East Lancashire Research 2008

East Lancashire Research 200

Realizing Henri Lefebvre: Ideas of Social Space in Lucien Kroll's La Meme, Brussels 1969-1972 and Bernard Tschumi's Parc de la Villette, Paris 1982-1987.

This dissertation contributes to discourse on architecture as a social product by drawing upon French critical philosopher Henri Lefebvre’s theory of the production of space to examine the nature and degree of social and political engagement in two seminal architectural practices of the “post-68” period. Specifically, the dissertation focuses on the participatory architecture of La Mémé medical student housing (1969-1972) outside Brussels by Belgian architect Lucien Kroll and the program-oriented masterplan of Parc de la Villette (1982-1987) in Paris by Swiss-French architect Bernard Tschumi. Despite extensive documentation of Kroll’s and Tschumi’s commissions in the scholarly and popular press, the limitations and potentials of their strategies in the context of lived reality have rarely been discussed. This dissertation approaches the question of how each theorist defines space and discusses its relationship to social and political meaning, and furthermore, how the selected works of Kroll and Tschumi translate this understanding into built form. A crucial part of my investigation involves opening up the rhetorical terrain that surrounds the two case studies and analyzing their architecture with an eye to politics and processes of execution. Through the integration of logical argumentation and case study strategies, my research examines the heterogeneous expectations or the outcomes of the two projects; and the remarkably dichotomous reception to each work, as either socially engaged and transformative or simulated and rigid. The dissertation concludes by highlighting the extent to which the mutually cooperative and conflictual moments of conception, realization, and subsequent inhabitation in each case study are illuminated by Lefebvre’s social space of dialogue, difference, and contradiction. Lefebvre’s writings bring together two previously unrelated radical works as they focus on issues of space and the creative possibilities of everyday human activity.PHDArchitectureUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135882/1/kshpatel_1.pd

Cyberspace As/And Space

The appropriate role of place- and space-based metaphors for the Internet and its constituent nodes and networks is hotly contested. This essay seeks to provoke critical reflection on the implications of place- and space-based theories of cyberspace for the ongoing production of networked space more generally. It argues, first, that adherents of the cyberspace metaphor have been insufficiently sensitive to the ways in which theories of cyberspace as space themselves function as acts of social construction. Specifically, the leading theories all have deployed the metaphoric construct of cyberspace to situate cyberspace, explicitly or implicitly, as separate space. This denies all of the ways in which cyberspace operates as both extension and evolution of everyday spatial practice. Next, it argues that critics of the cyberspace metaphor have confused two senses of space and two senses of metaphor. The cyberspace metaphor does not refer to abstract, Cartesian space, but instead expresses an experienced spatiality mediated by embodied human cognition. Cyberspace in this sense is relative, mutable, and constituted via the interactions among practice, conceptualization, and representation. The insights drawn from this exercise suggest a very different way of understanding both the spatiality of cyberspace and its architectural and regulatory challenges. In particular, they suggest closer attention to three ongoing shifts: the emergence of a new sense of social space, which the author calls networked space; the interpenetration of embodied, formerly bounded space by networked space; and the ways in which these developments alter, instantiate, and disrupt geographies of power

The future of the urban street in the united states: visions of alternative mobilities in the twenty-first century

This dissertation is concerned with the present and future of urban streets in the United States. The goal is to document and analyze current visions, policies, and strategies related to the form and use of American urban streets. The dissertation examines current mobility trends and offers a framework for organizing visions of the future of urban streets, evaluating them through three lenses: safety, comfort, and delight: assessing physical conditions in accordance with livability standards toward sustainable development. At the same time, it demonstrates the way 12 scenarios (NACTO Blueprint for Autonomous Urbanism, Sidewalk Labs: Quayside Project, Public Square by FXCollaborative, AIANY Future Street, The National Complete Street Coalition, Vision Zero, Smart Columbus, Waymo by Alphabet, The Hyperloop, Tesla “Autopilot,” Ford City of Tomorrow, SOM City of Tomorrow) have intentionally or unintentionally influenced contemporary use of American urban streets. Ultimately, the study shows that while sustainable alternative mobilities continue to emerge, the dominance of the automobility system has led to a stagnation of sustainable urban street development in the United States

Utopian Discourses Across Cultures

The term Utopia, coined by Thomas More in 1516, contains an inherent semantic ambiguity: it could be read as eu topos (good place) or ou topos (no place). The authors of this volume analyze this polysemous notion and its fascination for scholars across the centuries, who have developed a variety of visions and ways to explain the «realization» of utopian discourses. The experts in the fields of sociology, political science, economics, computer science, literature and linguistics offer extensive studies about how utopian scenarios are realized in different cultural contexts

A Dystopic or Utopic Future?

de Castro Neto, M., & de Melo Cartaxo, T. (2021). Algorithmic Cities: A Dystopic or Utopic Future? In M. I. A. Ferreira (Ed.), How Smart Is Your City?: Technological Innovation, Ethics and Inclusiveness (Vol. 98, pp. 59-73). (Intelligent Systems, Control and Automation: Science and Engineering; Vol. 98). Springer Science and Business Media B.V.. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56926-6_6Cities of today face a digital transformation process, leading to a new reality where urban space is taking advantage of information and communication technologies and data science to answer present and future challenges, namely to become more efficient in services and infrastructures management in order to deliver increased quality of life to the people who live, work or visit the city, and addressing at the same time the problems of climate change. This new reality is leveraged by big data produced by the cities Internet of everything (as interconnected systems, sensors and people), information management and data science capabilities, which allow us to measure and describe what happens, predict what can happen, and prescribe what could be the course of actions bringing policy making to a fact-based environment, which had never been possible before. In this work, we will address the opportunities and challenges of this paradigm shift that is leading to the city as a platform reality that supports what we can call the algorithmic city where it is up to us to decide if this will be a dystopic or utopic future for the citizen.authorsversionpublishe

In Bed with Technology? Peril, Promise, and Prudence

Are we in bed with seductive information technologies? And what have we begat? This panel, delivered at AMCIS in Auckland on 8 December 2014, resulted in thought-provoking dialog that generated critical reflection on several themes linking technology and practical wisdom that aligned with the conference theme “Integral IS: The Embedding of Information Systems in Business, Government and Society”. The panel found common ground, although each author began from a different starting position. The common ground was that neither utopian nor dystopian stances on the value of technology achieve much practical value. Instead, perennial universal insights of wisdom viewed in a contemporary, practical, and scientific context may provide a path in technology research, design, management, and use. We believe the topics addressed during the panel session, which we summarize in this paper, are vital and relevant to the information systems field as a whole. The panel’s deliberations hold importance for academics and practitioners alike and have implications that extend to individuals, organizations, and society at large

Philosophy and Public Administration: An Introduction (Second Edition)

This book provides a systematic introduction to the philosophical foundations of the study and the practice of public administration. It reviews all the main philosophical streams, from ancient Greek philosophy to the contemporary strands, and discusses their significance for public governance and public management. Ontological and epistemological issues are brought to the fore in discussing contemporary conceptions of the nature of public administration. The quest for justification and legitimacy of public governance is examined, and ‘Common Good’, ‘Social contract’ and ‘Personalism’ arguments vetted. The works of thinkers like Thomas More and Niccolò Machiavelli are revisited and the implications for contemporary public administration are drawn. The second edition of this book further expands on the links between philosophical foundations and research agendas and public administration theory; it also develops on the teaching of philosophy in public administration programme

UCity: utopias and dystopias

A part of the Third International Conference for Young Urban Researchers (TICYUrb) held in June 2018, the track UCITY was designed to help participants reflect on the roles of Utopias, Dystopias and Heterotopias in reflecting about and rethinking the city in the present, past and future. Particularly, utopian and dystopian literature have influenced the debate throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, helping to make the city the center of our most fertile imaginaries about the future, social progress and transformation. Cities evolved to symbolize the future of Humanity and thus utopian, dystopian and heterotopian scenarios became alternative reflections of who we wished to become. With the rise of the ubiquitous Smart Cities paradigm, it is extremely important that we collaborate with the Arts and Humanities to imagine and discuss alternative ideas for the future of our cities. From a collective project to an insurgent tool for urban inquiry, the term utopia is explored in the following discussions as a representation of the much needed space for dialogue about what is possible, desirable and valuable.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio