estrategias de investigación académica

dossier estrategias de investigaci贸n acad茅mica antonio di campli ph.d | utpl

universidad tecnica particular de loja| 25.06.15

El seminario es articulado en tres partes: 1 Definición de proyectos de investigación doctorales:

Estrategias de definición del tema y del programa de investigación.

Fases y articulaciones Diferencias entre investigación empirica y investigación teorica.

Ejemplo de construcción de una tesi doctoral en urbanismo: Adriatico. La città dopo la crisi

2 Investigación académica

Como participar a convocatorias de proyectos de investigación

2 ejemplos de construcción de investigación postdoctorales EPFL, Suiza Proyecto de investigación 1Km Well-Being Proyecto de investigación NeAr, Neighbourhood Architecture

3 Como se define el perfil de un investigador

Ejemplo. Project of Resistance

Objectivos

1. Dominio de los conocimientos teóricos y de las estrategias de construcciones de proyectos de investigación académicas 2. Capacidad de proponer proyectos de investigación 3. Entender la complejidad de los factores, conflictos y complejidades que intervienen en proyectos de investigación académicas 4. Desarrollar una metodología de investigación basada en la identificaciones de problemas.

5.Desarrollar destrezas comunicativas del proyecto.

1 Definici贸n de proyectos de investigaci贸n doctorales

Premisa

colocar el tema - reconocer la importancia del tema - que no sea agotado, definir el tema en manera suficientemente abierta para que se pueda declinar en muchas maneras (literatura)

identificar una o más rutas de investigación fértiles

elegir temas que sabemos dominar/gobernar

¿qué se puede decir? Formular unas hipótesis (colocarse respeto al tema)

Construcción del tema

Exploración de la literatura con el fin de destacar:

las razones de relevancia cuestiones textos y autores

Ahora se puede construir un primero programa de investigación

Programa de investigación 1. la definición de un objeto (lo que observo) dentro de un campo más general de estudio.

Objeto es diferente del tema, el campo que observo!

2. la exploración de las fuentes a través de dos tipos de investigaciones: cualitativa y cuantitativa (relieve, encuestas, entrevistas) > para protegerse: solamente una exploración más cuidadosa de la literatura de referencia ayudará a identificar el tema / caso relevante (es imposible definir “el más relevante”, pero lo importante es localizar un objecto pertinente, significativo) El caso debe ser relevante y pertinente Estructura de párrafos suficientemente autónomos y claros

Esto es sólo una primera fase en la que el objeto se convierte en la “construcción de la investigación” pero todavía estamos aun dubitativos

Ejemplo structura Introducción El tema ... fue reconsiderado en los últimos tiempos pero no está agotado ... la hipótesis es que puede desarrollarse a partir de ...

Para defender estas hipótesis hablaré de unos aspectos 1...

2...

3... en la segunda parte se desarrollará un programa de investigación enfocado en ... investigando sobre aspectos todavía en la sombra Para formular un programa de investigación, creo que sería útil hacer las siguientes cosas: primera fase (6-12 meses) 1 Revisión crítica de la literatura y de las fuentes, esto tiene como objetivo construir un fondo de tierra sólida.

2 Al mismo tiempo definir las organizaciones, las instituciones, interlocutores pertinentes dentro de unos eventos relevantes.

Resultado de 1 y 2 es la identificación de los estudios de casos, situaciones pertinentes, buenos / malos ejemplos.

3 Reformulación del tema

segunda fase (6-8 meses) reconstrucción de uno o más casos de estudio en Ecuador / extranjero la investigación estructura de acuerdo a algunos movimientos: la reconstrucción de la historia (cronologia, actores, los recursos) reflexión sobre su carácter de generalidad que puede ser aprendir del caso el resultado es un refinamiento adicional del tema, su redefinición.

tercera fase (12 meses) desarrollo de una propuesta operativa (fase de diseño) dirigida a un interlocutor (comunidad cientifica, ministerio del desarrollo actores privados…). En esta etapa debe surgir el carácter original de la investigación, que no necesariamente tiene que ser expresado en una forma o en una lengua, sino en una actitud que impregna toda la investigación.

mapa de posiciones proyectuales

Los tres principales objetivos de la investigación se pueden definir así:

1 conocer el estado de la técnica con respecto al tema elegido para su propia investigación; 2 saber cómo construir propuestas pertinentes de avance sobre las prácticas y teorías actuales; 3 saber evaluar la magnitud de los cambios propuestos y su capacidad de adaptación a diferentes contextos.

> precisión!

7

pasos

1 Identificación de la tema La elección del tema se refiere necesariamente a la propensión de cada investigador individual, su historia personal y sus expectativas para el futuro.

Parafraseando a Karl Popper, inicialmente es como si estamos en un cuarto oscuro en busca de algo que todavía no se conoce, moviéndose a ciegas, sin estar del todo seguro de de lo que realmente se toca. Luego las cosas cambian.

En un curso de doctorado en la elección del tema es, a veces, muy condicionada.

No sólo por los tiempos, porque se tiene un presupuesto que se limita a tres años, pero también para las afiliaciones a comunidades científicas específicas que pueden reducir significativamente la libertad individual; hay escuelas de doctorado que imponen coactivamente programas de investigación que se utilizan para alcanzar ciertos objetivos científicos, tal vez compitiendo con otros grupos de investigación que participan sobre los mismos temas.

2 Reconstrucción del estado del arte La capacidad de innovación se mide con respecto a lo que se interpreta como el estado de referencia: el conocimiento, las prácticas, Por supuesto, la reconstrucción del estado del arte no es objetivo y neutral como a menudo nos quieren hacer creer. Saber cómo localizar las posiciones influyentes que representan el campo de referencias iniciales de la investigación es en realidad una operación muy compleja, en parte subjetiva, ya que se basa en un análisis crítica que refleja de alguna manera la intención del intérprete.

Se debe evitar que la encuesta sobre el estado del arte se convierte en el centro de toda la investigación, absorbiendo las energías que deben dirigirse también a las medidas más proactivas en el que el investigador presenta su proyecto/propuestas.

Por lo tanto la fase de investigación debe ser dimensionado para llevar a cabo las posiciones y los temas más relevantes.

El instrumento clave a través del cual el desarrollo de esta fase de la investigación será la exploración de la literatura, o una utilización bien orientada de la literatura disponible.

La interpretación crítica del estado del arte debe conducir a la presentación de una mapa temática, de una cartografia o topografía, donde se encuentran las diferentes posiciones sobre el tema.

La topografía de las diferentes combinaciones que son reconocibles en la literatura es una base importante para continuar en el camino de la innovación.

3 Construcción de las hipótesis A la luz de las posiciones que marcan el estado del arte, se definen las primeras hipótesis de trabajo que caracterizan la investigación.

Este es el momento crítico del trabajo, cuando uno tiene que situarse entre la interpretación de la situación actual y una visión no bien definida de los resultados.

La preparación de las hipótesis es un punto de inflexión en la construcción del programa de investigación. A partir de ahora, en la elaboración de la investigación se tendrá que mantener una constante referencia a las hipótesis establecidas.

Se deben reformular unas hipótesis cuando uno se da cuenta de que los resultados parecen negativos.

En otras palabras, desde el punto de vista de la metodología, la existencia de las hipótesis de trabajo introduce un principio de coherencia que debe caracterizar a cualquier acto futuro de la investigación, hasta la conclusión, cuando las hipótesis se transformarán en un razonamiento estructurado con articulaciones y sus pasos lógicos, los cuales le permiten discutir y validar las innovaciones propuestas.

El cumplimiento de este principio de coherencia se convierte en un requisito para la evaluación de la investigación, más allá de la sugerencia de las hipótesis propuestas o del interés en el tema tratado.

4 La selección de los destinatarios La investigación debe ser “dedicada” a destinatarios elegidos deliberadamente por el investigador.

En el caso de una investigación de carácter profesional, los destinatarios son actores publicos (ministerio, alcaldia, cantones) o privados (constructoras).

Por supuesto, el investigador es el principal destinatario de sus investigaciones.

Así que se debe tratar de coincidir lo más posible el sentido del trabajo con el perfil deseado para su identidad como investigador presente y el futuro, utilizando la investigación como un momento decisivo en la construcción de una figura reconocible en la comunidad científica.

Un segundo destinatario es el mundo académico involucrado directamente en el doctorado.

En función del estilo de trabajo este destinatario puede llegar a ser totalizador, definiendo los problemas, métodos y agenda de investigación.

Se debe tener en cuenta cuidadosamente el espacio disponible para la independencia. También se debe tener en cuenta algunas dificultades de relación con los tutores y con los profesores.

Más matizada es la relación con el contexto científico-académico ampliado, incluyendo en esto también la comunidad de los investigadores que participan en experiencias similares en la misma universidad o en otra partes. Será útil conocer las iniciativas de investigación similares, para evaluar la originalidad del trabajo, sino también para interactuar eficazmente con los investigadores que trabajan en temas similares.

5 Resultados Esperados La interpretación crítica del estado del arte, las hipótesis hechas y la definición de los destinatarios permiten especificar mejor los objetivos y por lo tanto los resultados de la investigación.

Este es un momento importante en el proceso de construcción del programa. Se trata de definir algunas ideas que vuelven a conclusiones medibles por sus sentidos y sus utilidades .

Cualquier sean los resultados de la investigación, se tendrá que recurrir a un sistema de evaluación (incluyendo la auto-evaluación) de su nivel de logro a través del producto del trabajo. Más precisamente, se proporcionará un sistema para evaluar la calidad de los resultados obtenidos con el fin de proporcionar criterios de transparencia para discutir los resultados de la investigación.

6 Proyecto de investigación definitivo El proyecto definitivo se definie a la luz de sus condiciones de viabilidad. Su forma es similar a la de la preliminar, articulado en las mismas fases lógico-operacionales:

el tema de referencia

el estado de los conocimientos disponibles

los objetivos y los resultados esperados

hipótesis de trabajo y la metodología utilizados

las articulaciones y las fases del programa

orientación bibliografíca

fases y tiempos de trabajo

recursos utilizados

7 Comunicación de los resultados El investigador comunicará sus resultados en la forma canónica de una tesis que presenta las articulaciones más significativas del trabajo.

La tesis no reproduce necesariamente las etapas recorridas en el curso del trabajo, tal como se definen en el programa final. De hecho, asumiendo la forma de una publicación, el informe tendrá que comunicarse por encima de todos los resultados más significativos de la búsqueda, dejando de lado los pasajes instrumentales y las que la adquisición de conocimiento preliminar.

Tesis doctoral en urbanismo Adriatico. La cittĂ dopo la crisi

Università degli Studi G. d’Annunzio Facoltà di Architettura di Pescara

Dottorato di ricerca in Urbanistica XVIII ciclo Settore scientifico disciplinare: ICAR 21

dottorando Antonio di Campli Coordinatore prof. Rosario Pavia Tutors prof. Lucio Zazzara prof. Cristina Bianchetti

ˇ LA COSTA INFINITA / BESKONACNA OBALA La ricerca ha come obiettivo la costruzione di un nuova immagine del territorio costiero adriatico, una immagine selettiva, densa, ma aperta alla prefigurazione di nuove e diverse forme d’azione per il governo dei paesaggi e dei territori costieri delle due rive dell’adriatico. La costruzione dell’immagine non è intesa come processo di definizione di un progetto tradizionale per questo territorio quanto piuttosto come uno strumento utile a prendere decisioni che viene offerto agli attori, uno strumento che non appartiene alle tradizionali forme di regolazione tese a ridefinire comportamenti ma piuttosto quale strumento regolativo del senso e del significato.

volume

1

adriatico bi-coastal

economy

clearing

continuità/rivalità divenire

ansie sociali

aloni

coaguli

corda

economia ecosistema

arcipelago

approdi

concatenamenti

costa

democrazia

ecotono

condesatori

attrito conflitti

distretto turistico

fenici elevazione a maggiore

finzione forme regolative frammistione ginestre identità immagine

infinito

intelligenza di costa islam

minorazione opacità/luminosità

parco

orbite

periferia

lato oscuro

mimicry modernità

paesaggio

politiche

portolano

turismo

straniamento

visione doppia

montaggio omologazione

paesaggi coloniali potere

scollamento sfilacciamenti sinapsi sfere sottosviluppo

residuo

reti

sottrazione

spazio interno

vuoto

locale

terra/mare

valutazione zone di contatto

Ringrazio i miei tutor Lucio Zazzara (Università di Chieti-Pescara) e Cristina Bianchetti (Politecnico di Torino) per aver discusso le ipotesi di questa ricerca.

Ringrazio inoltre Alessandra Casu (Università di Sassari), Matteo di Venosa (Università di ChietiPescara), Franco Farinelli (Università di Bologna), Fabio Fiori (Coopmare, Cattolica), Francesco Gastaldi (Università di Genova), Sabina Lenoci (Università IUAV di Venezia), Maria Valeria Mininni (Politecnico di Bari), Rosario Pavia (Università di Chieti-Pescara), Marina Radic Markovic (UNEP/ MAP/PAP, Spalato), David Grahame Shame (Columbia University, New York), Adolfo Sotoca Garcia (Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya), per aver contribuito con le loro critiche e i loro consigli allo sviluppo della mia ricerca.

3 introduzione 9 Scollamenti 15 La costa infinita 23 Un ecosistema turistico 29 Modi di osservare i litorali 37 Il parco costiero del medioadriatico 45 Quattro scenari 51 Conclusione. Un’immagine islamica

L ’ IMMAGINE

73 introduzione 75 Vedere doppio 83 Un paesaggio di meno

volume

1

volume

2

93 Bibliografia

MAKING OF

105 introduzione 109 Forme d’azione 113 Due tradizioni nel governo delle coste. ICZM e le politiche del Datar 133 Tre esperienze italiane. Toscana, Liguria, Provincia di Venezia 149 Progetto Beachmed 151 Riscrittura di territori all’interno di politiche. Vasab e Interreg 159 Approcci recenti al governo del paesaggio. la CEP 165 Allegati: dati sul turismo

CASI STUDIO

2

politiche e programmi: modelli di governo costiero

modello concertativo

strumenti e strategie per la gestione dei conflitti: il processo ICZM

esempi di riscrittura di territori costieri all’interno delle politiche transfrontaliere: il programma Vasab per le coste baltiche, il programma Interreg adriatico

atteggiamento paternalistico in cui gioca un ruolo forte l’istituzione pubblica: le esperienze del Datar lungo la costa francese

modello autoritativo

142

143

erosione, mercato delle sabbie e beach design turismo sostenibile portualitĂ turistica permeabilitĂ / limite mobilitĂ sicurezza degli abitati e delle infrastrutture

temi

strumento normativo governance

forme di governo

luoghi 144

approcci integrati / ICZM piani strategici / linee guida

arenili soglie tra aree urbane e arenili soglie tra aree naturalistiche e arenili foci fluviali bacini fluviali 145

2 Investigaci贸nes acad茅micas

presentación de un proyecto de investigación

El proyecto debe estar en un tamaño de entre 8.000 y 12.000 caracteres (incluyendo espacios), articulado ​​en la siguiente manera: 1/5 para la presentación del tema de investigación y el status quaestionis 4/5 para el enfoque de los objetivos de la investigación y los medios por los que se propone alcanzarlos Para asegurar una correcta evaluación del proyecto se recomienda al candidato a prestar especial atención a la presentación de las principales fuentes (tipologia, consistencia, disponibilidad).

Las referencias a la literatura no deben pasarse por alto

Estructura: Título 1 Descripción a Breve presentación del tema de investigación b Status quaestionis sintético (con referencias a las fuentes, la bibliografía sobre el tema de la búsqueda, y su interpretación) 2 Parte metodológica: c Ilustración de los objetivos: indicación de los aspectos y problemas a ser investigados en relación con el tema, con una definición del propósito de la investigación y un intento de demarcación de la frontera de los mismos: el campo. d Indicación de los aspectos innovadores de la investigación sobre el nivel cognitivo, metodológico, interpretativo e Descripción del tipo (o tipos) de las principales fuentes que se utilizarán durante la investigación f Desarrollo de la metodología (o metodologías) que se adopten durante la investigación g Exposición de los resultados esperados y los posibles usos de estos resultados en h Bibliografía

abstract (i) el título, autor, filiación, contactos, palabras clave (ii) la tesis presentada (iii) el campo en el que se discute la tesis (iv) las perspectivas de trabajo

informaciónes administrativas información general (coordinador) informaciónes sobre los participantes (cada socio) presupuesto

Cuestiones: ¿Cuál es la estrategia de mi organización? ¿Cuáles son las oportunidades de financiamiento? ¿Cómo mi proyecto es adecuado para el programa?

Elijr el programa más adecuado para la propuesta

Pre-factibilidad y Road-mapping Definir en una página de la estructura conceptual de la propuesta (documento de síntesis) de acuerdo con los siguientes parrafos:

Proposal Title / Acronym Background Problem addressed (Max 1000 characters) Objectives Proposed solution, Expected results and benefits Target group/users and their needs Proposed activities Intended consortium: organisation names and profiles (Max 1000 characters) Duration Budget (high level description)

Estructuración de la propuesta ¿POR QUÉ? Definir objetivos claros. Objetivos, no resultados!

QUÉ? Definir los resultados en manera medible y tangible QUIEN? Elijr la partnership. Cada socio = 1 rol y responsabilidades claras CÓMO? Plan de actividades del trabajo CUÁNDO? Colocar las actividades en el tiempo CUÁNTO? Asignar costos a las categorías de gasto

PROPUESTA bien escrita en Inglés, bien estructurada, con uso “inteligente” y claro de diagramas y tablas para explicar de forma rápida, eficiente y eficaz los objetivos y el caracter inovador del proyecto.

Definición de la idea en manera concisa y eficaz ¿Qué problema teneis la intención de abordar? ¿Cuál es el tamaño y el alcance del problema? (Datos y cifras) ¿Cuáles son los objetivos? ¿Qué solución innovadora?

Los objectivos deben ser Específicos en respeto al problema medibles (en manera cuantitativa o cualitativa) dentro de costos aceptables orientati al risultato temporalmente definidos para saber cuando se puede llegar a la meta Objetivos estratégicos> Objetivos Específicos> Resultados

La idea debe ser innovadora: Estado del arte ¿Qué dominios / áreas / problemas están cubiertas por el proyecto? ¿Cuál es el estado del arte de estas áreas / dominios / temas? ¿Cómo el proyecto irá más allá del estado del arte? (No reinventar la rueda! Realmente somos los primeros innovadores?, no hay ya otras opciones disponibles?)

Las formas de la propuesta por lo general requiere descripcion del estado del arte Al hacerlo, teneis en cuenta: No es un artículo técnico / científico. Sin embargo, debe ser estricto, técnico y también informativo.

Describir el paso adelante en comparación con el estado del arte Utilizar una attitud problem-solving Introducir (nuevos) conceptos al principio y no el final Mantener el discurso coerente y enfocado sobre el problema (evitar discursos genéricos) Refernecia a datos públicos verificables (estadísticas), si son relevantes y disponibles.

Textos breves y densos

Los resultados esperados deben ser: Coerentescon los objetivos fijados Coerentescon con las expectativas de los partners Exprimir tangiblemente el impacto del proyecto sobre todos los beneficiarios potenciales Estar calificado y posiblemente cuantificado claramente

Metodología empezando desde los objetivos que deben alcanzarse Analizar las posibles estrategias (caminos metodológicos) viables, teniendo en cuenta: Prioridades de los subjectos involucrados, el presupuesto disponible, las posibilidades de éxito, cualquier falta de tiempo Identificar grupos coherentes de actividades Identificar un camino lógico Identificar las habilidades necesarias para llevar a cabo el proyecto Destacar las fases distintivas, y componentes específicos del proyecto

Descripción de la metodología diagrama de Gannt: representación gráfica de la dimensión temporal de los componentes del proyecto

diagrama de PERT: descripción de los vínculos entre las actividades y los socios participantes

diagramma di WBS, Work Breakdown Structure

W.B.S. (Work Breakdown Structure o workplan) Es la descomposición del proyecto en partes más pequeñas de acuerdo con una estructura de árbol.

Se obtiene a partir de las fases macro (Trabajo-packages, WP) del proyecto y cada nivel inferior representa una definición más detallada de un componente del proyecto.

Definición de las etapas de trabajo a los que es posible atribuir responsabilidades y recursos .se deben definir de tal manera que puedan ser planificadas y controladas.

El WP tiene generalmente una estructura basada funcionalmente y temporalmente.

Cada Task (W.B.E - Work Breakdown Element ) representa una actividad para la cual tiene que ser posible definir: una descripci贸n precisa del trabajo a realizar duraci贸n recursos que llevar谩n a cabo la tarea y la responsabilidad de la ejecuci贸n el costo

Proyecto de investigaci贸n Swiss Cooperation project in Architecture 1 Km Well-Being. The Urban Landscape Observatory (2009-2011)

Proyecto de investigaci贸n NeAr, Neighbourhood Architecture

ERC Starting Grant Research proposal (Part B section 2 (B2)) (to be evaluated in Step 2) Section 2: The Project proposal (max 15 pages + Ethical Issues) a. STATE OF THE ART AND OBJECTIVES

a.1 General context. Urban trends in Europe.

The disciplines of town and country planning, the social sciences and political discourse share to a significant extent a common set of convictions and observations with regard to sustainable towns and cities. One key aim is to promote soft mobility; to improve the links between soft mobility and public transport; and to reduce movements of goods and people, with the ultimate aim of achieving “zero kilometre” production-distribution-consumption models for goods and services. Observers have noted a general trend towards a reduction in residential mobility accompanied by an increase in professional mobility, in parallel with the exceptional vitality of social networking phenomena.

Current daily usage of our urban areas increasingly seems to be based on two distinct scales of distance: the long distances of journeys to and from work or leisure destinations, and short distances within the neighbourhood which is an extension of the domestic sphere. At the same time we are seeing an emerging tendency for the middle distance to be eclipsed altogether: on the one hand, retail multiples are looking to move away from the loss-making hypermarket model and are renewing their offer by opening many small-scale retail outlets and rebranding (as a supplier of material services – assisted catering, for example – and of non-material services such as access to various forms of mobility); on the other hand, a section of residential demand is abandoning peri-urban areas for existing historic towns and villages.

Contemporary urban life – “urban” here meaning characterised by social relations which are nonfamilial, non-community and not formed on a voluntary basis – increasingly revolves around these two relatively extreme scales of usage. The increasing prevalence of mixed-use development as an objective in urban and regional planning is a clear symptom of this trend, identifying a strategy which aims to deliver conditions capable of satisfying work-related and personal needs in an increasingly capillary manner. The improvement of work-related mobility is, de facto, accompanied by urban policies of densification.

This widespread development means that the pre-conditions for a return to the neighbourhood as the defining scale of urban design are conclusively in place. A theoretical rethink is necessary on this question, which has been neglected by urban design theory and practice in recent decades – partly due to the outstanding effectiveness of the town planning models conceived in the first part of the twentieth century. Nowadays, where the space has not been neutralised by universal mobility (real or virtual) and is once again a factor in individual and collective choices, the key is to avoid the surreptitious updating of modernist models – models which were designed for expansion, in a period of growth. What is now required is the regeneration of existing developments, as a way of addressing the challenges of land scarcity and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. a.2 State of the art.

The end product of our research will be a theoretical essay on contemporary conditions and future possibilities for neighbourhood planning, preceded by a historical overview of neighbourhood planning in Europe in the twentieth century. The “state of the art” will be presented in two sections relating to the history of urban neighbourhood theories and design (a.2.1.) and contemporary theory (a.2.2.). a.2.1. History of urban neighbourhood theories and design. “Neighbourhood” first appears as a concept in urban design theory in England, in Ebenezer Howard’s Garden Cities of Tomorrow (1902) and achieves widespread recognition through Clarence Perry, who developed the model of the neighbourhood unit as part of his research for the New York Regional Plan (1920). Perry’s theory is enshrined in Neighborhood and Community Planning (1929) and Housing for the Mechanic Age

(1939) and displays an urbanism viewed as a discipline for controlling urban development through the application of demographic, functional and metric-topological models. The model of the neighbourhood unit is specifically endowed with a social engineering aim: of establishing social relations based on familiarity, mutual trust and an identity attached to a community and a place. The parameters of this settlement unit, primarily residential, are tailored to a population of 5,000 residents, with a functional offer including basic needs shopping, crèches, schools, churches and meeting places. The locations of the various functions are specified within a quadrilateral plan, contained within a diameter of 800 metres, surrounded by roads for urban mobility and crossed by pedestrian walkways.

After this comes a period in which this model is further developed by means of specific projects which provide an opportunity to add new dimensions and depth to Perry’s theory. Worthy of mention here is the creation of the garden city of Radburn, New Jersey, by Clarence Stein and Henri Wright, its components, principles and more general theoretical significance presented in Toward New Towns for America (1951) and Radburn, Town for the Motor Age (1965). The direct descendant of Perry’s work in Europe is Frederick Gibberd’s manual Town Design (1953), which contains one of the most rounded and comprehensive theoretical investigations of the range of design possibilities offered by the neighbourhood unit. The potential of this model is displayed in a multitude of variants, presented in a graphic style which accentuates their logical-conceptual character. The realism of this theoretical elaboration draws on Gibberd’s vast experience as a designer of New Towns.

These theories, which were developed into specific national and geographic variants (Rudolf Schwarz, Gaston Bardet, Consantini Doxiadis, Sven Markelius, the town planners of Italy’s Comunità movement, etc.), met with unprecedented success, especially in the context of “welfare urbanism” (Secchi, 2005) and its policies of allocating goods and redistributing wealth with a view to ensuring individual and collective wellbeing. Architecture and urbanism showed immense inventiveness in the treatment of new design concepts correlated to the neighbourhood scale, including the new town, the civic centre, the shopping centre and the various typologies of public space. In the process they shaped the physical manifestations of “democratic hedonism” (Gubler, 2003), with examples of very high quality, and changed the way towns and cities look – with regard both to detail and overall image.

Historians of architecture and urbanism who have tackled the theme of neighbourhood in European urban theory and design are still few in number: works by Annelise Gérard (1980), Hélène Jeannière (2008) and Dirk Schubert (1996, 1998, 2000) have covered some specific aspects of this history in France, Germany and Great Britain, while similar studies have been undertaken for Italy (Scrivano, 2001) or for Greek countries (K. Kafkoula, 2009). As a design scale the neighbourhood cannot be equated either with the “quartier” or with the urban models (more or less utopian in nature) which are the subject of a vast output of works on architectural and urban planning history. By contrast there is no historical study of the theory and practice of neighbourhood design in Europe, even though this urban planning unit played a key role in the planned expansion of European cities from the postwar period onwards and in the context of welfare policies. The spatial conditions of the social order which accompanied economic growth were in fact largely based on the new residential landscape which was progressively established within historic regional structures (a dense network of small/medium-sized towns interspersed with more clearly metropolitan areas). >> The purpose of this research – historical study – is to offer the widest and most comprehensive review of the entire theoretical literature to date and of the most significant examples in the field of European neighbourhood design during the twentieth century. In a study which will be transnational in scope (Iriye and Saunier, 2009), we propose to reconstruct in detail the theoretical and design approaches deployed by twentieth-century architecture and urbanism in this field, as well as examining the financial arrangements of the various projects realised. This European perspective, sharing a certain affinity of principle with the ideas outlined by Girard and Fayolle Lussac (1996) on the subject of the garden city, will contribute to the debate around European identity, in the sense of its “heritage” – here with a view less to its conservation than to its potential for regeneration.

The results of our research will fill a gap in the field of the history of European architecture and town planning in two key ways: – to date there has been no interdisciplinary study taking account of different national contexts and studying the neighbourhood unit in relation to different regional urban paradigms and to the economic and investment methodologies behind their implementation;

– the theoretical work of Clarence Perry has never been translated into French; we therefore plan to compile an annotated anthology of his theoretical production, undertaking the translation ourselves. a.2.2. Contemporary theory. The Team X group’s critique of the “neighbourhood unit” model (1968) and indeed of the relevance of “neighbourhood” as a concept is a crucial point in the history of this urban design paradigm and must also be taken into account in a state of the art of contemporary theoretical reflection on this subject.

The critique was prompted by increased personal mobility and driven by a reticular representation of the city and of land uses which promised a liberation from spatial constraints in line with individual preferences. The emergence of this new approach to regional development allowed the Team X architects to dismantle the traditional hierarchical representation of land use, with its clear segregatory implications, as previously enshrined in Howard’s theory and clearly presupposed by Perry.

Countering the illusion of equating spatial scale with social scale (the “hierarchy of associations”), this radical design culture promoted inter-scale approaches based on telescoping (Risselada, 2005).

There was a certain element of provocation in this, of course – especially in the assertion that there was no intermediary scale between the bedroom (indeed the bed) and the institutions of the metropolitan city (Bakema, 1981), either with regard to usage or to architectural and urban design.

The abandonment of territorial representations based on hierarchical arrangements and the eclipse of an urbanist ideology of equilibrium, the distinctive markers of Team X’s stance, were to have repercussions not only on the decline of model-based town planning but also on the opportunity for theoretical reflection on the neighbourhood as seen from the architectural and urbanist perspective.

From this time forward urban planning theory was to be preoccupied by the themes of the metropolitan city, sprawl, and the reticular logic of urban life, in dialogue with Melvin Webber’s stance on the spread of urbanity as a condition and not a morphology (Webber, 1964). Even so this theoretical stance does not adversely affect the persistence of the neighbourhood unit as a design strategy, as Melvin Webber’s own practice as the planner of Milton Keynes demonstrates. However, in this latter project the model of the neighbourhood unit is grafted onto new urban design scales, neutralising the neighbourhood aim of conditioning a specific scale and a specific kind of social relationship. In practice the celebration of individual freedom offered by a territory of networks and rhizomes of a generalised urban character, and the utopia of a generalised urban nomadism as a natural evolution of the post-industrial town, did not prevent the persistence of modernist models even though their aims were sometimes significantly diluted – or alternatively applied only in the form of the quantitative and functional parameters which were easily integrated within zoning strategies.

We do not intend to offer a detailed examination of the theoretical contributions relating to the new territorial realities of urban expansion, which, between 1980 and 2000, prompted sophisticated analyses of the interplays (in particular relating to function and use) of their various component elements. Having identified a “return to the neighbourhood” as a present-day reality, presenting a state of the art relevant to our project means highlighting those theoretical contributions which specifically tackle the concept of the neighbourhood in the post-Perry era, operating within the discipline of town planning with a strong focus on architecture. This period can be defined as the era of the decline of models, the decline of centralised decision-making, the decline of issues relating to expansion and of focusing on the densification of existing developments. This final contextual factor must take account of the incorporation of environmental and sustainability criteria within urban planning theory, with applications to various settlement typologies. This involves a radical paradigm shift, enacted by severing the link between development and expansion; at the same time the redevelopment of what already exists means radically re-thinking the concept of development itself. From this standpoint it is clear that only two theorists have tackled the question of the “post-Perry neighbourhood”, which they illuminate in diametrically opposed ways: the two being David Mangin and Richard Rogers.

In his Ville franchisée (2004), Mangin examines the current state of urban development, deducing from this, a posteriori, a negative theoretical model which he calls urbanisme des secteurs (sectorbased urbanism). According to Mangin, this results from the convergence of urban models providing alternatives to densely populated cities – including the garden city and the neighbourhood unit among others – with the initiatives in terms of urban modelling and instrumentation deployed in response to increasing car use – see the studies by Colin Douglas Buchanan and Alker Tripp. Sector-based urbanism, “the victorious doctrine in everyday planning”, has supplanted “l’urbanisme des tracés” (plan-based urbanism). Today Mangin admits that we need to take a new look at neighbourhood planning, but under the new headline concept of “ville passante” and rejecting the modernist heritage.

In Towards an Urban Renaissance (1999), the Urban Task Force led by Rogers produced a manual of practical solutions to re-orient urban development towards densification, with sustainability as one of its key challenges. There is no clear departure from the UK/US models of Howard and Perry (particularly in relation to quantities and topological schemes). Far from being a symptom of naivety this continuity with tradition is based on an extremely precise analysis of the insufficiency over the long term both of the technico-financial arrangements by which these models were realised in the context of urban expansion and of their methods of governance. In consequence the priority is to overhaul these arrangements and this governance. And, as appropriate, to continue making use of these models for the advantages they offer in design terms (clarity of the underlying principles for developing the design, high level of design transferability, etc.). These positions follow the approach developed by Rogers in his Cities for a Small Planet (1997) – which succeeds because of its quite outstanding ability to offer a timely simplification of contemporary urban phenomena while outlining directions for the future.

This fidelity not only to the model of the neighbourhood unit, which the US/UK tradition has never abandoned, but also to the model’s theoretical language, is compelling. All the more so because theorists are currently starting to move away from the language of “strategy” which has been predominant in the urban design field for the last twenty years – for reasons of economic environment and social viability (Bourdin, 2010), and also reflecting a disciplinary depletion that is inevitable when it is asserted that any solution is merely contingent (Di Campli, 2010). >> The purpose of this research – theoretical study – is to construct a theoretical framework for neighbourhood design as it relates to the design of residential areas within an existing urban context.

How should the relationship of the part to the whole be articulated? This investigation necessarily involves reconsidering the representation of the urban area as a whole, even though neighbourhood design directly affects only a specific part of it. The opposition between urban representations based on sectors and on networks, sketched out briefly here, has only a heuristic value in the sense that it articulates a radical question and serves to suggest the prevailing theoretical tone of our research and of the analyses to which we will subject theories, designs and case studies relating to contemporary urban planning. It confirms the importance of viewing the design of part of a city as necessarily referring to a more general paradigm for town and country planning.

The results of our research will fill a gap: – in the contemporary debate, with its tendency to concentrate on eco-districts while not making any progress regarding the unit of which the eco-district forms part – the unit in which the key challenges of habitability, urbanity, economic viability and sustainability all play out; – in the representation of the qualities of the urban environment as a living space, so that these qualities can be taken into account in urban design.

Finally, when this research is completed and published, its results will have an impact on: – architects, urban planners and urban designers who deal with the “return to neighbourhood scale” in the context of sustainability issues. It will contribute to: 1) establishing a solid academic awareness in the field and nurturing an academic and design culture capable of bringing about a theoretical renewal; 2) precisely identifying the potential of the existing residential areas as a vehicle for contemporary neighbourhood practices and decompartmentalising the neighbourhood concept beyond the fields conventionally linked to it (residential/services) so that the planning of public space and infrastructures is viewed as part of the broader urban offer.

– scientific research and education: 1) it will establish a basis not only for subsequent more detailed research, but also for urban design projects conducted by studios within EPFL or in other European architecture schools. This role could be fulfilled either by autonomous research and education units, or by units working together in a new theme-based network; 2) it will play a role in developing and guiding various ongoing postgraduate-level projects, such as the Master of Advanced Studies in Urbanism and Land Planning (EPFL), relating them to specific aspects of the European context.

b. METHODOLOGY As we see it, defining the project of neighbourhood design as a subject of historical research and theoretical analysis essentially means establishing a cohesive approach based on a precise analysis of the present. This does not mean reducing historical research to merely ancillary status, entirely subordinated to the needs of the present. On the contrary, it means making the most of our present position and accurately measuring the distance between this position and the evolving character of the neighbourhood as a specific design scale over the last century. The aim is to understand it not based on the hypothesis of the eclipse of modernist urbanism, but based also on the persistence of this urban design culture (see Rogers, for example) and recognising the quality of its built environments (in a movement which is no more than twenty or so years old). To borrow Joseph Conrad’s words, “under Western eyes” and in the eyes of the twentieth century, the aim is to make optimum use of the effective separating out of ideologies, languages and techniques. These distinctions offer us a basis for confidently expressing accurate, technically appropriate judgements of the true benefits offered by theories, models and forms of architecture and urbanism. b. 1. Definition of research concept and subject.

Before presenting the forms, methodologies and schedule of our research in detail (b.2.), we will outline our approach to defining the theme and subject of our research. This involves revisiting three aspects of the modernist concept of neighbourhood – comfort as a key factor; customary practices; and function – and updating these to yield the following key areas of interest: the theme of quality and “wellbeing” (b.1.1.); walking as a defining activity (b.1.2.); a logic based on functions and the decompartmentalisation of the “domestic” as a concept (b.1.3). We then propose a definition of our area of investigation (b.1.4.) and our theoretical approach.

b.1.1. The quality of neighbourhood In the past, functional criteria played a key role in determining the effectiveness and relevance of the neighbourhood unit; however, a contemporary theory of this design scale cannot give these criteria a central position. One of the manifestations of the crisis of the welfare state has after all been the abandonment of uniformly distributed access to certain public services (education, healthcare, transport); this crisis has not yet fully played itself out, in the sense that public authorities and semipublic operators are still in a state of progressive retreat. At the same time the return of commercial players to strategies based on proximity has not yet delivered proof of its long-term viability. With regard to the new strategies of retail multiples regarding combined offerings and local outlets (mentioned in section a.1.), these are viable when enacted by a multinational “giant” (Carrefour, for example) or by a player operating within a semi-monopolistic regime, as these players can accommodate sometimes excessive real-estate costs.

Faced with uncertainty regarding service policies and commercial strategies, urban planners must work to improve living conditions at neighbourhood level based on an approach which looks beyond functional considerations to ask deeper questions addressing the issue of urban quality. Our proposition is that interpreting quality in terms of wellbeing is especially productive with regard to regenerating urban planning theory, since this facilitates a primary emphasis on the cultural and contextual conditions (“contextual” in the sense of spatial location) of a state that is at once physical and existential. As such the aim would be for architecture and urbanism focused on redeveloping existing sites to meet the challenge set by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment principles – launched by the UN in 2000 – where “wellbeing” is the guiding concept. Formulating an analysis of urban quality from the perspective of wellbeing would also have an affinity with the exercise undertaken by the Stiglitz Commission on the state of the French economy (2009), which was driven by the concept of bien-être (“wellbeing” – connecting in particular with the research of Alan B. Kruger, a member of this commission), in order to take account of the quality dimension overlooked by quantitative parameters like GDP.

Finally, using the concept of wellbeing also means taking a historical and intellectual position in relation to the concept of comfort, while simultaneously confirming the relationship between the concept of wellbeing and the policies of the social order as the basis of urbanism as a discipline.

Whereas the concept of comfort allowed modernist architecture and urbanism to achieve a remarkable improvement in living conditions, in both quantitative and qualitative terms, the normative approach to needs implicit in this concept is at odds with the contemporary cultural and social context. The universalist approach which historically accompanied the concept of comfort led to pedagogicallydriven variations on the neighbourhood unit – as laboratories for future social structures: for example in the large-scale French housing schemes where the mixing of social classes was tested in a completely new living environment (using the “grille des équipements” [grid of amenities] designed by Pierre Sudrau’s Commission des problèmes de la vie dans les grands ensembles [inquiry into the problems of life in large-scale housing estates]). The need to preserve neighbourhood design from the temptations of acculturation via architecture is a factor behind our choice of wellbeing as a guiding concept. b.1.2. Walkable towns and cities In the light of the observations above, the remarks made by Thomas Sieverts (1997) on the lack of hospitality in open spaces in the Zwischenstadt clearly provide an appropriate starting point with a view to analysing the neighbourhood quality offered by a residential area. We should start by noting that Sieverts’ comments have a relevance beyond the specific context of the Zwischenstadt, being applicable to any non-contiguous built environment on the margins of a compact town, and to any urban area potentially subject to densification and/or to a re-assessment of its neighbourhood conditions.

Sieverts notes that when they leave their home Zwischenstadt residents have no choices available to them: they have to resort to motorised transport because no significant destination is accessible on foot. Outside the house is either nothing at all, or an inhospitable environment scattered with obstacles that discourage walking. Of interest here is the principle of a basic right outlined by Sieverts: the right to a “walkable neighbourhood”. Neighbourhood is understood here purely in the spatial and not the social sense and the key issue at stake is the right to access and use a space within walkable distance.

Sieverts’ example is significant for us because: 1) his diagnosis of the Zwischenstadt’s defective – effectively zero – quality in neighbourhood terms is not presented in the name of a particular urban model, or of any a priori urban function, and comes from an author who observes urban sprawl with a clear and unprejudiced eye; 2) he formulates a judgement on the basis of an affordance (J. J. Gibson, 1950) which is offered or denied; 3) this judgement would appear to identify the “degree zero” of neighbourhood; 4) from this judgement he implicitly formulates a design theme, i.e. conditions provided for walking.

We welcome not only the tone of Sieverts’ approach but also its content, which essentially suggests prioritising conditions for walking as a way of assessing quality. The deep-seated connection between the practice of walking and the public urban sphere is worthy of note, running through a long tradition from Haussmann’s transformation of Paris – which literally made Paris walkable, by both material and spatial means (roadways, pavements, passages, porticos, parks and gardens, etc.) – to the central thematic importance of the pedestrian in modernist urbanism (Tyrwhitt et al., 1953). Taking walking as the starting point of neighbourhood design constitutes an alternative to an approach excessively focused on functions (the primary aspect of Perry’s model), and to the predominance of sociological objectives (the driving force behind Perry’s model). At the same time it allows us to revisit the issue of measurement (a defining characteristic of the Perry model) on the basis of a practice which can be defined as urban in nature – in the sense of “relating to anonymous and impersonal social relationships”.

Investigating post-Kyoto urban neighbourhood design from the perspective of architecture and urbanism involves considering its overall significance as a place of life and experience, of functional usage and aesthetic perception. The theme of walking is extremely appropriate as a starting point here, identifying a design principle integral to sustainable towns and cities, which are planned to

promote soft mobility and walking for their contribution to energy-efficiency without prescribing how this activity should be handled in architectural terms. The right – indeed the duty – of each individual person to be self-reliant for their journeys at neighbourhood level must be combined with the right to a rich and stimulating environment, the right to a fulfilling physical relationship with reality. What does walking mean, today, beyond its significance as an energy-saving strategy? b.1.3. Functional aspects of neighbourhood in sustainable towns and cities In Perry’s model the neighbourhood unit already represented a multifunctional unit in which the residential function was dominant. After redevelopment-related issues burst onto the scene in the 1970s, the whole issue of “function” was thrown into turmoil, ushering in the transition from a culture of urban design as control to one of an arrangement capable of unleashing potential. Rethinking neighbourhood design necessarily involves taking account of this shift in attitude, in order to cast a new light on the relationship of residential provision to other functional areas. It also means moving beyond the contemporary focus on “mixed-use development”, a concept which generally allows the design to avoid taking a clear and realistic stance with regard to the relevance of functional areas to a specific site. Looking at functional areas in an unprejudiced way leads us to move beyond “residential” as a category, for example, and instead to consider what is “domestic” (a); it also infuses the consideration of all functional dynamics with an awareness of the dynamics of the natural world (b): a) The “neighbourhood unit” was designed to deliver an improvement in living conditions while a parallel improvement was ongoing in the residential buildings themselves. The aim was to envision a quality in the neighbourhood landscape that could match the quality delivered by residential buildings in the domestic sphere. Today we are witnessing an inversion in these spheres of wellbeing. On the one hand, faced with increasingly restricted residential mobility – due not only to the shortage of homes on offer but also to the irreversible nature of the means by which homes are acquired – the captive residential market is a phenomenon that is growing in scale. On the other hand, experimentation in the residential sector has declined dramatically, leading to an increasingly monotonous offering, in the face of which the few rare opportunities to encounter a more advanced architectural culture and the heritage of the modern age can have no significant impact (as in the case of PLUS, a project for upgrading large housing schemes at a monetary cost equivalent to the demolition planned by the public authorities – see Druot, Lacaton, Vassal, 2007). Viewing the concept of “home” in a wider context, the neighbourhood area might therefore be called on to compensate for these trends, as a space providing comfort, welcome and a particular kind of freedom. Attributes of “domesticity” might be present in the outdoor public space without being contained within the residential sphere itself. b) Viewed with twenty-first-century eyes the anthropocentric character of the “neighbourhood unit” is glaringly obvious. Today the priorities of sustainability inevitably lead neighbourhood design to intersect with biodiversity systems, water supply management, and systems for climate and energy management designed on a larger scale. The interfaces between the habitat and the wider world are multiplying, and increasingly becoming a key component of the design. Even in sociological terms the neighbourhood can be viewed in far broader terms, encompassing human, animal and plant life – all “stakeholders” and at the same time dependent on the extra-domestic living space of the neighbourhood unit. There is significant potential for creating variants on the “neighbourhood” concept, based in particular on the interface between environmental infrastructures and the specific urban area involved. This might in turn suggest redefining the neighbourhood as an “acclimatisation area” which domesticates multiple dynamics: the domestic neighbourhood itself – with its protective function, reducing nuisances and stresses – along with dynamics of a social, environmental (climatic, biological, hydrological etc.) and economic nature. b.1.4. The “neighbourhood” as field of investigation In our reformulation of the theory of neighbourhood design we are not proposing an a priori definition of “neighbourhood” as a hypothesis to be verified. However we can at this stage already identify two issues which must be taken into account in the theoretical examination we plan to undertake:

a) measurement: in its various theoretical and practical manifestations, the neighbourhood is always defined, in its most basic form, at the intersection of two parameters: demographic and metric (in terms of distance and/or surface area). We consider it very important to clarify this relationship, not in order to establish an orthodoxy of any kind but to define a technical, non-ideological approach to the field of investigation. Indeed our preference for the concept of neighbourhood over the concept of proximity derives from a fundamental distinction between the concept of neighbouring (what is nearby in spatial terms relating to the body) and the more social implications of proximity (which brings in concepts related to belonging, recognition, solidarity, etc.). This falls within the discussion of the “giusta distanza” (the “right distance”) as a fundamental issue for understanding urban phenomena and their design at all levels, as formulated by Bernardo Secchi (2000), who has produced one of the most focused and generous analyses of the objective progress made possible by modernist urbanism.

Our focus on measurement is therefore not intended to conclude in yet another abstraction, but precisely to move towards a more sophisticated engagement with physical reality and tangible experience. The aim will be to develop the capability of considering urban space as a general qualitative phenomenon, in resonance with historian Paul Zumthor’s perspective on the experience and representation of space in the Middle Ages (1993) and recent analyses by Mirko Zardini (2005). b) the relationship between scale of usage, design scale and scale of intervention: any neighbourhood theory or design must engage with all three levels. The first scale corresponds to the scale of journeys made on foot, and the third is inscribed within a configuration of specific players (encompassing design, public policies and private initiatives), whereas the second takes account of both, proposing a design that articulates their requirements. The relation between the scales will be explored and precisely clarified throughout our investigation, necessarily involving the consideration of architectural, technical and ideological questions.

The definition of these two points, which are key to defining the field of research, is reflected more generally in the approach taken by our research, which will combine economic factors (b.1.4.a) and design factors (b.1.4.b) Priority will be given to the detailed analysis of the issues involved and to highlighting, in very specific terms, the potential and possibilities of the architecture and urban planning disciplines.

In consequence we should note that sociological factors, which naturally have a fundamental role to play in an approach which is by its nature interdisciplinary, will not be the subject of an original investigation within our research. In other words we are open to drawing as appropriate on the abundant sociological material produced in the field of community and community planning, particularly on more recent research concerning accessibility to material and non-material resources and the new inequalities linked with mobility. The journal Urban studies will be referenced for studies

by A. Kearns and M. Parkinson, 2001; L. Karsten, 2003; P. Naess, 2006; M. Danyluk and D. Ley, 2007, etc. More generally we will refer to other groundbreaking research in this area: cf. for example to the reconceptualisation of the “everyday” and of Orwellian “decency” by Bruce Bégout and Avishai Margalit; to Nathalie Blanc’s work on metropolitan and environmental aesthetics (N. Blanc, 2007; N. Blanc and J. Lolive, 2007); and to the approach of social philosophy, given theoretical expression by Franck Fischbach, 2009, which analyses society not from a judicial perspective but from the perspective of its viability and the space afforded to the fulfilment of individual lives. b.1.4.a Economic and financial factors In our view the relevance of a new theory of neighbourhood design depends on what it offers in terms of economic/financial plausibility rather than a renewal of the technical/legal apparatus of urban planning. It is worth repeating that the neighbourhood unit was derived from the model of the garden city, which dedicated a significant part of its theory to the need to neutralise economic competition between towns. Aware that control of the economic dynamics was crucial to the plausibility of his model, Ebenezer Howard had very carefully formulated a scenario where cooperative management at ground level would facilitate a perfectly balanced urban development. Twenty years later, in the theory of Clarence Perry, the neighbourhood unit reflects an engagement with the family as a consumption unit and the basis for defining both quantitative parameters (surface area, demographics) and qualitative parameters (typology of services and shops). The policies of the welfare state, by configuring the relationship between economic initiative and national government control to beneficial effect, created the perfect socio-political environment for this urbanist model to flourish in. Looking

specifically at France, large-scale housing schemes provided the appropriate design and intervention scale for the industrial production of the housing being developed, while at the same time fulfilling the objective of increasing employment in the sector.

Investigating the economic plausibility of the neighbourhood factor in the redevelopment of existing urban areas today requires us to re-examine a number of factors: – the cost of land. The current success of the “eco-district” – on a scale below that of the neighbourhood as we understand it here – clearly depends on this primary factor: this model is still attractive mainly in urban extension zones, intercepting investment strategies focused on projects where this design scale matches the scale of the proposed project.

– the cost of urbanisation infrastructures: an item inversely proportional to the cost of the land. These costs played a major part in the scaling back of the eco-towns programme announced in 2009 by Great Britain – where the prevailing strategy occupies the other end of the spectrum from urban densification, continuing the British tradition of new towns.

– the type of economic players involved: mainly investors, but also commercial operators, for whom strategies relating to the re-focusing of retail networks on combined offers and local outlets are plausible, and who can accommodate the land costs and adapt to legal zoning requirements.

– zoning. While this planning instrument determines the type of use assigned it leaves the relative proportion of this use open – thus also leaving undefined a factor which is normally decisive in the success or failure of commercial or real-estate investment strategies.

– the calculation of residential rentals, where taking account of neighbourhood effects may in fact prove socially discriminatory, particularly for a disadvantaged population (A. Baranzini, 2008).

– public policies and the strategies of semi-public players (post, transport) in terms of service offering, at different levels.

The research will aim to fulfil a key challenge in investigating the economic issues around neighbourhood theory, carefully balancing a general analysis of the European environment with local examples from specific national and regional contexts. The various points itemised here will play their part in the consideration of a more fundamental overarching question, i.e. that of the production of urban wealth and competition-based regimes. This question can be re-stated in simple, and perhaps provocative terms, as follows: Can a theory of neighbourhood design be compatible with an urban production regime of a competitive nature? Recent theoretical works considering a paradigm shift within urbanism – an urbanism which is now “post-crisis” (A. Bourdin, 2010), or even an urbanism of “de-growth” (Latouche, 2006) – still need to be subjected to a realistic, analytical and concrete examination of their assumptions and of the real social sustainability of their implications. This involves re-assessing a fundamental issue of urban transformation: that of the opposition between public and private interests. According to Benevolo (2003) the balance between the two interests which had prevailed in the European city until the nineteenth century fell apart in Paris in 1858 (with Haussmann’s concessions to the president of the Conseil d’État), while the permanent collective management of all urban land applied in socialist countries would be alien to the European tradition. b.1.4.b Theoretical and design factors The questions of architecture and urbanism raised by the issues we have presented above, which we will answer in theoretical terms, fall into three categories: a) theoretical positioning; b) design themes; c) design culture.

Before looking at these three categories in detail it should be noted that they are not related to each other in a hierarchical way; their principles operate in parallel and are mutually interrelated. a) theoretical positioning concerns the disciplinary hypotheses which underlie the project. In terms of our research the priority here is the issue of the neighbourhood as part of the city: as a category this is both descriptive – the part already exists, “as found” – and projected – through the judgement the project makes about a specific part of the city through its choices in terms of dimension, forms, constituent elements, etc. “Part of the city” implies two other issues, which are interdependent to a

large extent: discontinuity and interscalarity. These elements maintain a balance between two working strategies: – an ongoing attention to the relationship to the land (form, usage, resource, natural or non-natural dynamics), prioritising the inter-connection of the parts. One of the most fascinating aspects of the first garden city projects (Letchworth above all) is the transition between the defined, balanced plan of the model and the open, relatively indeterminate composition of the finished project.

– attention to the representation of regional/land structures and therefore to the relation between the part and the whole of the territory – “territory” understood not only in terms of physical land but also in terms of a planned area. b) design themes are revealed in the encounter between the theoretical positioning and the specific sites or urban/regional configurations. For example, one of the outcomes of the research project 1km wellbeing, which we undertook in partnership with the Landscape Video department of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Zurich (2009–2011) and which was focused on the identification and representation of the qualities of open space in sample urban sites of restricted size (1km x 1km), was the identification of design themes based on the specific characteristics of the relevant site. A set of concepts – such as, for example, thresholds, spacings, conglomeration, interior, all offering ways of defining discontinuity – identify the design themes. For example: the join between the street and individual houses; the architectural treatment of the qualities offered by spaces between developments imposed by safety requirements – in relation to flight paths or rivers; variety of construction from a morphological and material perspective; the domestication of micro-climate and ambient factors such as wind, light, sound, etc. In all cases the aim is to identify themes aligned with the issues explored around the indeterminacy of the functional offer, wellbeing and the degree zero of walking, and which formulate a proposal regarding the neighbourhood’s urban offer. This offer would encompass spatial structures as the vehicle for social practices, both individual and collective, and the definition of specific moods or atmospheres. The results of the 1km wellbeing project could inform the scope of the present research, both in the theoretical investigation and the historical study. c) design culture: this concept refers to the methodology by which the project intervenes in the construction both of the urban environment and of society; to the way in which professionals present themselves and practise their role; to the way in which they accept, re-define or reject expectations expressed with regard to their knowledge and expertise. The issue of neighbourhood, from the perspective of the design culture, is also part of a much more wide-ranging problem: how to contribute to the construction of the public sphere, i.e. to the entirety of behaviours, values and assets, individual and collective, which identify what is public. The answer here does not operate solely within the ethical sphere – it also defines strategies appropriate to a specific project. Bianchetti (2008) conducted a project in this area in Italy, identifying three cultures: engagement (e.g. morphological approaches), immersion (e.g. the project as a descriptive process, with little figuration or participation) and evasion (e.g. a neo-radicalism expressed in complex conceptual schemes and weak compositional structures). b.2.a. Historical study.

We will compile a history of “neighbourhood design” in Europe in the twentieth century, from the perspective of both theory and practice. Systematic attention will be given: – to the theories and representations of urban areas and land/regions implicit in neighbourhood theories/designs, particularly with respect to the relationship between the part and the whole; – to the specific qualities of the models, designs and completed projects in terms of their affordances, which may be independent of or even contradict the theoretical or ideological pronouncements by which they are accompanied; – to the economic and financial arrangements for implementing the projects.

Although Europe provides the context for our investigation this region will be viewed from the outset less as a fixed geographic entity than as an area within which theories and models are circulated, and within which dynamics of comparison, learning and capitalisation on experience will be highlighted.

The duration of this research project is four years (48 months). Schedule: – The first year will be dedicated to identifying theories and designs country by country, drawing on the specialist press (A.C. in Spain, Urbanistica et Architettura Cronache e Storia in Italy, The Architectural Review in Great Britain, Ekistics in Greece, Byggmästaren in Sweden, etc.).

– From the second year onwards the aim will be to sketch in the narrative of this European history (by starting to select and prioritise the themes and concepts which will underpin this narrative) and to develop the subject in greater depth using criteria of exemplarity with relation to both innovation and learning from experience. Documentary evidence will be sourced both in archives (architectural archives, municipal and design office archives, the archives of economic players – cooperatives, insurance companies, banks, clients, etc.), and from documents produced during our visits to specific project sites. Far from being a token gesture with the aim of illustrating our research with photographic documentation, these site visits will play a vital role in defining our understanding of architectural and urban design production – just as any history of art cannot be undertaken without a direct encounter with the works themselves. We plan to visit around 20 to 25 projects in person – all of which will be examined in our research. Some of these projects will be subjected to more in-depth scrutiny (as case studies).

We will also begin preparing the anthology of Clarence Perry texts from the second research year onwards: an initial review of European production on the neighbourhood theme is a necessary first step in order to shed critical light on his theory and his European heritage.

– The third year will see the completion of the in-depth studies (case studies) and the drafting of the final work in terms of both its overall structure and also 1) its strategy for integrating text, images and documentary sources and 2) its graphic strategy for presenting case studies in a comparable, standardised way. These in-depth studies, while contributing to the finalised research project, will also generate abstracts in the specialist journals (Journal of Architecture, Planning Perspectives, etc.) and/ or presentations in the context of congresses and seminars.

The composition of the Clarence Perry anthology will also be finalised in the third year, alongside the translation of the relevant texts into French.

– The fourth year is entirely dedicated to the production of the final text of the project, which will involve integrating historical analysis with descriptive and critical accounts (critical here in the sense of criticism as a genre) of the qualities and affordances offered by the projects visited. b.2.b. Theoretical essay.

In schedule terms our theoretical investigation into “neighbourhood design” will be developed in parallel with the historical study, and will cover the same four-year period. Indeed while it may be said that the theoretical essay is to some extent the final chapter of the historical review, the opposite also applies: the formulation of an original theoretical viewpoint also provides the lens through which we assess the historical material.

In terms of method, our critique of contemporary projects will provide the material for outlining a theoretical renewal. The hypothesis behind our research is that we must pay close attention to a few large-scale contemporary projects within which the treatment of the neighbourhood concept and scale engages directly with an integrated approach to representation, usage, urban/regional design and management, generating new perspectives for contemporary theory and practice. This means using interscalarity as a heuristic principle; and, of course, not looking to contemporary “district”-scale projects to establish the current state of play on the question of neighbourhood.

To give an example, on the basis of our current understanding, we plan to analyse the results of the international consultation for the Grand Paris (Greater Paris) urban renewal plan. This was a particularly significant planning event for a number of reasons: – the context allowed the leading representatives of various architectural cultures to develop a design for the metropolitan region in a particularly free way, in terms of ideology, function and form (in phase 2 of the consultation); – the conditions of planning in the post-Kyoto context were not merely referenced: every team had to interpret them from a disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspective in a study looking beyond the specific case of Paris while at the same time laying the groundwork for this project (phase 1).

What matters to us here is not so much the exemplary qualities of the Paris case study but the opportunity it provided for a new articulation of the relationship between the structures and landscapes of networks and the structures and landscapes of proximity, within the framework of sustainability. The functions we fulfilled in the context of this consultation (the Project Leader (PL) was a member of the Scientific Council and a member of the Technical and Scientific Commission) gave us an in-depth understanding of the work of the various teams involved – work of a range and depth far from apparent in the various publications which appeared subsequently.

We will review the work of these teams in the light of the theme of neighbourhood post-Perry, considering a) the descriptive/design concepts which refer to the theme of the part’s relationship to the whole (rhizome, porosity, etc.), b) design themes and materials (redefining the street as a value generating unit, the neighbourhood store as a social focus, housing, etc.), c) the operative units of measurement (ranging from 400 metres to 3 kilometres, etc.). d) the methodologies of investigating and depicting the current landscape, in order to identify ways of combining the presentation of information about a location with design procedures in graphic/visual terms.

This will enable us to present a valuable cross-section of the imagery, procedures and strategies practised in Europe today, allowing us to demonstrate, for example, the ongoing inertia of the Howard Perry model (Rogers team), the use of Berlin as a model of discontinuity (Lin-Geipel), the negation of proximity through the concept of the porous city (Secchi-Viganò), an emphasis on interlocking economic aspects with the project on the ground (Portzamparc), etc.

Schedule: – During the first year the aim will be to 1) identify all the contemporary projects within Europe that will constitute our corpus; 2) undertake an initial test critique of the Grand Paris project to develop the relevant methodology.

– During the second and third years a consistent critical approach will be implemented, leading to a more in-depth analysis of the themes outlined in sections b.1.1 to b.1.4 of the research project (quality/ wellbeing, practice of walking; functional/domestic aspects, economic and design aspects). As with the historic survey these studies, while contributing to the finalised research project, will also generate abstracts in the specialist journals (European Planning Studies, etc.) and/or presentations at congresses and seminars.

– In addition the third year will see the development of various theory/design tests which will be applied to real locations. During the research we will be able to identify particularly interesting opportunities relating to physical locations, demographic/economic trends and the various players involved, in order to explore their potential in terms of neighbourhood design.

From our current level of knowledge, for example, we could identify the various neighbourhoods within the urbanised region between Geneva and Lausanne, known as the “Arc lémanique”. The region is distinctive for its socio-economic and cultural dynamism, and is the subject of various regional projects (two conurbation projects, various landscape studies without legal status but with significant influence in terms of planning, intercommunal plans, etc.). We will undertake survey-type investigations (following on from the work we undertook as part of the “1 Km Wellbeing” research project and our Urban Landscape Observatory) and use sociological approaches (itineraries and/or trails with commentary) which reinstate in the analysis the corporeal and existential dimension necessary to envisage the neighbourhood unit as a living space. The aim of the analyses is essentially to establish an interface between the state of play on the ground, the designs currently affecting it, and our investigation. A crucial element of our work will involve developing an appropriate graphic strategy to present this interface effectively: it cannot be constructed in terms of text alone, or in excessively schematic visual terms.

We will therefore proceed by means of case studies, based on several typologically distinct situations within the regions covered during the first two years of research. The PL’s teaching activity at EPFL (in the Territory and Landscape module), would at this point present itself as a laboratory for undertaking these theory/design tests with students and, as appropriate, with the involvement of external players (for the “Arc Lémanique”, for example, this might mean the Observatory of the Geneva foundation and a business like Rampini).

–The fourth year will be entirely dedicated to the production of the final text of the project, which will involve integrating theoretical analysis (text/visuals) with project critiques and the presentation of onsite work.

c. Resources (incl. project costs) b.3. Resources and project costs.

The research will be carried by a team composed of the PI (Elena Cogato Lanza), a PhD (Antonio di Campli) and a PhD student.

– The PI will lead the research : she will lead the documentary research ; she will also carry direct in situ investigations (direct survey of the case-studies) and will lead the photographic campaign. The PI investigator will be the overall editor of the final Historical study, and she will share the edition of the Theoretical essay with Antonio Di Campli.

– Antonio Di Campli will take part to the locating and consulting of the documentary material. He will focus on contemporary theoretical and project production, because of his wide knowledge about the international urban and architectural contemporary debate (see Di Campli, 2010). Après avoir effectué la recherche 1 Km well-being sous la direction de Elena Cogato Lanza et Christophe Girot, qui avait permis d’envisager les perspectives historiques et théoriques qui sont aujourd’hui au cœur de la recherche « le retour du projet de voisinage », Antonio Di Campli saura d’emblée engager la recherche dans l’optique et dans l’esprit du présent projet ; son expérience professionnelle est en plus un atout important, qui permettra d’aborder avec plus de pertinence et de précision les enjeux pratiques et de mise en ouvre des projets. Outre la recherche de document, il effectuera les visites aux études de cas. Il est également un skill photographer qui pourra réaliser la campagne en parfaite adéquation avec les objectifs scientifiques et critiques du présent projet.

– The Phd student will take part to the locating and consulting of the documentary material and accomplish a part of the in situ investigations. He/She will focus on XXth theoretical and project production.

The team will be supported by a part-time assistant and a part-time secretary : – 1 part-time assistant of the LCC Laboratory of EPFL will be in charge of the production of visual documents according to graphic codes which will be expecially conceived for our research purposes.

Namely, she/he will redraw XXth and contemporary projects for our research tasks and for the two books.

– 1 part-time secretary will coordinate the work of the team : she/he will be in charge of the administrative aspects related to : the location of documents, the access to archives, the duplication of documents, intellectual property, the coordination with publishers, and so on.

Some technical equipments are necessary, such as 2 portable scanners, and 2 cameras with interchangeable objectives and related accessories.

A part of the budget will cover fees of documentation (bibliography and duplication of original documents ; translations of a selection of documents from Danish, Greek, etc.).

The overall research project as well as its 2 books will amount to : .......

Cost Category

Year 52

Total 
 (Y1-5)2

Year 1

Year 22

Year 32

Year 42

1 Post doc

79041

79041

79041

39521

276645

1 Ph.D. Students

45277

45277

45277

45277

181108

1 Technician

9813

9813

9813

19599

49038

1 secretary

8405

8405

8405

8405

33620

P.I.

18134

18134

18134

18134

72536

Total Personnel:

160698

160698

160698

130946

613000

Equipment: 2 cameras and 2 portable scanners

4478

0

0

0

4478

Consumables: documentary materials, bibliography, duplication, translation.

7463

7463

7463

0

22389

Travel

14925

14925

0

0

29904

Publications, etc

0

0

0

52239

52239

Total Other Direct Costs:

26866

22388

7463

52239

104532

Total Direct Costs: (Personnel + Others

187564

183086

168161

183185

721995

Max 20% of Direct Costs

37495

36600

33615

36679

144391

Subcon tractin g Costs: (No overhea ds)

0

0

0

0

0

Direct Costs:

Direct Costs:

Personnel:

Other Direct Costs:

Indirect Costs (overheads)

Total Costs of project: (by year and total)

Requested Grant: (by year and total)

225059

219686

201776

219864

866386

225059

219686

201776

219864

866386

For the above cost table, please indicate the % of working time the PI dedicates to the project over the period of the grant:

%

d. Ethical issues

ETHICS ISSUES TABLE

Areas Excluded From Funding Under FP7 (Art. 6) (i)

Research activity aiming at human cloning for reproductive purposes;

(ii) Research activity intended to modify the genetic heritage of human beings which could make such changes heritable (Research relating to cancer treatment of the gonads can be financed); (iii) Research activities intended to create human embryos solely for the purpose of research or for the purpose of stem cell procurement, including by means of somatic cell nuclear transfer;

All FP7 funded research shall comply with the relevant national, EU and international ethicsrelated rules and professional codes of conduct. Where necessary, the beneficiary(ies) shall provide the responsible Commission services with a written confirmation that it has received (a) favourable opinion(s) of the relevant ethics committee(s) and, if applicable, the regulatory approval(s) of the competent national or local authority(ies) in the country in which the research is to be carried out, before beginning any Commission approved research requiring such opinions or approvals. The copy of the official approval from the relevant national or local ethics committees must also be provided to the responsible Commission services.

Research on Human Embryo/ Foetus

YES

NO

Does the proposed research involve human Embryos?

NO

Does the proposed research involve human Foetal Tissues/ Cells?

No

Does the proposed research involve human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs)?

No

Does the proposed research on human Embryonic Stem Cells involve cells in culture?

NO

Does the proposed research on Human Embryonic Stem Cells involve the derivation of cells from Embryos?

YES

I CONFIRM THAT NONE OF THE ABOVE ISSUES APPLY TO MY PROPOSAL

Page

Research on Humans

YES

NO

Does the proposed research involve children?

NO

Does the proposed research involve patients?

NO

Does the proposed research involve persons not able to give consent?

NO

Does the proposed research involve adult healthy volunteers?

NO

Does the proposed research involve Human genetic material?

NO

Does the proposed research involve Human biological samples?

NO

Does the proposed research involve Human data collection?

YES

I CONFIRM THAT NONE OF THE ABOVE ISSUES APPLY TO MY PROPOSAL

Privacy

YES

NO

Does the proposed research involve processing of genetic information or personal data (e.g. health, sexual lifestyle, ethnicity, political opinion, religious or philosophical conviction)?

NO

Does the proposed research involve tracking the location or observation of people?

YES

I CONFIRM THAT NONE OF THE ABOVE ISSUES APPLY TO MY PROPOSAL

Research on Animals

YES

NO

Does the proposed research involve research on animals?

NO

Are those animals transgenic small laboratory animals?

YES

I CONFIRM THAT NONE OF THE ABOVE ISSUES APPLY TO MY PROPOSAL

Page

Page

Page

Research Involving non-EU Countries (ICPC Countries) YES Is the proposed research (or parts of it) going to take place in one or more of the ICPC Countries?

Page

N

Is any material used in the research (e.g. personal data, animal and/or human tissue samples, genetic material, live animals, etc) : a) Collected in any of the ICPC countries? b) Exported to any other country (including ICPC and EU Member States)?

YES

I CONFIRM THAT NONE OF THE ABOVE ISSUES APPLY TO MY PROPOSAL

Dual Use

YES

Page

Research having direct military use Research having the potential for terrorist abuse I CONFIRM THAT NONE OF THE ABOVE ISSUES APPLY TO MY PROPOSAL

YES

If you have answered "YES" to any of the above questions you are required to complete and upload the "B2_Ethical Issues Annex" (template provided).

Without this Annex, your application cannot be properly evaluated and even if successful the granting process will not proceed.

Please see the Guide for Applicants for the Starting Grant 2011 Call for further details and CORDIS http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/ethics_en.html for further information on how to deal with Ethical Issues in your proposal.

3 Come se define el perfil de un investigador

Project of Resistance

project of resistance for a democratic reconstruction of the crystal palace

antonio di campli

ankara, metu, 28 may, 2014

Problem / Theme Pars Destruens / Pars Construens (the negative part of criticizing views / positive part of stating one’s position and arguments)

> conglomerate / non-linear narrative

To define design strategies able to provide for a better degree of habitability and inclusivity of our cities > to cope with contemporary dwelling practices, cohabitation forms, invention of new commons or sharing spaces.

cultural discourses

interior

1

relations betwen urban design / landscape design / dwelling practices

domesticity community

proximity post-colonial theories

destruction

2

ruin

off-modern

Genealogies of “postmoden� concepts such as identity, memory, palimpsest but also the invention of lateral, minor forms of Modernism.

friction between modernization processes and persistencies of traditional forms of dwelling and spatial production

an image, a process, an attitude

The Reconstruction of the Crystal Palace Dwelling in the Contemporary City: Turin The Endless Coast (Heimat) 1Km Well-Being

cultural discourses

interior

1

relations betwen urban design / landscape design / dwelling practices

domesticity

community

proximity post-colonial theories

destruction

2

ruin

off-modern

Forms of Communities Barranquilla. Creole Spaces The Destructive Character

friction between modernization processes and persistencies of traditional forms of dwelling and spatial production

Attention to dwelling practices Problem-oriented urban design

Infrastructure as sharing space Invention of devices of spatial interfaces The opaque interior space

Redefinition of forms of spatial proximity 1 Km Wellbeing design themes (dwelling, formation, atmosphere) Reconsideration of some Off-Modern experiences

theory/critique

Reconstruction of genealogies, associations between some liberal urban design discourses and radical proposal developed in the context of countercultural movements Explicitation of the “dark side” of some landscapes policies and discourses The minor landscape The critic to a trivialized idea of the public space as well as to the use of certain concepts in urban design practices intended as “suitcase-words”

elements of a contrastive or resistance project

to question the greenhouse-space