Chapter summaries
Five Rules for Tomorrow’s Cities Patrick M. Condon
Chapter 1: The Three Waves That Are Changing Cities Forever Three great waves of change are crashing against global cities: first the global migration from the countryside to the city, presently causing metastatic urban growth; second the simultaneous collapse of global birthrates which will stabilize city and global population sometime after 2060; finally the disappearance of the middle class as we have come to know it, caused by ever greater inequality. These changes are already transforming cities, but are seldom mentioned in urban design journals. This book helps to fill that gap.
Chapter 2: Urban Design Responses to the Three Great Waves As the three waves wash over cities, about two billion new urban dwellers will find homes in formal city districts, while two billion more will reside in informal settlements. These two kinds of district have obvious and sometimes not so obvious similarities and differences. Urban designers should be familiar with both types, as dealing with both types will likely constitute the major challenge for the next generation of urban designers.
Chapter 3: Rule One: See the City as a System Systems thinking has been the dominant development of late 20th century science. Systems thinking has had halting progress in the urban design discipline at best. Grounded in the pioneering work of Jane Jacobs and updated to recognize cities as “emergent systems” this chapter provides understanding, tools, and examples for systems driven urban design responses.
Chapter 4: Rule Two: Recognize Patterns in Urban Environments Patterns and networks are the crucial elements of urban systems. Grounded in the later work of Christopher Alexander, the networks and patterns common to global cities are unearthed and reformulated as tools for effective urban design in the 21st century.
Chapter 5: Rule Three: Apply Lighter, Greener, Smarter Infrastructure The financial and ecological constraints that “future proofed” cities must deal with call on urban designers to use a lighter and more intelligent hand with infrastructure; systems of roads pipes and wires that are lighter, smarter, more affordable, and more intelligent are needed. Condon provides simple and effective case study examples from around the world for how this might be accomplished.
Chapter 6: Rule Four: Strengthen Social Resilience through Affordable Housing Design
Housing can oftentimes cover more than 80 percent of all urban lands. Thus in the health of housing districts is the health of the city. Yet as inequality worsens, housing is increasingly unaffordable for wage earners, not just in the developed world but worldwide. How can urban designers insure that wage earners can access their fair share of urban land and access safe, comfortable and affordable housing? Examples from North America, South America, and Europe provide actionable urban design examples.
Chapter 7: Rule Five: Adapt to Shifts in Jobs, Retail, and Wages Globalization and increasing inequality are eroding job security and income for average wage earners. The proliferation of the “gig economy�, for better or worse, is already changing the face of cities. This chapter discusses how the benefits can be maximized and the hardships minimized of this new jobs reality. Also how the demographic shift of a rapidly expanding elderly cohort can, and must, be managed.