Urban Design International最新文献

In the first half of 2020, millions of people were subjected to drastic restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of the Covid-19 disease. Austria, France and Poland have implemented a lockdown to varying degrees and for varying lengths of time. This is an unprecedented situation in Europe: until now, even in times of war, curfew measures have never been applied 24 h a day. The research presented in this article was carried out in real time, in April and May 2020, with the help of urban planning students from three countries. Its objective is to observe the interaction between these measures and the urban space in two dimensions. On the one hand, we analyse the impact of these measures on the urban space and on the spatial practices of the inhabitants. On the other hand, we examine the conditions which different types of urban and rural space have provided for the inhabitants experiencing confinement. This empirical study leads to a discussion and recommendation for the town planners of the future.

In the first half of 2020, millions of people were subjected to drastic restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of the Covid-19 disease. Austria, France and Poland have implemented a lockdown to varying degrees and for varying lengths of time. This is an unprecedented situation in Europe: until now, even in times of war, curfew measures have never been applied 24 h a day. The research presented in this article was carried out in real time, in April and May 2020, with the help of urban planning students from three countries. Its objective is to observe the interaction between these measures and the urban space in two dimensions. On the one hand, we analyse the impact of these measures on the urban space and on the spatial practices of the inhabitants. On the other hand, we examine the conditions which different types of urban and rural space have provided for the inhabitants experiencing confinement. This empirical study leads to a discussion and recommendation for the town planners of the future.

Nathan Phillips Square is Toronto’s most important landmark, symbolising the city’s rejection of its conservative and monocultural past, in favour of a diverse, modern and global future, cast in Modernist urbanism and architecture. Today, Toronto is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, in a country widely considered the most successful multicultural society in the world. However, what role the built form of the city’s microscale public spaces plays in supporting this pluralism remains largely unresearched. This paper attempts to contribute to this gap through an empirical examination of how Nathan Phillips Square enables and constrains ethnocultural differences and intercultural encounter. The paper begins with an exploration of literature on encounter in public spaces, and the agency of built form in mediating such interactions. The paper then presents three key findings based on an actor-network ethnography. This paper is critical of the emphasis placed on the square’s symbolic capital, at the expense of the multi-ethnic everyday life of the city. As a result, the failings of Modernism appear locked in, largely reducing the square to a spectacle. It is hoped that these findings will better inform urban designers and governments in shaping public space for ethnically diverse Western cities.

Nathan Phillips Square is Toronto’s most important landmark, symbolising the city’s rejection of its conservative and monocultural past, in favour of a diverse, modern and global future, cast in Modernist urbanism and architecture. Today, Toronto is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, in a country widely considered the most successful multicultural society in the world. However, what role the built form of the city’s microscale public spaces plays in supporting this pluralism remains largely unresearched. This paper attempts to contribute to this gap through an empirical examination of how Nathan Phillips Square enables and constrains ethnocultural differences and intercultural encounter. The paper begins with an exploration of literature on encounter in public spaces, and the agency of built form in mediating such interactions. The paper then presents three key findings based on an actor-network ethnography. This paper is critical of the emphasis placed on the square’s symbolic capital, at the expense of the multi-ethnic everyday life of the city. As a result, the failings of Modernism appear locked in, largely reducing the square to a spectacle. It is hoped that these findings will better inform urban designers and governments in shaping public space for ethnically diverse Western cities.