PLANNING: bUILDING: Housing:

Urban Quality

Sustainable Planning Solutions

What plans need to be laid?
An obvious planning concern is the surge in urban growth,
especially in the world’s largest urban concentrations.
Just think about Asia and Latin America. However, there
is also a pressing need to address the ebb in urban
development, for example in the hinterlands of Europe.
Urban influx is not strictly limited to city centers. Growing
urban populations are occupying all sorts of intermediary
zones.

The urban world is no longer one of clearly defined cities,
constituting unique entities. As you read this, new networks
of towns are taking shape. New cities and regions which
give way to city regions. Megacities and megalopolises
have become big parts of the big picture.

How can we deal with the bridging of urban regions and
the development of urban corridors? How can urban constellations,
both new and old, be sustained? What types
of demands are being placed on urban infrastructure:
Transportation systems, communication networks, water
and energy supplies, sewage and sanitation handling?
What consequences does this have for urban governance,
the redefinition of city limits, and the formation of new
city and regional alliances?
In short, what sustainable planning solutions need to be implemented for the future?

Best Building Practices

What building practices are worthwhile pursuing?
Cities throughout the world seek to position themselves
through high profile buildings: Awe-inspiring architectural
solutions. Large-scale projects of record-breaking heights
and spans, advances in green building technology,
industrialization of building processes, new tools in
construction management. New constellations of building
consortiums and partnerships.

Meanwhile, other cities are struggling with the most basic
maintenance of their built environment. They, too, can
offer solutions for the future: Innovative applications of
traditional building materials, processes and architectonic
solutions.

The parameters and possibilities vary from city to city,
region to region, place to place. How are innovations in
the building sector impacting the futures of our cities?
What can builders draw from the past? What advances
are being made for the future? What is being done to ensure
the calibre of architecture in an urbanized world?
In short, how can we build for the futures of cities?

Housing the urban half

What kind of homes can we offer the urban half?
It is not merely a matter of providing housing machines,
but rather housing solutions? Growing slums in many of
the world’s megacities are an urban reality. With booming
real estate markets for high-end residential, how can cities
maintain a reasonable segment of affordable housing?
How much should government regulate? And the market
dictate?

High-density housing is intrinsic to urban futures. How
can compact living be resolved at the scale of the residential
neighbourhood, apartment block and the individual
dwelling unit? Solutions are sure to differ according to
context and cultural preferences. But not to forget, the
simplest of innovations can have universal appeal, such
as indoor plumbing, or cell phone technology and the
potential to connect almost every home. What array of
pragmatic, experimental and utilitarian housing solutions
are there for the growing urban masses?
In short, how can we best house the urban half?

Urban Quality

How does urban quality relate to urban life?
The search for a better life is the basic draw behind the
influx to cities. Quality of life goes hand-in-hand with
urban quality. Urban quality has become one of the most
important parameters for the positioning of cities on the
global playing field. The interplay between a city’s spaces
and its urban life is considered to be a condition for a
city’s urban quality. It is the spaces of the city that offer
corridors of mobility, market places, and clearings where
gardens can grow. These include arenas for sports and
recreation, tableaux for public art, venues for street
performances, neutral ground where people can meet,
and platforms for public dialog and exchange.
 
How do we accommodate urban life? How can we render
urban spaces? Urban quality is more than an amenity. It
is crucial to the life of the city. Urban quality encourages a
healthier lifestyle and promotes the economic livelihood
of the city at large. This can be done, for example, by
boosting tourism and promoting an experience economy.
How do we define, measure, and quantify urban quality?
How does urban quality relate to urban success criteria?
How can we render and enhance urban quality?
In short, what constitutes urban quality in the future?