case study #2 TYPOLOGY: DISCONNECTED SUBURB CURRENT ISSUES Isolation The geographical setting and the region’s heavy road network isolates sub districts from each other and interrupts communication with the city centre though only 15 km away. Hence, the area remains disconnected from cultural facilities as well from infrastructure and has to survive with limited resources. Social Discrimination Though good initiatives are taking place, there is in general low access to the new technology amongst the population, which in turn results in a lack of communication tools to highlight cultural and communal activities and of places for social exchange. Moreover, law enforcement and social security systems are largely ineffective. Thus, it remains one of the city’s poorest areas and has a reputation for low-level crime, such as vehicle theft and damage.
© Clear Village 2010
HISTORY This suburb comprices an area of former hamlets that grew rapidly and messily into a full-blown suburb during the city’s immigration booms. It has an overpopulated, multicultural scene and is located on a south-facing slope providing a panoramic view of the city. The tight-knit community, which has a “rebellious” history, remains a potent force, seen at its most active during the festival season, with a blend of mainly Eastern European and South American inhabitants. To support one of the poverty-stricken areas of slapdash apartment blocks, a regeneration of sorts has begun in recent years. Retail facilities have been built, dilapidated housing has been removed and public spaces created in their place. Although there are efforts towards transition, they are jeopardised by the issues from which city suburbs suffer when poverty stricken and in need of new ideas.
Misperception There is next to no dialogue about and public access to information on local organisations, administration, businesses and social services. Additionally, there is a lack of awareness about the district’s associated richness, its history and outstanding capacity to introduce its citizens and organisations to the information society. Regeneration Despite the redevelopment work, many of the buildings in are still large blocks of hurriedly built apartments. These are minimal in size and scarce in natural light, but it remains an affordable district whilst the neighboring areas are slowly smartening up, largely due to the civic spirit of their citizens. Pollution The combination of this suburban area being located in a hilly area and the prescense of highways cutting straight through the district makes it very exposed to air pollution.
FACTS Typology: Mediterranean city suburb Climate zone: Mediterranean, with mild, humid winters and hot, dry summers Population base: Middle-aged, unemployed immigrants and old-established locals Suburb Population: 2,153 (about five million inhabitants in the city metropolitan area) Density: 15.926 inhabitants/km2 (city average) Marked Area: 12km2 Built portion: 8% GDP /Capita: Much below the regional average of 24,445€ Main source of income /occupations: Small-scale workshops exist in the region but there is no other local activity except for basic commerce and commuters Political: Inhabitants are petitioning the local authority for better services from the city
© Clear Village 2010
Public amenities:
School up to secondary level Healthcare centre for basic care – no surgery or specialism Large, low-cost shopping center Christian places of worship (3) Parks and green spaces Touristic viewpoint of the city Rudimentary library
VISION Turn Challenges into Opportunities Celebration of diversity Improvement of access and transport Cleansing of natural resources, water, soil and air Focus on community health and interdependency
Scope of change process Cultivate cultural identity of community, integrate diversity of languages, embedded economy and City-suburb link. Enhance community-based economic activity to tackle poverty, unemployment and housing issues. Community living conditions to be addressed, i.e. distributed energy, water availability, pollution, safety, safety and healthcare. Develop community-based adult education to facilitate individual capacities to manage and engage with the community. Deepen connections within community and widen toward city. Utilise permaculture techniques to integrate natural-human systems as a part of the change process. Solution approaches Cultural diversity seen as uniqueness and a tool for community development, with a focus on the diverse ethnic food, music and crafts to create outlet for the emotional hybridity. Bioremediation with hemp, fungi and biochar.
Š Clear Village 2010
Alternative mobility routes, for example a transport axis for cable cars, to empower and celebrate interdependency with the city. Agroforestry intiatives to connect and utilise the green spaces available in the vicinity, combined with education toward healthy environment and food programmes integrated into the upgrade of healthservices.
PROCESS & FOCUS IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS DIAGRAM
housing
education
community
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social dimension & community
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health service integratio other fields ecialists health sp re tric ca pedea es health basic ic v r e se hcar healt
architecture & infrastructure
#2 Community well-being
agroforestry food
natural environment
permaculture cultivation
diverse culina ry tradit
ion
waste
economy & governance
mana
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pu
blic
services
innovation/ networks economic capacity
civil society
pa
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rogra
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waste
init iat ive s d di iat ve ion cle rs biosphere an ity sin of g te rra in bio
well-being
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Š Clear Village 2010
available
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energy
l tia en l ot p tia gy ten er po s y en g tem nd ener water sys wi ng lar i ing s o s est an arv cle h r r e te ing wat wa anc rain enh rce u o s r re wate
tio
community spirit
Key to this suburban development are two facets, firstly the community co-visioning of the future and the empowerment of individuals to take ownership of the place and their future; secondly the holistic anchoring of already existing initiatives. It is crucial to open up all processes toward community participation as well as cross-fertilise with other development areas. The participatory process facilitates the strengthening of the internal community bonds in order to create a platform to address change through common cultural heritage and a common future.
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petition for better public
DEVELOPMENT FOCUS
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rs ilit y o n dem and high way netw trail su ork sc sta ons ina t r u ble ctio tra n nsp co mm or t axi uti low s ng ca rou rb tes on tra ve l
wo r ret rofi t
traffic
mob
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parking spaces
hn et
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regeneration programme
lk fo
culture
mobility
blocks longivity of housing es mes g of hom o retrofittin ble h stuita of un ation s elimin ing uild cb ubli ity of p ent ting e id ofit lac retr ns rp tio l fo bo titu ns sym si fts ra ou c igi ic rel ist lor od fo ic
public buildings
climate
governance participation
COMMUNITY BUILDING Architecture & Infrastructure The community first and foremost needs to be anchored within itself and to place. As frameworks for public and private life, architecture and infrastructure are powerful tools and have inherent symbolic potential. A categorization of the different zones of the community will take place, with each being analyzed according to use. In each zone, the transformation process will be conducted by the local workforce, leading to job creation, and inhabitants will be empowered to take ownership of their transformed environment. Additionally, there will be educational initiatives to teach and enhance skills as well as resilience building for potential production and trade.
Š Clear Village 2010
Simultaneously the link to the city and beyond will be improved on both physical and virtual levels. This will have spin-off effects that extend the mobility and range of possibilities for adults and youth in the suburb as well as to open up the positive sides of the community toward the city inhabitants.
NATURAL RESOURCES Change of Perception Internally, the relationship between place and community deepens through caretaking of the immediate and the general environment. Just as important is the external effect produced by the combination of building an architectural landmark, creating more profitable activities within the community, and thereby altering the stories told about the place, both by the inhabitants of the suburb as well as by the city dwellers. This is a first step toward interaction between and integration of the two groups of citizens
Š Clear Village 2010
Natural Resources Water is the first resource to consider, since clean drinking water is scarce at the moment. However, scarcity can be avoided through extension as well as closing of the watercycle within the region, for example by utilising and simulating the natural reservoirs in the mountains and treating the sewage from the suburb to enable agricultural and forestry watering.
Summary of the analysis, designs and findings from the Clear Village Lab at the Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Barcelona. Three-day participatory design process with 90 participants working on specific site scenarios