56 —
The Cyprus Dossier
Urban Planning and Local Initiatives
CYD °04 www.cyprusdossier.com
Urban Planning and Local Initiatives
Olympia Nouska
Το μεγαλύτερο έγκλημα
Βαγγέλης Μπέκας
by
— Olympia Nouska
[Eng]
“The phenomenon of universalization, while being an advancement of mankind, at the same time constitutes a sort of subtle destruction, not only of traditional cultures but also…of the creative nucleus of great cultures. Everywhere throughout the world one finds the same bad movie, the same slot machines, the same plastic or aluminum atrocities…It seems as if mankind, by approaching en masse a basic consumer culture, were also stopped en masse at a subcultural level.” 1 Cities were historically formed through the friction between civilization and culture. Civilization, however, while at the same time referring to culture, or certain aspects of culture, seems to also imply a phenomenon of universalization, or if you like, a kind of world civilization. This paradox has confronted many cultures on their way to modernization, torn between the past and the future, and posing one of the main urban problems facing cities in the present age of globalisation.
IN THIS COMPLEX CONTEXT OF MODERN CITIES CONSTANTLY RECONFIGURING BETWEEN PAST AND PRESENT, HOW CAN THE TOP DOWN MEET THE BOTTOM UP? Traditionally, once urban planning strategies came into contact with the local context, both socially and physically, they draped over cities, shaping in a significant and meaningful way their urban fabric. In the last decades however, contemporary architecture has become so universally conditioned by technology and the hold of commercial, political and economic agendas beyond the local, that the possibility of creating a meaningful urban form has been significantly limited.
Planners and architects are trained to observe and respond to such local, social and urban problems, by developing hypothetical solutions. Moving these ideas off the table, however, at present, poses an uncertainty about how to unpack, evaluate and tame the multilayered and complex social, political, economic and architectural processes that go into making good building and places today. In this global age one is asked to examine and evaluate the role of local projects in relation to urban planning. This year’s Architecture Biennale in Venice featured a multitude of unplanned projects; from the US pavilion of Spontaneous Interventions, a collection of locally initiated projects nationwide, to the Torre de David in Venezuela, an abandoned tower appropriated by squatters to become an improvised vertical community. Throughout the world, contemporary urban movements are stepping in to fill the gaps where traditional top down planning has failed or left areas of neglect in a much wider historical, cultural and political context. Individuals are taking it upon themselves to initiate and create projects that either compensate for the lack of or expand on amenities, infrastructure, comfort, functionality, safety and sustainability of cities, as an alternative to top down urban strategies. Provisional, informal, guerrilla, DIY, hands-on, unplanned, participatory, tactical — these are just a few of the terms describing an interventionist sort of urbanism that many cities worldwide are currently experiencing. Ephemeral and small-scale, these interventions use design to enrich public space and civic life as mediation to the governmental and corporate mechanisms that are shaping cities; responding to various problems, ranging from plug-in street furniture to portable playgrounds and guerrilla gardens, to flea markets on abandoned lots. Situational and socially engaged, these local initiatives from around the world also seem to form a kind of urban tactics that can be studied and adjusted to act in other contexts. An alternative recession-era approach to urban revitalisation, which has become equally attractive to both young designers and bigger firms. In Copenhagen, architecture firm BIG, has recently completed “Superkilen”, a kilometre long urban space crossing one of the most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods in Denmark. It is conceived as a showcase of urban best practice — a collection of objects derived from the various countries of the people inhabiting the area surrounding it, from exercise gear of muscle beach LA to Moroccan fountains, which coexist in a contemporary, urban version of a universal garden. Do such urban movements, however
also seem to suggest that we are moving towards an increasingly globalised view of what urban space and vibrant urban life is all about? If this globalised view of urbanity means more bike lanes, car free pedestrian zones and places to enjoy the city, then it is not necessarily an unwelcomed effect. However, expanding public space is not to be confused with consumer driven development in the name of urbanism, something many cities worldwide are also currently experiencing with the phenomenon of an exploding coffee and food culture and the emergence of flea markets and street festivals.
ARE WE IN REALITY AT RISK THAT THESE ACTS MAY IN FACT BE A DISGUISED GENTRIFICATION? Such urban acts, as numerous and intelligent as they may be, still cannot replace the need for urban planning nor its effectiveness and reach. One should not be mutually exclusive of the other, but somewhere in between in order to find a common ground; and through friction and creative interplay to shape the urban fabric and give it a distinct and meaningful identity. That so many projects worldwide step outside the authority of government mechanisms and don’t involve planners or architects, suggests not that they are not important or that cities do not need top down plans. It suggests that planning authorities still have a long way to catch up with an increasing public demand for better design and better living…and that the public isn’t waiting. 1. Ricoeur, Paul. “Universal Civilization and National Cultures”, History and Truth, Northwestern University Press, 1961, pp.276-7.
OLYMPIA NOUSKA Born in Nicosia, 1985. Obtained her Bachelor of Architecture from Kingston University, London, followed by two years of practice in Spain and Cyprus, before moving to Copenhagen to complete a Master at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture. Currently living and working in Nicosia.