(eds) (1993) The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning. London: Duke University Press.

Flyvbjerg, B (2004) ‘Phronetic Planning Research: Theoretical and Methodological Reflections’. Planning Theory & Practice, Vol. 5, No. 3, 283–306 Forester J (1999) The Deliberative Practitioner: Encouraging Participatory Planning Processes. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Forester J (2009) Dealing with Differences: Dramas of Mediating Public Disputes. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Hajer MA, Grijzen J, van ’t Klooster S (2010) Sterke verhalen: Hoe Nederland de planologie opnieuw uitvindt [Strong stories: How the Dutch are reinventing spatial planning]. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers.

Viewing Creedon, Kelly. We Shall Not be Moved: Stories from the Grassroots. 2011. – www.weshallnotbemoved.net RSA animate series - http://www.thersa.org/events/rsaanimate Brown, Sam (2013)m MCCB Test Film - Time For Tea at Public Works. - http://vimeo.com/58089585